[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6587201,"mediaKeyId","5671858-a6285db7bb750e19b4e01bc716920b30","parentId",5671858,"title","Ellis County commissioners propose same property tax rate for FY2026; motion passes unanimously","audioSeconds",449,"startMs",607000,"endMs",1056000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5671858-a6285db7bb750e19b4e01bc716920b30&start=607&end=1056","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5671858-a6285db7bb750e19b4e01bc716920b30/thumbnail_607000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6587201/Ellis-County/Texas/Ellis-County-commissioners-propose-same-property-tax-rate-for-FY2026-motion-passes-unanimously","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6587201-1b658f6af45b38d699f48d1522db8fd3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770431252&Signature=DbYNp7eum-eKaSvU4LzsVr-qft9Md13aoAGGPtyw-wKzxVTXqxiRZ3hu~jQcLlKv7KD~hxP0y4CaYYZp2afke8MX~Wf3T6X6XHqxZI2XPgQyDDwkYXWxvOtBjz74x5p~FHAamjDYf2jsiWiqnWsQmTJnrVtHoLofqsbxAV7cszxURYAMIfugcJfGO85zY7niSHje9PffloGL~9IXQDwz~CcD4B0bP3mVBLLkMdPNpg5yauXmWibInPmjNM0m6u9IhwX6Rt9IESi3IIMI1iV8~ye~QModDtY8pmDGB5tugkQozwv0qTAVOXvLLPxsWS8dTKphDgTVleIVrIDAXh-szQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Ellis","date","2025-08-25T00:00:00Z","article","Ellis County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to propose a property tax rate of 0.273992 for tax year 2025, the rate that would fund fiscal year 2026, the court said at a special meeting.

County staff presented a breakdown of the proposed rate and revenue estimates, and the court voted to propose the rate so staff could meet statutory notice requirements. The motion to propose the rates was made by Commissioner Grayson, seconded by Commissioner Ponder, and passed on a unanimous voice vote.

Ryan (county staff) told the court the proposed “all-in” rate would remain at 0.273992, the same as the prior year. He provided component rates: the maintenance and operations (M&O) rate at 0.246737, the interest and sinking (I&S) rate at 0.009041, and a flood mitigation (FM) or similar component at 0.018214, as presented during the meeting. Ryan also reported a total proposed revenue figure of $90,239,349 and described the proposed allocation of that revenue: about $68,600,000 (roughly 76%) to the general fund, approximately $1,245,000 each to road and bridges (about 1.38% each), and about $16,600,000 (about 18.43%) to permanent improvements, as shown in the proposed budget documents.

Court members asked about deadlines and posting: staff said the county would post the proposed numbers and the Comptroller tax-code notice form (notice under Tax Code Section 26.06 as cited at the meeting) on the county website and in the budget materials by Sept. 1, and that the formal budget and tax-rate notices would be published with enough time to meet a proposed Sept. 16 hearing date. Staff advised that voting to propose the rate was the safest route given ambiguities between statute and the Comptroller’s notice form.

After the vote, the presiding officer instructed staff to post the proposed rate and budget materials online and to follow statutory notice procedures. The court closed the special meeting after completing the agenda.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Ellis - Special Commissioners Court","oneSentenceSummary","The Commissioners Court voted unanimously to propose an all-in property tax rate of 0.273992 for tax year 2025 to fund fiscal year 2026, with staff to publish required notices and the proposed budget on the county website.","taxTitle","Ellis County, Texas","taxId",20431,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6587206,"Ellis County delays contracts for voter-registration and e-pollbook services, seeks more options",604,145000,749000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5671858-a6285db7bb750e19b4e01bc716920b30&start=145&end=749","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5671858-a6285db7bb750e19b4e01bc716920b30/thumbnail_145000.jpg","/articles/6587206/Ellis-County/Texas/Ellis-County-delays-contracts-for-voter-registration-and-e-pollbook-services-seeks-more-options","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6587206-4e93b71eeb05212220a67ca3bd1c09b3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770431252&Signature=RgfX1SpmTtNiLSRhwbraczdNTb-kPSl7RngcaJNL6hpwUgj1Ju-C62XOl0GkANCGrH-jbEDENfpZMrK3ZWvjLy5405iOTPeWB-0DTkaS8dV8H7huil2oVsvYgq9YGCKD~KmvF-iz3NHeU~yf6Y2VNQkd62dFQT6QlRHKPRsqtrRyxcAneOJ5MSeCszYTQ~Ae4Ub~nswTybpcEzgm2aKT9b6gtZOvB3Qf~yIaH7yODY9ZS79cuHyrz0BTg4e0Rg4BFNTw2XJ9Kis0n7mKKuUwszgquaIOGpJE~-qqMWJJBa1RBQ~VcY8RYc1~mv8MfXSgXGidcLCzb8Lqu2NpYQGrEg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Ellis County Commissioners Court on a special meeting agreed to take no action this week on three agenda items that would have executed contracts with VR Systems Inc. for voter-registration and e-pollbook services, after Elections Administrator Jana Onion told the court the county needed more time to review alternatives.

Onion said the county was notified in August that its previous vendor, VOTECH, had effectively ceased support after many employees resigned or were laid off, creating an urgent need to replace or supplement the county’s voter-registration and e-pollbook software. “I would like to ask the court to no action these 3 items and that we will bring it back next Tuesday, September 2 after further review,” Onion said.

The three items on the agenda were listed as: (1) an EVID system sale and license agreement and software for 100 e-poll books under a Texas Association of School Boards cooperative contract number 710-23 in the amount of $199,590; (2) a VR Systems voter-focus system license and maintenance agreement under the same cooperative contract for $264,624; and (3) an EVID system hardware repair and maintenance agreement for the e-poll books at $8,700 per year beginning in year two. Commissioners agreed to take no action on each item and move them to the court’s next meeting.

Onion told the court the county maintains its voter registration data in-house and that the data remain secure. She also said that while counties in Texas can choose to operate on the state-provided TEAM (Texas Election Administration Management) system, the county had previously relied on offline vendors and that VR Systems had been the only readily identified offline option until she located additional possibilities during recent training.

Presiding remarks at the meeting thanked Onion for rapidly researching alternatives and noted the short timeline ahead of the November constitutional amendment election. County Clerk Crystal Valdez was identified as the contact for public-comment forms, though no public commenters spoke on these agenda items at the special meeting.

By taking no action, the court left open multiple procurement paths and directed staff to return with additional vendor information on Sept. 2. Because no contract decisions were made, the court said the potential executive session related to these matters was not needed at this time.

The three agenda items will be brought back for formal consideration and, if the court moves forward, would involve executing the cited cooperative-contract purchases or other procurement options the county identifies.","Ellis County Commissioners Court took no action on three items to contract with VR Systems Inc. after Elections Administrator Jana Onion said vendor support for the county’s legacy system was disrupted and additional vendors may be available; the court asked staff to return with options on Sept. 2.","actionData","errors"]

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Ellis County commissioners propose same property tax rate for FY2026; motion passes unanimously

Ellis County delays contracts for voter-registration and e-pollbook services, seeks more options