August 4, 2020 Special Called Commissioners' Court

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The Commissioners' Court held a specially called meeting on August 4, 2020, to address the 2021 proposed tax rate and related county business. The county auditor presented a preliminary tax rate of 0.427226, lower than the current rate, and discussed the constraints of Senate Bill 2's revenue growth cap and appraised values in calculating the final rate, with a corrected worksheet to be provided before the August 11 meeting. The court approved a $20,000 budget transfer from murder contingency to fire protection maintenance for pending equipment repair invoices and voted to direct HR to post an open administrative assistant position, with salary to be determined during the interview process.

• Call to order and meeting detailsThe specially called Commissioners' Court meeting was convened to discuss the 2021 proposed tax rate.
• 2021 proposed tax rate reviewCounty auditor reported preliminary tax rate of 0.427226 from the appraisal district, describing this as lower than the current rate but still subject to improvement through continued coordination.
• Tax rate calculation and constraintsCommissioners discussed the mathematical relationship between appraised values, net taxable values, frozen homestead exemptions, and the three-and-a-half-percent revenue growth cap set by Senate Bill 2.
• Auditor concerns and next stepsAuditor explained dependency on appraisal district data and committed to providing commissioners with a corrected, stable worksheet before the August 11 meeting.
• Fire protection maintenance budget transferCommissioners approved a $20,000 transfer from murder contingency to fire protection maintenance to pay two pending invoices for equipment repairs already completed.
• Administrative assistant position for commissioners courtCourt discussed whether to hire a replacement for the recently deceased administrative assistant, with commissioners divided on timing and salary considerations.
• Public comment on administrative assistant positionCitizen speaker suggested cost-saving alternative of utilizing interns rather than hiring a full-time salaried position.
• Motion to post administrative assistant positionCommissioners voted to direct HR to post the administrative assistant position, with salary to be determined during interviews rather than settled in advance.
• AdjournmentMeeting concluded with no additional agenda items.