Collin County鈥檚 growing population needs more services 鈥� and that鈥檚 leading to higher tax bills for homeowners as the county addresses budget needs for the upcoming fiscal year.
Collin County commissioners this week voted 4-1 to approve a budget of $531.8 million and a maintain the of $0.149 cents per $100 of a home鈥檚 value for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1.
County Judge Chris Hill was the only one to vote against the tax rate and budget. He said he didn鈥檛 want to raise taxes. Even though the property tax rate stayed the same because the average home appraisal increased, most Collin County homeowners will see their tax bills go up.
鈥淚鈥檓 not going to raise taxes,鈥� Hill said.
The average home in Collin County is $599,916 according to the county appraisal district. That鈥檚 up 2.9% from the previous year, meaning the average homeowner in Collin County will likely see their tax bill increase because the taxable value on their home increased. The average homeowner without a homestead exemption will have their county property tax bill go up by $23.07.
Historically, Collin County commissioners have lowered the tax rate to the no-new-revenue rate, which lowers the tax rate to keep property tax revenue the same as the previous year when homes values increase. But the court elected last year to maintain the tax rate. That increased the average tax bill for the average Collin County homeowner without a homestead exemption by about $85.
Hill was also the only no vote on last year鈥檚 budget and tax rate.
Hill voted for individual items that were added to the budget proposal during budget workshops. But he said after viewing the total costs, he鈥檚 against increasing the budget because of the impact on tax bills. He said the budget needed cuts.
But Commissioner Darrel Hale said the adopted tax rate and budget for this year were necessary to fund essential services.
鈥淏efore any of us voted yes on any item whatsoever, we were at a tax increase this year,鈥� Hale said. 鈥淲e were already in the hole on our current statutory obligations.鈥�
Collin County has experienced rapid population growth the past few years. The county, which has about 1.2 million residents, is the third fastest growing county in the nation according to the U.S. Census. And the population boom is causing growing pains for several county services.
Voters in Collin County approved a $683 million bond package last year that included funding for improving county roads, expanding the jail and doubling the size of the animal shelter. But several elected officials told county commissioners during budget workshops that their departments need more, including Sheriff Jim Skinner.
Skinner said he needs more staff, especially at the county jail.
鈥淲e need more employees in the future to keep pace with the population explosion,鈥� he said.
Skinner, who asked for 70 new detention officers, said during his budget request to the court earlier this month that the jail is nearly full and understaffed. The county estimates it has already spent over $2 million on overtime pay this year, with a large portion of that spending occurring at the jail.
The county currently employs nearly 300 detention officers. But 28 of those detention officers are new hires who won鈥檛 be finished with training until October. Skinner said those detention officers have 1,200 inmates to monitor. The county also has 83 more inmates housed in facilities outside of the county. The jail has capacity for 1,298 inmates.
The jail is undergoing the expansion that was approved in last year鈥檚 bond vote. Skinner said the construction has increased security needs.
鈥淲hen construction folks knock a hole in the wall of our jail, we have to provide security for those folks,鈥� Skinner said. 鈥淲hen that security is provided, we have officers on it 24 hours a day because the one thing we will not do is risk an escape.鈥�
The sheriff listed several other reasons for the increase in overtime, including more uncooperative inmates. He said the number of felons in the jail has reached 92%, which has led to an increase in assaults on detention officers.
Skinner said the jail needs more detention officers to address understaffing and to fully staff the facility once the expansion is complete.
The sheriff hired a net total of 39 detention officers this past year, with 83 new positions approved and 44 officers who vacated their positions. That number led the court to approve 41 new detention officer positions for the upcoming fiscal year鈥檚 budget. The commissioners also approved an overtime spending cap.
Commissioner Duncan Webb proposed the overtime limit. He said the policy is necessary to protect the county's budget.
鈥淥nce we've hit the budget top, with no additional funding available at that point, our only option would be to cut expenses in mid-year, which involves terminating people,鈥� he said.
Commissioner Darrell Hale said during budget discussions the commissioners will need to keep an eye on jail staffing in upcoming years as more people move to Collin County.
鈥淭he county is continuing to grow 35,000 to 50,000 a year, and we鈥檙e going to need to start planning for the next cluster,鈥� Hale said.
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