Voters Reject 1999 Rates in Only Three Taxing Units
The Comptroller’s Property Tax Division (PTD) has learned that voters in only three of 13 tax rate rollback elections rejected the 1999 tax rate adopted by their local taxing unit. Three school districts had voters disapprove their higher adopted 1999 tax rates.
Eight school districts had voters ratify their 1999 rates. Two other taxing units – a city and a hospital district – had voters reject rolling back the 1999 tax rate.
Voters in the City of Argyle in Denton County narrowly rejected rolling back the tax rate; the vote was 232 against the rollback and 208 for the rollback. The city had adopted a rate of $0.39913. The rollback rate was 3 cents less than the adopted rate.
On May 6, voters in Palo Pinto County Hospital District also rejected reducing the 1999 tax rate of $0.28545 to the rollback rate of only $0.08103. The vote count was 2,719 against the rollback and 1,789 for the rollback.
The January issue of STATEMENT reported on the 11 school elections and that information is repeated below. The first table is the three school districts whose rates were reduced to the rollback tax rate. The school districts, with their adopted tax rate, rollback tax rate, the percentage the adopted tax rate exceeded the district’s rollback rate and the election results, were:
School District County Adopted
Rate per
$100Rollback Rate
per $100% Increase
Above
Rollback RateElection
ResultsBonham ISD Fannin $1.47 $1.40 5 % For 254;
Against 559Rockwall ISD Rockwall $1.54 $1.4905 3 % For 724;
Against 1151Tolar ISD Hood $1.59 $1.38 15 % For 76;
Against 113For the school districts that did not have their rates reduced, the following table lists the eight school districts, with their adopted tax rate, rollback tax rate, the percentage the adopted tax rate exceeded the district’s rollback rate and the election results.
School District County Adopted
Rate per
$100Rollback Rate
per $100% Increase
Above
Rollback RateElection
ResultsAmherst ISD Lamb $1.30 $1.2183 6 % For 120;
Against 10Bay City ISD Matagorda $1.48 $1.41 5 % For 742;
Against 335Celina ISD Collin $1.63 $1.4236 14 % For 303;
Against 86Etoile ISD Nacogdoches $1.50 $1.17 27 % For 230;
Against 29Granger ISD Williamson $1.54 $1.14 35 % For 281;
Against 266Melissa ISD Collin $1.598 $1.4544 10 % For 78;
Against 45Venus ISD Johnson $1.50 $1.38 8 % For 84;
Against 24Wylie ISD Collin $1.57 $1.44 9 % For 322;
Against 275
Unlike other types of taxing units, a school district that adopts a tax rate above the rollback rate must hold a rollback election. No petition by citizens is required. The school district’s election differs from other types of units as well, in that voters are asked to ratify their school’s adopted tax rate. If a simple majority of the votes cast in the election favor the adopted tax rate, then the adopted rate stands. If the voters disapprove the adopted rate, the school district’s rollback rate becomes the adopted tax rate.
Each year, the PTD reports the final results of local rollback petitions and elections. Last year, voters rolled back 1998 tax rates in four out of seven rollback elections. Voters in two out of four school district elections failed to ratify the schools’ adopted 1998 tax rate, while voters in two out of three city rollback elections approved limiting the city’s tax rate to the rollback rate.
Successful Rollback Elections – 1982 - 1999 Tax Year School Districts Counties Cities Special Districts Total 1982 11 of 24 6 of 6 2 of 3 2 of 2 21 of 35 1983 2 of 4 4 of 4 0 of 1 0 6 of 9 1984 0 of 3 1 of 1 4 of 4 0 of 1 5 of 9 1985 1 of 1 4 of 4 3 of 5 0 8 of 10 1986 2 of 4 2 of 2 2 of 3 1 of 2 7 of 11 1987 2 of 9 1 of 1 3 of 7 3 of 5 9 of 22 1988 4 of 12 3 of 3 4 of 7 1 of 2 12 of 24 1989 10 of 23 4 of 6 6 of 7 1 of 2 21 of 38 1990 6 of 11 3 of 4 2 of 4 3 of 5 14 of 24 1991 1 of 1 2 of 2 2 of 4 1 of 1 6 of 8 1992 0 0 of 1 3 of 3 0 of 1 3 of 5 1993 0 of 3 1 of 2 2 of 2 0 3 of 7 1994 1 of 2 1 of 2 3 of 3 1 of 1 6 of 8 1995 0 of 2 0 1 of 4 0 1 of 6 1996 1 of 3 0 1 of 4 2 of 2 4 of 9 1997 0 0 1 of 1 0 1 of 1 1998 2 of 4 0 2 of 3 0 4 of 7 1999 3 of 11 0 0 of 1 0 of 1 3 of 13