Limestone County posts proposed tax rate of 56.5 cents after short debate

At a county meeting, speakers debated how to respond to an estimated budget shortfall and ultimately voted to post a proposed tax rate of 56.5 cents.

The vote followed two motions on the same figure. Speaker 2 first moved to post 56.5 cents; a roll-call vote recorded Precinct 1, Precinct 2 and Precinct 3 as 'No' and Precinct 4 as 'Yes', and Speaker 1 declared that motion defeated. Later in the meeting Speaker 2 renewed the proposal and, after discussion, the board approved posting 56.5 cents by voice vote.

Why it matters: board members said the county faces a significant shortfall if a lower rate is adopted. Speaker 1 said adopting 54.7 cents would require taking about $2,900,000 from the general fund, a move they cautioned would rely on one-time resources. Speaker 2 noted a penny of tax raises roughly $275,000 and described the 56.5-cent figure as a step that ‘‘is not going to do away with the whole deficit, but it’s gonna make it a little bit better.’’

Details and debate: speakers pressed staff for specifics on where recurring salary increases and new positions would be funded. Speaker 1 warned against funding permanent positions from temporary or one-time revenues, mentioning projected valuation increases from solar farms and a one-time payment tied to land acquired by the City of Waco as examples of revenues that may not recur.

Procedural notes: the first motion to post 56.5 cents failed on a precinct roll-call (three precincts opposed, one in favor). The second motion to post 56.5 cents was adopted by voice vote; individual tallies were not recorded for that voice vote.

Next steps: officials said they will study the numbers further; a separate budget workshop and a public hearing on the FY2024 budget were set (the public hearing was scheduled for September at 9 a.m.; the exact September date was not specified in the record).