Hays County Commissioners Propose FY 2016 Tax Rate, Sets Public Hearing Dates

Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, TX – At a special meeting Wednesday, August 26, the Hays County Commissioners Court proposed a tax rate of 0.4670 per $100 of assessed valuation for FY 2016. The County’s 2016 fiscal year begins October 1, 2015.

Because the proposed rate exceeds the effective tax rate, state law requires two public hearings be held by the Commissioners Court before the proposed rate is adopted, which would also be required if the proposed rate exceeds the rollback rate. The current tax rate, for current FY 2015, is 0.4690 per $100. The effective tax rate is 0.4419 per $100 and the rollback tax rate is 0.4881 per $100.

The effective tax rate is the total tax rate needed to raise the same amount of property tax revenue for Hays County from the same properties in both the 2014 and 2015 tax years. The rollback tax rate is the highest tax rate that Hays County may adopt before voters are entitled to petition for an election to limit the rate that may be approved to the rollback rate.

Your specific taxes owed under any of the above rates can be calculated using this formula:

Property tax amount = (rate) x (taxable value of your property) divided by 100.

For assistance or detailed information about tax calculations, contact Luanne Caraway, Hays County Tax Assessor-Collector Luanne Caraway at luanne@co.hays.tx.us, 512-393-5545 or from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at 712 S. Stagecoach Trail, San Marcos, TX  78666.

The Court set public hearing dates of Thursday, September 10, at 1 p.m. and Tuesday, September 15, at 1 p.m., as required by law and encourages citizens to share their views on the proposed tax rate. The hearings will be held at the County Courthouse, 111 E. San Antonio St., San Marcos, in the third-floor Commissioners Courtroom. The hearings will also be available online at www.co.hays.tx.us.