TJC Board to Discuss Tax Hike

TYLER — Tyler Junior College Board of Trustees passed proposals Thursday to vote on raising taxes. President Mike Metke says last year, it was becoming difficult to run the college because of maintenance problems. He says they had to do something. The board then passed maintenance tax notes. Those are to be paid off starting in 2011. With the $26 million tax notes, they rebuilt and repaired infrastructure around the campus. In August, the board will vote on raising taxes to pay this off, along with taxes to help with their sagging budget.

Recenlty, the campus cut $1.5 million in their budget. But Metke says, the maintenance tax and budget tax money has to be kept separate. He says, “‘By law, that money (maintenance tax money) is only to make those emergency repairs needed. If we didn’t use it for that purpose, we’d have to return it–and we’ve actually spent almost all of it already.” The Chief Financial Officer says if the maintenance tax passes, it would be an average of a $3.46 increase per household a month. If the budget tax passes, it’ll be an extra $1.46 a month.

According to KETK, two public hearings will be held August 12th and 19th.