Maverick County Commissioners Court rescinds 2016 Tax Rate approved September 12th due to miscalculation
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016
After a six and three-quarter hours long special meeting attended by over 50 concerned Maverick County taxpayers, Maverick County Commissioners Court unanimously approved to rescind the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 per $100 ad valorem property valuation for Maverick County during the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year Budget previously approved on September 12th because a mistake was committed in the calculation of the Tax Rate by the County Tax-Assessor Collector [Isamari S. Villarreal] and County Auditor [Sandra Watkins], said Commissioner Gerardo “Jerry” Morales in making the motion to rescind.
Commissioners Court decision to rescind was required because alert taxpayers reviewed Maverick County’s Notice of Tax Year Proposed Property Tax Rate for General Fund published in a local newspaper and discovered the calculation of the County’s 2016 Tax Rate, Effective Tax Rate, and Rollback Tax Rate was miscalculated by omitting the sum of $3,040,863 in sales taxes collected in 2015 for Maintenance and Operations in determining Maverick County’s 2016 Tax Rate. The negligent omission of the $3,04,863 in sales taxes collected in 2015 by Maverick County resulted in the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 per $100 ad valorem property valuation to exceed the eight percent allowed by the State of Texas without requiring a tax rollback election. The miscalculation caused the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 to be larger than eight percent (8%) and making it subject to being rollback in an election upon being petitioned by Maverick County taxpayers.
Had Maverick County Commissioners Court not rescinded the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 per $100 valuation, Maverick County taxpayers already were circulating a petition to call for a tax rollback election because the tax increase in 2016 was greater than eight percent (8%) as allowed by Texas law.
The consequence of Maverick County Commissioners Court’s rescission of the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 at this September 29th special meeting is that there is no official tax rate approved yet for Maverick County for 2016 and the County’s Budget for 2016-2017 previously approved on September 12th is in jeopardy because it does not have an established tax rate to fund the total budget with only two days before the start of the new fiscal year commencing on October 1, 2016. The lack of an approved Tax Rate for 2016 creates a fiscal nightmare for Maverick County because County Tax Assessor-Collector Isamari S. Villarreal will not be able to mail taxpayers their 2016 Ad Valorem Tax Rate Statements on October 1, 2016 as customary each year, delaying the collection of valuable 2016 ad valorem property taxes for Maverick County, and possibly affecting the Maverick County Hospital District collection of 2016 taxes as they have a contract with the Maverick County Tax-Assessor Collector to collect their taxes for an agreed fee. This precarious fiscal situation has never been seen in Maverick County’s recent history.
Commissioners Court failed to take additional action or approve salient agenda items such as establishing a new Tax Rate for 2016, the Effective Tax Rate for 2016, the Tax Rollback Rate for 2016, and approving a new County Budget for 2016-2017 funded and supported by the new 2016 Tax Rate. County Commisioner Jerry Morales’ motion and seconded by Commissioner Pete Venegas that was unanimously approved by Commissioners Court only related to the rescission of the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 per $100 valuation, not these other critical tax rates necessary to fund and support the 2016-2017 Budget.
Maverick County General Counsel Woody Anderson stated that his law office would continue to research these tax rate issues and get back to Commissioners Court as to what appropriate steps will be necessary for Maverick County to take in the immediate future to resolve this fiscal crisis.
Commissioner Gerardo “Jerry” Morales was questioned by the Eagle Pass Business Journal after the meeting regarding the state of affairs as a result of the action taken at the September 29th meeting, and he replied that “Maverick County does not have an approved 2016 Tax Rate and they will have to be advised by General Counsel Woody Anderson on what are the effects of all this and what procedures Commissioners Court needs to take to resolve the situation.” This remedy will not occur before the new Fiscal Year of 2016-2017 commences on October 1, 2016. Any Commisioners Court meeting requires that it be posted to the public at least 72 hours before the meeting is held, unless it its posted as an Emergency Meeting that affects the public health and/or safety requiring only a two hours notice of meeting posted in the County’s Bulletin Board outside the Courthouse.
Maverick County Commisoners Court and it’s over 60,000 citizens face unchartered fiscal waters previously never experienced as a result of the action approved to rescind the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 per $100 valuation due to the omission of the $3,040,863 in sales taxes collected in 2015 in the calculation of the 2016 tax rate.
Another agenda item approved by Commissioners Court in a split 4-1 vote was to authorize County Judge David R. Saucedo and legal counsel to appeal to the Texas Supreme Court the decision of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to grant a renewal and expansion permit to Dos Republicas Coal Partnership to discharge its coal mining waste and storm waters into Elm Creek and the Rio Grande with County Judge Saucedo and Commissioners Rosy Cantu, Pete Venegas, and Gerardo “Jerry” Morales voting in favor and Commissioner Roberto Ruiz against.
Commissioner Roberto Ruiz opposed appealing the TCEQ permit due to the cost of legal fees of $379,612 expended by Maverick County from 2011 to 2016 in fighting the Dos Republicas Coal Partnership Eagle Pass Mine. County Judge Saucedo replied to Commissioner Ruiz that recently Commissioners Court had unanimously approved $100,000 to Commissioner Ruiz for a feasibility study to build a third international bridge north of the City of Eagle Pass to be owned by Maverick County and he did not complain about that expense.
One taxpayer noted to the Eagle Pass Business Journal that Commissioner Roberto Ruiz has been an ardent supporter of the Dos Republicas Coal Mine since he first served as Commissioner during the 1990s and voted in favor of the coal mine then as well as today. The taxpayer stated that if Commissioner Ruiz had voted against the Dos Republicas Coal Mine in the 1990s, Dos Republicas would not have received the permit to build and operate the controversial coal mine and Maverick County would not have had to spend the $379,612 in legal fees that he was complaining about. The taxpayer noted that Commissioner Roberto Ruiz was responsible for Maverick County’s legal expenses fighting the coal mine because he failed to stop it in the 1990s; instead, he voted for it.
The taxpayer noted that Dos Republicas Coal Partnership through another company named Eagle Pass Railroad had already applied for a third international bridge and/or railroad bridge to the United States Department of State to be built north of the City of Eagle Pass and all the feasibility studies have already been completed by Dos Republicas sister company and Maverick County’s $100,000 international bridge feasibility study approved for Commissioner Ruiz is a waste of taxpayers monies.
Also Commissioners Court unanimously approved the 2016-2017 Fiscal Year Budget of the Maverick County Solid Waste Authority.
The marathon special meeting started at 5 P.M.and ended at 11:45 P.M. and many agenda items were tabled to a future meeting due to the lateness of the meeting.
After the meeting was adjourned, Maverick County Auditor Sandra Watkins informed County Judge David R. Saucedo that some agenda items needed to have been approved to coincide with the end of the 2015-2016 Fiscal Year. These items will have to wait until Commissioners Court’s first meeting of the new 2016-2017 Fiscal Year in October.
Maverick County Commissioners Court includes County Judge David R. Saucedo and Commissioners Gerardo “Jerry” Morales, Roberto Ruiz, Rosy Cantu, and Pete Venegas.
