Commissioners vote unanimously to raise tax rate to 26.89 cents
Gonzales County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday, Sept. 2, to raise the tax rate from 20.32 cents per $100 valuation to 26.89 cents — a 27.86 effective increase — after explaining their rationale during a special called meeting and public hearing.
County Judge Pat Davis, who gave a presentation on the county’s new debt obligations, potential needs and financial footing, told those in attendance of his distaste for having to implement a tax increase but indicated he didn’t see any other way to accomplish what is required.
“I do not like to raise taxes, but I have to do, in my opinion, what's best for the county to try to get this to be as paid off as soon as possible, to get the tax rate to where we need to be,” Davis said. “I don't like to pay taxes either, and it is rough for all of us as a commissioner sitting up here to do this, but we want to look out for the best interest of everybody in Gonzales County, and also for the employees that work for us.
“I'll tell you right now, I am a firm believer in tax cuts, and I don't believe in tax hikes, but when it comes to the point where the county can be in a financial bind, I'm not going to let the county fail. If you look at the tax rates, even in 2026 if the county moves to go with the .2689 — that is still substantially one of the lowest tax rates in the state of Texas,” Davis added.
“I just want you to understand that everybody sitting on this table up here is fiscally conservative. We don't want to do anything that we don't have to do, but we kind of just at the point where it forced our hand that we have to do it. We're going to ask a little bit forward and hopefully next year, we can give it back.”
Precinct 4 Commissioner Collie Boatright said, “A lot of these expenses that we've incurred we’ve considered quite extensively. If we don't do these maintenance and repair items and kick the can down the road, it's only going to be a larger impact down the road for us.”
County officials are currently in the midst of the renovation of the condemned Gonzales County annex, which is expected to cost about $11.2 million to rebuild (plus professional costs) and the county issued seven-year tax notes earlier this year to finance it.
Davis said the court is also looking at having to perform repairs to the Randle Rather building, which could start as low as $2.5 million and could potentially be double that amount depending on what is needed.
“This year, we have been faced with some problems. We've had some some buildings that were purchased in the past that we have had some serious problems with,” Davis said. “Everybody knows we have an annex that was condemned due to the fact that the walls were falling down, and it was very unsafe for anybody to be in there.
“Then we also have the Randle Rather building that we have no idea exactly what that's going to cost. You see the scaffolding that's out in front of it. That scaffolding was there for a reason — to repair — and the second reason is to keep anything from falling on anybody's head they enter into that building.”
The county also has the potential for a $15 million Courthouse restoration that could be largely paid for by a $10 million Texas Historical Commission grant if Gonzales County is successful in its application during the next round of funding, but the county would still need to pay the difference
The Gonzales County Courthouse is one of the last J. Reily Gordon-designed structures not to have been fully restored and renovated to its Romanesque Revival glory. Built in 1896 at a cost of $64,450 after the original burned down December 3, 1893, it was one of the first structures designed by Gordon in his signature Greek cross style featuring corner entrances and a rotunda. The roof was replaced in 1958 and the structure was renovated in the mid to late 1990s.
Davis said the Courthouse has a “number of problems,” including windows that need to be replaced and water infiltration and flooding in the basement level.
“Over the years, the Commissioners Court has done a good job in trying to keep up and maintain it. However, a lot of stuff you can't do on a historic courthouse without the consent from the Texas Historical Commission,” Davis said. “You can't just go rebuild window, because it has to be to the specs of the THC. You have to use the type of material or whatever that is allotted for it, and that's not a cheap thing.”
Davis also spoke about the need in the future for a new county jail and the potential of converting the old jail into a juvenile detention facility. Currently, the county only has 95 beds at its jail and spends thousands of dollars per year to house inmates in other jails due to lack of space. Also, Gonzales County does not have a juvenile detention facility and must ship youth offenders out to other counties.
Davis said when he first came on as county judge in 2019 after being elected the year before, the “county had about $90,000 left in debt which was paid off that first year.
With that being said, we have continued each and every year to go with the no new revenue rate in order not to increase any of the taxes,” Davis said. “Gonzales County has maintained conservative tax rates over the last several years. We have had no county debt in the last seven years. While it has minimized taxes, it has limited our ability to fund major capital projects.”
The tax rate has dropped from 47.85 cents the year before Davis took office to 20.32 cents in 2024 — a rate reduction of 27.63 cents over the course of seven years. He said adjustments to tax rates “may be necessary to maintain essential services and protect community assets” and added that “transparent communication and community engagement are vital to building trust and support.”
“We would love to keep our tax rate in the 20 cents from now on. We don't know what's going to be thrown at us, what's going to happen, but I can assure you that everybody sitting on this court up here will do their best to keep your taxes as low as we can,” Davis said. “We're just basically asking you this year give us just a little bit of help. We didn't ask for these buildings to fall apart. They fell aparta and we’ve got to fix them and maintain them.”
During the public comment portion of the meeting, Patricia Tieken had voiced her concerns about the percentage increase of the tax rate and the impact she said it would have on people struggling already under heavy tax burdens.
“I'm a 30 year resident of Gonzales County and a small business owner,” said Tieken. “I thought, ‘How could a county that has enjoyed extra tax revenue from higher valuations and oil income be asking for taxpayers to give so much extra?’ The city and school district have asked for reasonable tax increases. What has happened in the county that causes a need for a 30% tax increase?
“Most people have had to revisit their budgets, make cuts where needed, forgo spending that they can't afford. Has the county done that? We don't know. We haven't been informed. We don't know why we're getting a 30% tax increase. Just because you can do it by law doesn't mean you should do it? I propose that the county sits down, writes a proposal with all the reasons for this increase, and put it to the public. Let us know why you would ask for such an increase. Allow us to vote for it or tighten the belt and figure out another way.”
Commissioners also voted unanimously to adopt the budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year and to approve the salaries for elected officials, who like every other county employee, will receive a one-time $1,300 stipend instead of an increase that stays in place every year.
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