New county tax rate will possibly remain the same
By ASHLEY TOMPKINS - Tribune City Editor
Monday, August 11, 2008 11:03 AM CDT
Titus County officials have suggested the county's tax rate will stay the same, and possibly decrease, in its 2008-2009 budget year, thanks mainly to an increase in property values throughout the county that could add $350,000 to $400,000 in additional revenue.
Titus County's tax rate is currently 33.92 cents per $100.
"The values appear to be up, which for our purposes is good. It should allow us to keep our tax rate at where it's at, and possibly a little lower," said Titus County Auditor Carl Johnson, Jr.
However, someone whose valuation increased would see their taxes go up because of their property's higher value. Anyone whose valuation did not go up would be at the same tax rate, or a little lower, according to preliminary discussions.
"I'd really be surprised if that rollback rate isn't higher than where we're at right now, which means we could leave the rate at where it is or go down a little bit and still get a 6 or 7 percent effective rate increase," he added.
The effective rate increase translates to an expected $350,000 to $400,000 in additional revenue that could help fund an employee pay raise, requested new positions, and increases in county expenses.
During a recent budget workshop, County Judge Sam Russell said he'd like to increase pay to employees by $250 across the board. Russell's proposal would effectively raise people at the lower end of the county's pay scale more than those at the top end.
"I don't think there's any question that we're probably under comparable counties around us," Russell said. "I think our employees and our elected officials here at Titus County do an excellent job. The employees deserve all the help we can give them."
The pay increase would amount to $330,000, based on the county's estimated 110 employees.
The pay raise, in addition to increases in countywide expenses, Titus County Sheriff Arvel Shepard's request for seven new employees and Russell's request for a centralized phone system and fiber-optic communication network, would easily eat up the county's additional revenue.
Russell said his two requests are the only large capital projects he foresees in the budget year. Developing a centralized phone system would cost the county between $100,000 and $125,000. The fiber-optic communication network would cost between $1,000 and $1,150 a month, depending if the county went with a five-year or three-year contract.
"The county clerk's office is going to start uploading real estate documents on the Internet and people are going to be uploading and downloading at the same time," Russell explained. "We're going to need a better system than what we have right now."
He noted there is no installation charge.
Among the county's potential big budget items is Shepard's request to hire seven new employees n two dispatchers and five jailers. At a suggested $26,000-plus salary for each new employee and $11,000 in benefits, the county is looking at adding roughly $250,000 a year to fund the new positions.
The salary includes Shepard's request for a pay raise at his department.
Shepard said being short-staffed jeopardizes his office's operations. "What we're continuously doing is moving people around to let someone take their comp time off because most often if someone calls in sick, we have to call someone off-duty in," Shepard said.
Deputies get paid time-and-a-half for overtime, but it is considered compensatory time.
"We're forever saying don't come in tomorrow, take a day of your comp time. That's hard for the morale of the employees," Shepard added. "It's really a juggle act to maintain our operation."
Shepard is also requesting $100,000 to purchase four new cars and an increase in his office's budgets for gas and feeding prisoners.
"If you check our invoices, the same food is more next month than it was this month," the sheriff explained. "If fuel keeps going up, food (costs) is going to go up."
Johnson was quick to point out department heads have only made budget requests at this point. Other budget requests include:
· Titus County Clerk Teresa Price plans to use her Records Management Funds to hire two part-time data entry clerks and to purchase equipment to begin back-scanning the county's documents from 1972 to the present. The project would take roughly three years to complete and will cost an estimated $75,000.
· An increase in travel and seminar, as commissioners' court previously approved raising mileage and meal reimbursements for county employees.
· Replacing election judges who hand-write voter information into books with machines that allow voters to swipe their voter registration card or driver's license to sign in at the poll. Each machine costs roughly $1,000 and Titus County Elections Administrator Leonard Rockwell plans to purchase 20, using $10,000 from his budget and $10,000 in grant funding.
· The addition of a part-time clerk in Justice of the Peace Kay McNutt's office to assist clerks. McNutt said the number of small claims cases has probably tripled in the past year. She would use Driving Safety Course funds for the position.
· Rockwell also requested turning the part-time position in his office to full-time.
· County attorney-elect John Mark Cobern requested an additional full-time position in his office.
The county will review recommendations and requests in coming days before developing a proposed budget, which must be posted in the county clerk's office by 5 p.m. on Aug. 31.
