County Commissioners hold first fiscal year 2021 budget workshop includes proposal to lower tax rate

TYLER — The introductory draft of the Smith County Budget for the Fiscal Year 2021 seeks to lower the property tax rate from 34.5 cents per $100 valuation to 33.5 cents. On Tuesday, Judge Nathaniel Moran told KTBB, “You know these are extraordinary times with an economic downturn as a result of COVID-19, and we want to take extraordinary measures to hopefully provide some economic relief to property tax owners in Smith County.”

Judge Moran talked with KTBB about the new Smith County Courthouse bond election, “Because of the economic burden that COVID-19 has put on so many families in East Texas, and particularly here in Smith County, we just didn’t feel like it was a good idea to move forward with asking tax-payers to take on additional debt burden through a bond election in November even for a worthy project as the new courthouse. So, we are going to put that on the shelf, the planning has been done for that. We are ready to go to the voters when the time is right, but this November is not that time.” According to Judge Moran, “Fiscal Year 2021’s budget is all about ‘tightening our belt,’ and helping to ease the financial hardships that many in the community are currently facing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A formal budget will not be proposed by Judge Moran until July 31, the court will not vote on that proposal until August 25. The 2021 Fiscal year goes into effect October 1 of this year.