Editor,
I was horrified to see on the front page of the San Marcos Daily Record for Tuesday October 27 , 2020 under the title of County says Hays Parks Bond on November ballot will not affect tax rate." While it is true that the bond will not affect this year's tax rate because the tax rate has already been voted on and by law cannot be raised, it will almost certainly raise next year's effective tax rate which is the tax rate you and I pay. The effective tax rate is the tax rate multiplied by the valuation of the property being taxed. Therefore, the tax rate can decrease while the effective tax rate can increase depending on the valuation of the property. This is what has been happening in Hays County for the past number of years. Why won't "County Officials" tell you this? In my opinion, there could be a number of reasons. First of all, they want you to pass the "bond." Secondly, they don't want you to know that this bond will increase taxes. Dan Wegmiller, the county financial advisor, is quoted as saying "the bond is not likely to increase taxes." This is blatantly false and in my opinion deliberately deceptive. It is simple folks, how many of you would take out a loan with interest believing that your yearly payments would not increase? Under Wegmiller's scenario, on account of savings from refinancing existing debt and the potential increase in "taxpayer" in the coming years from new residents moving into the county , we will not see a tax rate increase. He also notes that debt could be issued over time. His scenario has a possibility of coming true if property valuations continue to rise, however, a greater amount of taxes must be paid by the citizens of Hays County under any scenario if this bond is passed. He believes that valuations will continue rising and the population of Hays County also will continue to rise. If I were a betting man I would agree with this likely scenario, however, there is no guarantee. It is obvious that commissioners court, the school districts, and the cities have not been lowering their tax rates enough to keep effective tax rates from skyrocketing .
Hays County is steadily piling up debt. All one must do is Google the web site "Hays County transparency" to find that the debt is well over half a billion dollars and if the debt is held to maturity with all interest paid on time, the debt will be well over $700 million.
