Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Bastrop ISD delinquent-tax report: law firm cites high collection rates and $4.36M outstanding balance
Summary
District counsel outlined annual tax-collection figures: a 2023 adjusted tax levy of $82.62 million, total current plus delinquent collections of $81.70 million, penalties/interest roughly $1.48 million, and an outstanding unpaid balance across tax years of about $4.357 million, much of which is in deferrals, payment plans or lawsuits.
Noe Reyes, counsel for the district's delinquent-tax collections, presented annual collection metrics and explained how the tax calendar drives collection activity.
Reyes said the adjusted tax levy for tax year 2023 was $82,616,816 and reported total current plus delinquent tax collections of $81,698,098, with penalties and interest collected reported as approximately $1,482,000 and total revenue from tax collections of about $83,180,616. He told the board that "roughly a little bit over 95%" of taxes are paid before July 1 and that accounts remaining after that date are turned over for formal collection activity.
For tax year 2023, Reyes said $3,926,000 went delinquent on July 1; by 03/31/2025 the firm had collected roughly $2,000,000 of that amount and reported about $1,849,000 remaining for that levy. Across all years, Reyes said the district's total outstanding unpaid balance was about $4,357,000. He broke that total down: roughly $963,000 (about 22%) is in tax deferrals that cannot be collected by law, roughly 32% is tied up in delinquent tax lawsuits, and about a quarter is in formal payment plans.
Reyes explained that some longstanding unpaid balances remain in the system because of legal complexities such as properties with many heirs and tax-deferral statutes for seniors and certain disabled residents. He said his local staff of five processes collection actions and that collection rates often approach or exceed the Texas Education Agency's benchmark for funding calculations.
Board members asked whether the collection figures are net of contingency fees. Reyes said the school district receives its full tax amount when collected and that his firm is paid a statutory contingent fee (he noted a 15% contingent fee added on July 1 by statute for delinquent accounts), so the collections figures presented are independent of the firm's fee. The board did not take formal action on the report; members asked clarifying questions about timing differences with the tax assessor's monthly reports and expected collection pace.
