Lavaca County presents certified values and keeps tax rate unchanged at 0.5132

Lavaca County’s Tax Assessor‑Collector presented the 2024 certified appraised and taxable property values at the Commissioners Court on Aug. 12, 2024, and commissioners voted to keep the county property tax rate unchanged for the coming fiscal year.

The Assessor‑Collector reported a general‑fund appraised value of $4,693,038,353 and a taxable value calculated at $3,859,320,491, an overall appraised‑value increase of approximately 4.6% from the prior year. For Farm‑to‑Market accounts the appraised value was reported as $4,693,075,966 with a taxable value of $3,850,638,889. The office calculated a combined no‑new‑revenue rate of 0.4846 and a voter‑approval rate of 0.5276.

After reviewing growth in new property (about $67 million in added taxable value), the County Judge proposed maintaining the current combined tax rate at 0.5132, composed of a county rate of 0.4137 and an FMR rate of 0.0995, to provide stability amid uncertainty. The court approved the proposal by motion; the judge said a public hearing on the proposed rate will be held at the next meeting in two weeks. During comments the judge also proposed using $2 million from the general fund to accelerate paving and road projects.

Commissioners accepted the assessor’s presentations by motion and approved keeping the rate unchanged by voice vote and a recorded show of hands that the judge stated as five in favor. No formal changes to the adopted budget were approved at the Aug. 12 meeting; commissioners said they would return with additional budget context at the next session.