Tax rates

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The City of Sherman who has been known for a low tax rate for many years has increased their rate each year since 2013 from $0 348 to the proposed budget this year of $0 489 - a significant amount considering the increase in valuations during that time

Central appraisal districts were put in place in the early 1980s to make sure that all entities had one value for each piece of property But recently, the local appraisal district has been aggressive with their procedures which plays a huge role with what people actually pay in combined taxes

While Grayson County's population has gone up only 8 5 percent over the past decade, taxes paid through the Grayson County Tax Assessor Collector’s office from 2008 to 2018 show that the amount of taxes paid in the county increased by $77,402,074, or 57 percent.

"As a homeowner, I understand the frustration everyone has with increases from the appraisal district," said Whitmire. "Your appraisal is only half the formula that determines your taxes The tax rate is set by each taxing entity for the area that you live in I can’t do anything about the appraisal, but I can sure do something about the rate set by the county"

More heavily populated counties equate for a lesser tax rate. For example, Collin County's tax rate for 2018 was $0 180785 compared to Grayson County's $0 4418100

"Population increases will demand more resources for our courts, jail, roads and other county responsibilities," said Whitmire "I am committed to see that the burden of that growth be borne by those new homes and businesses "

The City of Sherman and City of Denison have each paid $3 to 7 million of local taxpayer money in order to speed up state-funded projects through TxDOT The results of those decisions contribute to an increased tax rate for those cities, putting more of a strain on the taxpayers

Howe ISD's tax rate reduction was helped partially to legislative reform

"Recently passed legislation and the new House Bill 3 school finance bill have allowed us to lower our tax rate this year," said Kevin Wilson, Howe ISD's superintendent "It compressed our M&O (Maintenance and Operations) tax rate by approximately 10 cents, and we were able to lower our debt portion by a penny, so the total Howe ISD tax rate went down by 11 cents "

Howe Mayor Jeff says that the city will bring in more money to cover rising costs due to an increase in valuations which allowed the tax rate to remain constant.

"When the city gets the tax rate from the Grayson County Tax Assessor’s office, it is separated into three categories, effective rate, debt rate, and rollback rate," said Stanley "Since the home and business property values have been going up, that makes the tax value decrease. The city can stay just under the rollback rate, or rate that would call for an election, and generate more revenue for the city, even though it is the same rate as the previous year."

Wilson says that he believes the state should assume more of the burden of funding education and further reduce the emphasis on property taxes

"As a school district, our goal is to provide a quality education and maintain competitive salaries for our staff," said Wilson "The Howe community has always supported our efforts, and we do not take that for granted As both the superintendent and a taxpayer, I strive to manage the district’s resources in a cost-effective manner and minimize the tax burden on our citizens "

During this rocky climb of rising valuations, fiscal responsibility has been at the top of each of the local taxing entity's list of goals