The Smith County Commissioners Court reviewed key updates, approved board appointments and discussed ongoing projects during their January 14 meeting. (Contributed Photo)

1. Smith County: Truth in Taxation Summary
2. Smith County’s Proposed 2025 Budget

Residents spoke against Smith County’s proposed budget and tax increases Tuesday during the public comment portion of the weekly commissioners court meeting.

“A lack of decision-making transparency and lack of consistent due diligence practices and a lack of commissioner court-defined cost savings goals have converged to produce financial constraints that led to this proposed budget and tax rate,” said Jo Ann Fleming, Grassroots America executive director.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, Fleming spoke out against the county’s proposed budget and tax rate.

“… This budget does increase the actual tax rate by 1.6967 cents to a total of 36.4231 cents per $100 valuation,” County Budget Officer Kari Perkins said in a memo published to the county’s website. “This increase comes from the voter approved sale of general obligation bonds for a new courthouse and parking facility. The Maintenance & Operations (M&O) portion of the tax rate remains the same as in the previous two years. Our goal is to provide excellent service to the citizens while maintaining a low tax rate.”

The proposed M&O rate is 0.294186 while the debt service rate will be 0.070045, if approved. This is an actual total proposed tax rate of 0.364231, according to the county.

The proposed fiscal year 2025 budget of $153,922,679, if approved, will raise more total property taxes than last year’s budget by $10,576,364 or 12.09%, and of that amount $2,782,499 is tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year, Perkins said in the memo.

In her opposition, Fleming noted that since last year, Grassroots America had requested a thorough review of county operations by the commissioners to discover opportunities to lower costs.

“When you implement cost savings and efficiencies, this frees up tax dollars into areas where increased funding can be justified,” Fleming said. “Our recommendations were ignored.”

Fleming said to live up to the county’s slogan of striving for excellence, all the commissioners need to work together with a solid plan year-round. She said excellence should mean getting the most value for every dollar spent from taxpayers.

She alleged that the county had made half-million-dollar land purchases without clear needs, arguing these buys take properties off the tax rolls. This increases costs and reduces revenue, she said.

“Even worse,” she said, was Smith County compliance with the City of Tyler’s request to increase its participation in the Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone to a full third, diverting property tax revenue from the county core functions for decades.

“Action and inaction have consequences,” Fleming said.

Fleming pointed out that the county has $43 million in unrestricted reserves, exceeding the 25% minimum reserve policy stated in budget documents by $17 million. She said while “minimum” is understood in government terms, the county’s reserves are significantly above the threshold, suggesting excess funds are not being utilized effectively.

“We look at this as excessive taxation and without a plan from the commissioners court to justify it. It is not right,” Fleming said. “Your tax increase is going to put another $7.8 million on the backs of the owners of existing properties. That’s a double hit to taxpayers.”

Fleming said the court has been informed in writing about the excess reserve funds and the need to cut operating costs for over a year. She suggested that if the court were to address the reserve funds, they could call a workshop to publicly discuss whether $43 million is appropriate and how to potentially return some of it to taxpayers.

“There are many people in our community who are having trouble buying groceries. The inflation rate has been astronomical,” Tyler resident Patricia Cryer said. “There are many people at risk of losing their property, their place to live, just because their taxes go up.”

Cryer urged the commissioners to consider adopting a no-new-revenue tax rate, expressing frustration with departments and elected officials asking for more money each year, and describing approval as an automatic reflex.

“If you get more money when you ask for it, why not ask for it?” she said.

She said her concern is that taxes are increased just enough annually to avoid requiring voter approval. According to the Texas Comptroller, if a governing body of a taxing unit adopts a tax rate that exceeds the voter-approval tax rate, in most cases it must automatically hold an election for voters to approve the tax increase.

In Smith County for tax year 2023, 0.347264 cents per $100 valuation was the actual adopted tax rate. The county said last year’s adjustment was made to address the voter approved tax increase for the successful courthouse and parking facility bond election, according to previous reporting.

Cryer said people have lost confidence in various governing bodies and urged the commissioners not to follow the same path. She believes the commissioners are trying hard and mentioned she has enjoyed living in Smith County for 50 years.

However, she stressed the need for due diligence and careful oversight of tax spending. She urged the commissioners to be responsible with how they use taxpayer money.

“Every year the taxes go up and the tax rates go up, and the rate going up increases the pain that people in this county are suffering,” Cryer said. “I want you to be very diligent in doing what’s right for our taxpayers.”

In addition, residents in attendance at the meeting were invited to speak during the public hearing portion of the meeting, but no one spoke during that part. Another public hearing was held that evening.

The commissioners court is scheduled to vote on the proposed 2025 budget and tax rate at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3 at the courthouse annex, located at 200 E. Ferguson St. in downtown Tyler.

The county has a 90-page document detailing the fiscal year 2025 budget posted to its website. Access it by visiting https://tinyurl.com/fy25countybudget .