The Mason County School District will hold a public hearing on Sept. 9 to discuss keeping the same tax rate as last year.
Superintendent Rick Ross said even though a public hearing is being held, the tax rate is not increasing.
“We’re not taking the 4 percent,” he said. “The rate is staying the same.”
An advertisement for the hearing that was recently published showed the proposed rate is 54.6 cents on real property, 54.9 cents on personal property with a 0.1 in exonerations.
According to the advertisement, the general fund tax levied in the fiscal year 2019 was 54.5 cents on real property and 54.8 cents on personal property that produced a revenue of $6.78 million. The rate this year is expected to generate $7.1 million with $1.3 million coming from new and personal property.
The hearing will take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Mason County High School library.
According to Ross, if tax bills are higher, it is most likely the result of a higher property valuation.
The Augusta Independent School district is considering the possible of taking the 4 percent increase for tax rates.
According to a notice published by the district, a public hearing will be held on Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. in order to hear public comment regarding the decision.
The proposed rate will be 73.6 cents per $100 of assessed real property and 73.6 cents per $100 of assessed personal property.
The general fund tax in 2019 was 69.6 cents for real property and 69.6 cents on personal. It produced a revenue of $398,348.99. The proposed rate for 2019 would generate $416.698.93. Of that, $84,081.38 would be from new and personal property.
AIS Superintendent Lisa McCane said generating additional revenue is vital to a small district such as AIS.
“The school board is holding the hearing to gauge community support to make an informed tax rate decision,” she said. “The hearing doesn’t lock the board into taking the 4 percent rate, rather obtain and share information. As a small district with little property assessment growth, exploring ways to generate additional revenue is vital with rising operating expenses and funding cuts.”
