Llano County finalizes 2017-2018 financial decisions

By Phil Reynolds

The Highlander

Llano County commissioners adjusted the proposed 2018 budget downward by $1,748 before finally approving it, but only after no one showed up at a Monday, Sept. 11, hearing on the budget.

The action sets the county’s budget for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1. It’s $574,042 more than the budget set for this year, an increase of of nearly 3.9 percent.

Commissioners also approved a tax rate of 30.212 cents per $100 of property valuation, of which 26.042 cents will go to maintenance and operations and 4.170 cents will go to the county road and bridge fund.

No tax dollars are allocated to debt payment since the county paid off its bonded indebtedness this year and owes nothing on that.

The total tax rate is actually .246 cents lower than the current tax rate. Part of the difference is made up by increases in new building, which raises the total county property valuation; another part is due to increasing property values.

The county tax rate does not take into account various other taxes, such as emergency service districts and municipal utilities districts.

Also approved Monday was a new contract with the Burnet County Jail that allows Llano County to send overflow jail prisoners to Burnet.

The new rate of $40 per prisoner per day is higher than the current rate of $35; jail figures show that in the past six months, six prisoners were transferred to Burnet County, but stays in the jail varied.