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September 1, 2010

County conducts first of two tax rate hearings

Rich Flowers The Athens Review

ATHENS — The Henderson County Commissoners Court Tuesday conducted the first of two public hearings on the tax rate in what has been a peaceful budget season.

On Aug. 24, Commissioners proposed a tax rate of $.471859, slightly higher than the $.466016 the county has operated under this year. The rate would increase the total amount of revenues raised from properties on the tax role by 5.51 percent.

Citizen Tex Lemance of Athens asked commissioners if there would be a “sunset clause,” repealing the increase at a future date.

County Judge David Holstein explained that the budget process starts over each year, and the rate adopted is to fund the 2011 budget.

“That’s subject to change each year when the court gets together to set the next year’s budget. It can go up, or it subsequently could go down,” Holstein said.

Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry West reminded property owners that they have one more opportunity to voice their opposition to the tax rate at 9:30 a.m., Sept. 7. Adoption of the proposed rate, or a lower rate if Commissioners decide to do so, will take place on Sept. 14.

If the county adopts the $.471859 rate, it will remain lower than the 2008 rate of $.476016 or the $.486016 or 2007.

In other action, Commissioners approved an agreement with First State Bank allowing the county to purchase a Zanetis RH4075 cold planer for Precinct 1, with half of the payment in 2010 and the remainder in January, 2011. Pct. 1 Commissioner Joe Hall said the a cold planer is a piece of heavy equipment which is used to tear out materials like sidewalks and roadways. The road crew will be able to be able to do spot repairs instead of fixing entire stretches of pavement.

“It will save us thousands of dollars,” Hall said. “We’ve experimented  with ways of doing things trying to do things cheaper.”

Pct. 1 will cover half of the cost of the machine with funds from a sale of two pieces of equipment to Precinct. 1. The rest could come from reimbursment to the county for damages done by oil company trucks to County Road 1205.

“We did a trial of the machine on CR 1205,” Hall said. “We went out there with Pct. 2 Commissioner Wade McKinney and some from other counties. Everyone was impressed.”

Commissioners also authorized payment of bills in the amount of $199,623.

 

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