At the Aug. 15 board meeting, the Taylor Independent School District board of trustees unanimously approved calling for an $82.5 million bond election in November to fund safety improvements, land acquisition as well as maintenance and operations.
Though at the meeting, the board of trustees also unanimously approved lowering the overall Taylor ISD tax rate for the fourth year in a row to $1.28 for the 2022-23 school year, saving the average homeowner more than $300 per year when compared to 2020, Texas law mandates that the language on the ballot refer to the bond issue as a proposed tax increase.
Dan Wegmiller, vice president and managing director at Specialized Public Finance, Inc. and financial advisor for Taylor ISD, said it will be important for the confusing messaging to be
addressed. “What will be interesting in the proposition is there is language that states that there is a property tax increase,” Wegmiller said. “It’s very important for you all to be able to communicate publicly as well that this is not a tax rate increase, trying to figure out where that came up with the language that says this is a property tax increase. You are adding on debt service that will be repaid over the next 25 years, over the useful life of the assets and the improvements.”
Wegmiller said it would be important for Taylor ISD to emphasize the fact that it continues to lower tax rates year after year.
“It will probably create some confusion for you all as people look at the proposition and hear you say there is no property tax increase, but the tax rate is the key word,” he said. “This is all going to be worked with the tax rate that you have adopted tonight, and I think there are good things on the horizon for both capacity and tax rate moving forward as well.”
