Maverick County Commissioners Court to discuss and possibly take action on 2016 Tax Rate for Fourth Time at October 11th Meeting

By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016

Maverick County Commissioners Court dilemma with adopting a 2016 Tax Rate for Maverick County property owners with taxable property continues as they will address the same issue together with an amendment to the 2016-2017 Budget for the fourth consecutive time at their regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday, October 11, 2016, at Commissioners Courtroom located at 500 Quarry Street, Eagle Pass, Texas.

Maverick County Commissioners Court has fumbled the correct calculation and adoption of the 2016 Tax Rate for Maverick County miserably unlike any other previous Commissioners Court, creating a serious fiscal crisis for Maverick County and its taxpayers.

At a meeting held on September 12, 2016, Maverick County Commissioners Court adopted a 2016-2017 Budget for Maverick County of $17.1 Million supported by the adoption of a tax rate of $0.586535 per $100 valuation of taxable property mistakenly believing that they had already fulfilled their two primary obligations before the September 30, 2016 deadline: to adopt a 2016-2017 Budget and Tax Rate.

Astute and alert Maverick Coun4ty Taxpayers Rudy Zavala and Ethelvina Felan requested Maverick County via the Texas Public Information Act copies of the worksheets used by Maverick County in calculating its 2016 Tax Rate.  Upon receipt and review of the tax calculation worksheets, Zavala and Felan noticed a gross mistake in Maverick County’s calculation of the 2016 Tax Rate adopted September 12, 2016 by Maverick County Commissioners Court and immediately notified Tax-Assessor Collector Isamari S. Villarreal, County Auditor Sandra Watkins, and County Judge David R. Saucedo. The mistake made by Commissioners Court was that they did not take into consideration of $3,040,863 in sales taxes collected in 2015 for maintenance and operation use in determining and adopting the 2016 Tax Rate as required by the Texas Tax Code.  Maverick County has always taken sales taxes into the calculation of the tax rate like they did in 2015 and previous years.  The mystery is why they did not do so this year in calculating the 2016 Tax Rate for Maverick County as required by state law.

On September 29, 2016, Maverick County Commissioners Court at a special meeting rescinded its previous adoption of the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 per $100 valuation in recognition of the mistake brought to their attention by taxpayers Zavala and Felan, leaving Maverick County without an adopted tax rate for 2016 by the September 30, 2016 deadline.  Since the 2016 Tax Rate was rescinded, Commissioner Court previously adopted Budget for $17.1 Million became moot as it no longer was balanced and supported by the rescinded 2016 Tax Rate of $0.586535 per $100 valuation.

As a result of missing the September 30, 2016 deadline to adopt a tax rate for 2016, Maverick County Commissioners Court had to call another special meeting on October 3, 2016 to attempt to adopt a Budget and Tax Rate for 2016-2017 with a limited option of either adopting the lower of the 2015 Tax Rate or the Effective Tax Rate of 2016.

On October 3, 2016, Maverick County Commissioners Court adopted a 2016 Tax Rate of $0.542309 per $100 valuation, but failed to adopt a Budget first as required by state law. However, Commissioners Court once again for the second consecutive occasion adopted a tax rate without taking into consideration the $3,040,863 Million in sales taxes collected in 2015 for maintenance and operation use unlike what they had always done for the past recent years.  These errors once again questions the legality of the 2016 Tax Rate of $0.542309 adopted at the October 3rd meeting.

Meanwhile, Maverick County Tax Assessor Collector Isamari S. Villarreal has been delayed and unable to send out the 2016 Maverick County tax statements/bills to taxpayers who own taxable property.

An indirect consequence of Maverick County not being able to issue its 2016 tax statements to taxpayers is that the Maverick County Hospital District 2016 tax statement have not been issued because the Hospital District has a contract with Maverick County to collect its taxes for a fee.

Generally, Maverick County and the Maverick County Hospital District collect a majority of their tax revenues during the months of October through January and any delay in issuing their 2016 tax statements will cause a delay of collecting valuable tax revenues for operating both local governmental entities.  If there is no tax revenues collection, both governmental entities may struggle operating their programs for Maverick County taxpayers.

In an Open Letter to Maverick County Judge David R. Saucedo and General Counsel Woody Wilson, Maverick County taxpayer Ethelvina Felan advised them that the 2016 Tax Rate adopted by Commissioners Court on October 3, 2016 Is incorrect. Felan notes that Maverick County Commissioners Court failed to adopt the 2016 Tax Rate in two parts as required by state law: the maintenance and operation tax rate and the debt rate. In addition, Felan notifies them that Commissioners Court failed to calculate the $3,040,863 in sales taxes collected in 2015 in determine the 2016 Effective Tax Rate as required by state law.  Felan stated that had Maverick County Commissioners Court followed state law, the 2016 Effective Tax Rate should be $0.41996 per $100 valuation instead of the incorrect rate of $0.542309 adopted by Commissioners Court on October 3, 2016.

At the scheduled October 11, 2016 meeting, Maverick County Commissioners Court will once again address its gross errors in calculating and adopting the 2016 Tax Rate brought to their attention by taxpayers Rudy Zavala and Ethelvina Felan on behalf of all Maverick County taxpayers.

The October 11th. Commissioners Court meeting is open to the public and all taxpayers are encouraged to attend this meeting.  The decisions of Commissioners Court at this October 11th meeting may have serious financial consequences for all Maverick County taxpayers.

Maverick County Commissioners Court includes County Judge David R. Saucedo and Commissioners Roberto Ruiz, Pedro Venegas, Jr., Gerardo Morales, and. Rosy Cantu.