Birdville ISD OKs three-year tax-collection contract after extended questioning about fee increase

The Birdville ISD Board of Trustees voted unanimously Thursday to approve a contract with the Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector for collection of property taxes for the 2025–27 tax years, after trustees and a public commenter pressed the assessor’s representatives on a proposed increase in the office’s calculated rate.

The contract approval followed a public comment from resident Eric Crile and an extended board Q&A with representatives from the Tarrant County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office, who attended to explain the proposed rate calculation. Trustees raised repeated questions about personnel costs, how administrative expenses are allocated between property and motor-vehicle services, and whether larger taxing entities were bearing their share of collection costs.

Why it matters: Trustees said the proposed rate increase — presented by county staff as about $1.07 compared with a prior level near $0.98 — would raise costs that ultimately come from district taxpayers. Several trustees and the public speaker argued the office’s cost allocation and staffing decisions deserved closer review before the district agreed to higher fees.

Tarrant County staff told the board the collection calculation had shifted this year to account differently for the motor-vehicle division’s…