Public hearing on tax rate tonight

GONZALES — The Gonzales city council is hosting the first of two public hearings tonight (Thursday) at 6 p.m. at city hall.
Citizens are invited to give their views on the preliminary tax rate of .3050, which exceeds the lower of the effective or rollback tax rate. If adopted, tax revenues would increase by 10.47 percent over last year's rate.
The city receives the certified property tax rolls from the Gonzales County Appraisal District, in which the Gonzales County Tax Assessor-Collector uses to calculate effective and rollback tax rates. The effective rate — currently at .2761 — is a calculated rate that would provide Gonzales with approximately the same revenues it took in the previous year on property valuation. The current tax rate is .2750 per $100 of property valuation.
The rollback rate is the maximum rate allowed by law without voter approval. It currently sits at .4639 per $100 of valuation. State law says that a governing body must hold two public hearings on a tax rate if it exceeds the lower of the effective or rollback rate. Here, it exceeds the effective rate.
During the final tax rate adoption process, council can approve a lower rate. In 2018, the total taxable value on the appraised Gonzales homesteads is $380,000,010 after exemptions. If council adopts the proposed .3050 tax rate, the amount of taxes imposed on the average home would be $352.36.
At the previous city council meeting, Mayor Connie Kacir joined councilmen Tommy Schurig, Bobby O’Neal, and Dan Blakemore in voting for the proposed rate. Councilman Gary Schroeder voted against.
The next scheduled public hearing will be Sept. 6 at 6 p.m. at city hall.
Erik McCowan is a staff reporter for the Gonzales Inquirer. You can reach him at news@gonzalesinquirer.com or erik.mccowan@gonzalesinquirer.com.