Maverick County Tax-Assessor Collector Isamari S. Villarreal pens Open Letter to Taxpayers on 2016 County Tax Rate Calculation

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

Amid the concerns and protest of many Maverick County taxpayers concerning the calculation and approval of the 2016 Maverick County Tax Rate, Maverick County Tax-Assessor Collector Isamari S. Villarreal penned an Open Letter to County taxpayers and submitted it to news media outlets for publication.  The following is a copy of the Open Letter written by Villarreal to taxpayers.

“I am responsible for the calculation of the Tax Rate for Maverick County.  I do rely on other County Departments in providing information and documentation so that my office is able to calculate the tax rate correctly.  There was some miscommunication, but the ultimate responsibility is with me and the Office.  I accept responsibility.

There was a mistake and I do apologize to the community and Commissioners Court for this mistake.  

The Commissioners rely on my office to provide them with correct information and documentation so that they are able to properly evaluate the Budget and set the Tax Rate.  This process has certain timelines and deadlines based upon the law.  The action that was taken was within the time prescribed.

The County will move forward and the tax rate that has been set is lower than the tax rate that was proposed.  So the tax rate that was set for this year is lower than last year’s rate and lower than the proposed rate for this year.

Signed by Isamari S. Villarreal, Tax-Assesor Collector”

Villarreal’s Open Letter to Taxpayers admits that she is responsible for calculating the County tax rate and accepts responsibility presumably for the current dilemmna facing Taxpayers and Commissioners Court concerning the adoption of a 2016 County Tax Rate of $0.542309 per $100 ad valorem property value.  Secondly, she accepts a mistake was committed in the calculation of the County’s 2016 Tax Rate calculation and apologizes for this mistake.  Thirdly, she incorrectly notes that “the action that was taken was within the time prescribed.”  State law on Truth in Taxation requires that Commissioners Court adopt the County Tax Rate before September 30, 2016, but Commissioners Court did not officially adopt the tax rate until October 11, 2016-11 days after the deadline.  Fourth, she states that the problem was due to a “miscommunication,” but fails to specify what that miscommunication was and with whom.  Fifth, she implies that “the County will move forward” because “the tax rate that has been set for this year is lower than the tax rate proposed ($0.5850 per $100 valuation) …and the tax rate that was set for this year is lower than last year’s rate…” In other words, Villarreal implies that the $0.542309 per $100 valuation tax rate adopted by Commissioners Court on October 11, 2016 will remain effective and stand because it is lower than last year’s tax rate.

A group of concerned Maverick County taxpayers disagree with Villarreal’s assessment in her Open Letter that the 2016 County Tax Rate of $0.542309 per $100 valuation is the correct tax rate for Maverick County for 2016 because County Commissioners Court and Villarreal failed to take into account the amount of $3,040,863 in sales taxes collected by the County during 2015 in the overall tax rate calculation as allegedly required by Truth in Taxation state law.  These taxpayers opine that if the County Commissioners and Villarreal had taken into consideration the $3,040,863 sales taxes in calculating the 2016 County tax rate, the correct and appropriate 2016 Maverick County Tax Rate should be more like $0.41996 per $100 valuation instead of the adopted $0.542309 per $100 valuation rate, a difference of almost 13 cents per $100 valuation.

The effect of reducing the 2016 County Tax Rate from the proposed $0.5850 per $100 valuation to the adopted rate of $0.542309 per $100 valuation caused Commissioners Court to reduce the previously adopted 2016-2017 County Budget by $1,024,594, a significant loss of tax revenues and less to work with in satisfying the County’s obligations and responsibilities to taxpayers such as paving streets and other projects.  This is the current situation with the 2016-2017 County Budget.

However, if Maverick County taxpayers’ proposed 2016 Tax Rate of $0.41996 per $100 valuation were to be true, the 2016-2017 County Budget would have to be reduced by over $3 Million due to the loss of tax revenues, a catastrophic effect on Maverick County’s budget and ability to fulfill its obligations and responsibilities to taxpayers, including the layoff of many County workers, elimination of County programs and services, and a refund of some of the County taxes paid for 2016 by taxpayers.

Concerned Maverick County taxpayers are raising signatures to petition for a tax rollback election and are believed to be close to the over 2,500 registered voters necessary to force the tax rollback election.

Meanwhile, the County taxpayers requested all of Maverick County’s 2016 County Tax Rate Worksheets used in calculating the tax rate under the Texas Public Information Act, but Maverick County declined to do so by requesting an Office of the Attorney General’s Opinion if these tax rate worksheets are public records required to be produced to taxpayers.  It usually takes 60-90 days to receive a response from the Texas Attorney General Office on these Opinions.  Both the taxpayers and the County are anxiously awaiting the Opinion from the Texas Attorney General’s Office.

While Villarreal’s Open Letter to Taxpayers clears some previously unsettled issues, it also raises many unanswered issues such as who is correct on what the 2016 Maverick County Tax Rate should be $0.542309 per $100 valuation or $0.41996 per $100 valuation as suggested by taxpayers.