Tarrant County commissioners lowered the property tax rate and gave themselves raises during a meeting Tuesday.
The average taxable value of a single-family home in Tarrant County is about $277,000, according to the county. Under the new tax rate, that homeowner would save $35.70 on their taxes compared to last year, with a total bill of about $519.
County commissioners voted unanimously to approve the new tax rate, 18.75 cents per $100 of a home’s valuation.
Commissioners also gave themselves, and other elected officials, a 3% raise.
County commissioners will make about $214,000 a year, a raise of about $6,000, effective Oct. 1. The county judge and the sheriff will also get an approximately $6,000 raise for annual salaries of about $224,000.
Democratic County Commissioner Alisa Simmons voted for the new, lower tax rate but cautioned the county won’t have enough money if commissioners keep cutting taxes.
“We are approaching very dangerous levels of revenue, given the vital functions this county government must support in our community,” she said.
Next year, Simmons won’t vote for another tax rate that provides no new revenue, she said.
County property taxes are a small slice of a homeowner’s total tax bill. Cities and school districts take a bigger chunk. Tarrant County’s biggest city, Fort Worth, originally planned to raise its property tax rate for the first time since 1995. Mayor Mattie Parker and the city council asked city staff to keep the rate flat instead.
County commissioners also passed an $846 million budget for fiscal year 2025, $50 million leaner than fiscal year 2024.
The drop in revenue came from flat net taxable property values and other tax breaks the county has passed in recent years, budget chief Helen Giese previously told KERA.
As for the raises, the sheriff doesn’t deserve one, Tarrant County resident Doreen Geiger said during public comment.
“Since Tarrant County has had to pay millions of dollars to settle lawsuits from deaths and beatings in the jail, I do not understand how the sheriff qualifies for an increase in pay,” she said.
Geiger was referencing the $2.8 million in jail lawsuit settlements the county has paid out in recent years. Several more lawsuits about jail conditions are pending, including one from the family of Anthony Johnson Jr. Johnson died after an altercation with detention officers, and two have been indicted for murder.
The budget, including the raises, passed 4-1, with Republican County Judge Tim O’Hare voting against.
"Judge O’Hare voted against the budget because he is opposed to raising the salaries of Tarrant County’s elected officials during a time of economic uncertainty and staggering inflation," O'Hare spokesperson Ruth Ray wrote in an email to KERA.
O'Hare wanted to freeze elected officials' salaries while still giving raises to county staff, Ray said.
Elected officials also got a raise in fiscal year 2024’s budget.
This story has been updated with comments from County Judge Tim O'Hare's office.
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