Hays County to set new tax rate, budget

The Hays County Commissioners Court will hold a final hearing at 1 p.m. for the Fiscal Year 2021 budget, including the new property tax rate before making final changes and voting to adopt.

The proposed tax rate is decreased from .4237 last year to .4212. This slight decrease in rate will still result in payment increases for most properties due to increased property values. 

This year’s budget will raise more revenue from property taxes than last year’s budget by an amount of $4,619,577 or a 5.18% increase from last year’s budget. The property tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is $4,396,386. 

The commissioners will also approve the salaries and allowances for elected officials, which show no salary increases proposed.

In other business, the commissioners will vote to accept a $293,426 grant award from the governor’s Criminal Justice Division for Prevention and Preparedness Response for COVID-19. 

The grant application was submitted on June 2 and will be used to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by funding more janitorial supplies, personal protective equipment supplies and medical and safety supplies. 

They will also consider extending the grant contract with Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC) for the Regional Padilla Compliance Pilot Project to March 31. 

Since September 2019, the grant provided technical support to criminal defense attorneys in Hays County and across the 3rd Administrative Judicial Region for constitutionally required Padilla assistance; expert assistance for defense attorneys counseling clients whose immigration status could be affected by a conviction. 

The Criminal Justice Coordinating Commission recently recommended extending the grant to provide the service to more counties that do not have Padilla services. 

The commissioners will likely authorize the submission of a Community Development Block Grant — Mitigation Project application.

Tuesday's meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Hays County Historic Courthouse — 111 E. San Antonio St.