Comal County, Texas

"So very much to talk about and so little space to get it done! First, and foremost, is the tremendous challenge of trying to accommodate the rampant growth that we are experiencing in our county and throughout the entire Hill Country. Of all 254 counties, Comal County is currently the fifth fastest growing of them all -- travel our roads a little bit and you know just how true that is. The impact of staying ahead of this growth is a constant effort for us all, and we value your opinions on where we are going and how we are going to get there; planning ahead is the name of the game..

Our challenges, of course, directly impact the reason that we are all here in the first place, ie, our quality of life. We pay our taxes and therefore rightfully expect decent roads to travel on, effective drainage to protect us and our property during heavy rain events, clean air to breathe, adequate water for our households, effective school systems to educate and train our younger people, professional and responsive fire and emergency service protection, well trained and vigilant law enforcement, plus a host of other essentials. Many of these services are efficiently provided, we believe, by your county government along with public health services, criminal justice and court systems, county jail, public records maintenance, tax and registration services, recycling services, public park operations, computer service systems, etc. To meet the growing demands for these services, commissioners court passed the ad valorem (property tax) rate for 2006 on Sep 11 of approximately 31 1/2 cents per one hundred dollars of assessed property value. While this is almost a four cent decrease in the county tax rate from last year, it includes an increase in the tax rate by almost 8 percent over our effective tax rate. This occurrence results from the increases in property values that have been determined by the Comal Appraisal District.

Your net county tax rate remains one of the lowest in Texas. The increased costs of doing business for our county include price increases for products and services that we all use, plus we have added expenses for an office and staff for a new federal district judge; a minimum of $500,000.00 being returned to our reserve account to reimburse expenses for the flood of 2002; a maximum of a 4 percent merit increase for employees half way into the fiscal year (none for elected officials) based on a professional salary survey; vehicle and equipment purchases for law enforcement and road department; and approximately $2.7 million for purchase of right-of-way property in our partnership with TxDOT to upgrade SH 46 and US 281 in our county (north of the Guadalupe River). I reluctantly support providing county funds to assist TxDOT in upgrading its roads in our county since I have learned that this is a way of life in Texas these days! Many other counties have done this for years. I repeat -- as commissioners court members have stated on many occasions -- neither of these two projects will be toll roads. You have our assurance of that fact!

One additional comment relates to the appraisal of property in Texas. Please know that all appraisal districts that exist throughout the state are state agencies not county departments; they have no affiliation with county government. Members of the Appraisal District Board (not the appraisal review board) are appointed by the various taxing entities, eg, school boards, commissioners courts, city councils, etc, in accordance with state law. Appraisal districts are tasked by the state to assess property at one hundred percent of current market value. In that regard, I quote a June 6, 2006 San Antonio Express-News Real Estate article, "Fortune magazine recently wrote that San Antonio's real estate appreciation -- new and existing homes -- will top the nation this year". Appraisal districts are merely reflecting the state of the housing market where they exist. I fully recognize that people are concerned about rising property taxes. That circumstance is not the result of appraisal district action. Taxing entities establish your tax rates, not the appraisal districts. Should your home's appraised value be increased by seven percent by the appraisal district, you pay no more tax the following year as long as the various taxing entities reduce their tax rates by an equivalent amount. The fact that school districts, commissioners courts, and city councils may not do so because of their increased expenses is not the fault of the appraisal district. Appraisal districts assess property values; taxing entities establish tax rates."