Collin County homeowners may see a higher property tax bill this fall after a vote by county commissioners on Thursday. And that bill could go up even more if a bond package that would help pay for road improvements passes in November.
Commissioners voted 4-1 on Thursday during a budget workshop to raise the county鈥檚 property taxes to about 15 cents per $100 of a home鈥檚 value. The revenue from the taxes would help fund the court鈥檚 recommended county budget of about $470.3 million.
The commissioners鈥� court is expected to adopt the final budget and tax rate at its Sept. 11 meeting. Residents who want to comment on the budget can sign up to speak at the Aug. 21 or Aug. 28 commissioners鈥� court meetings.
The average home value in Collin County went up about 14% this year, or $584,040 according to the county鈥檚 Central Appraisal District. Hill said in a statement that the average homeowner can expect to pay about $828.63 in property taxes under the new rate 鈥� that鈥檚 about $85 more than last year鈥檚 average bill.
County Judge Chris Hill was the only one to vote against raising the county鈥檚 property taxes for the upcoming fiscal year.
Hill said during a previous commissioners court meeting that he has financial concerns about raising property taxes because of an upcoming bond election in November.
鈥淢y concern is after we potentially raise your taxes, we鈥檙e going to ask you if you鈥檙e willing to raise your own taxes to approve the bond election,鈥� he said.
The court is expected to finalize its approval of the ballot for the November bond election next week. The total bond fund would be about $683 million. Most of it would go toward road improvements.
Collin County is growing 鈥� it鈥檚 the third fastest developing county in the nation according to the Commissioner Susan Fletcher said the county needs to ensure it can fund services for its citizens.
鈥淚 don't want to spend an extra dollar on anything that we don't need if it's just a nicety and it makes us feel good,鈥� Fletcher said. 鈥淭hat's not where I am. However, we have a lot of need.鈥�
Fletcher and other commissioners advocated for raising county employees鈥� salaries. The court voted unanimously to raise their pay by 4%. Fletcher said the average employee in Collin County serves 565 citizens, which is more citizens per staffer than other
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