NEW BOSTON, Texas - A proposed optional property tax hike measure that died last week as well as last month will get its third day in court at the Bowie County Commissioners Court meeting at 9 a.m. today.
Commissioners, who will meet inside their meeting room on the courthouses' second floor, will again considered the proposed optional property tax rate - which could be capped at 8 percent - to replace the state property tax rate cap, which stands at 3.5%.
The measure initially died during the court's June 21 meeting because no one would second the motion to approve it; and it died again, for the same reason, at a special Commissioners Court meeting July 16.
Bowie County Precinct 3 Commissioner James Strain said during the July 16 meeting that he opposed the idea mainly because of the potential that residents reading about the proposal would automatically assume the county is planning to raise property taxes, setting a rate that would more than double the state's capped rate of 3.5%. The county's property tax rate now stands at about 1.34%.
"The first thing people will think, if they read this in the paper, will be that 'the county is going to raise my property taxes,'" Strain said during the special meeting.
Bowie County Precinct 4 Commissioner Mike Carter agreed but also said during that same special meeting that if the Commissioners Court doesn't at least consider the option, the court might be forcing the county to dip into its cash reserves.
Commissioners eventually agreed during the last meeting that they didn't have enough property tax information from the Bowie Central Appraisal District. Following some additional discussion, a motion made to consider the option died again for lack of a second.
In other business, commissioners will consider appointing Bowie County resident Vincent Nelson to replace Paul Brantly on the county's Emergency Services District 6.