In a recorded unanimous vote, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court approved the 2022 tax rate as well as the fiscal year 2023 budget during its regular meeting Sept. 14.

No one chose to speak during a six-minute public hearing on the proposed 2022 tax rate prior to the recorded vote being taken.

During the public hearing, VZC Judge Don Kirkpatrick announced that the proposed 2022 tax rate is $0.44269380 per $100 valuation.

According to Kirkpatrick, the ‘No-New :

Revenue’tax rate is $0.43218038, and the ‘VoterApproval’tax rate is $0.44269385.

“The ‘No-New Revenue’ tax rate is the tax rate for the 2022 tax year that will raise the same amount of property tax revenue for VZC from the same properties in both the 2021 tax year and the 2022 tax year,” pointed out Kirkpatrick. “The ‘Voter Approval’ rate is the highest tax rate that VZC may adopt without holding an election to seek voter approval of that rate. The proposed tax rate is greater than the ‘No New Revenue’ tax rate. This means thatVZC is proposing to increase property taxes for the 2022 tax year. The proposed tax rate is not greater than the ‘Voter Approval’ tax rate. As a result, VZC is not required to hold an election at which voters may accept or reject the proposed tax rate.

“Austin keeps making rules and laws to simplify,” emphasized Kirkpatrick to those in attendance. “Does it sound simple? No, it isn’t. It is complicated.”

In a recorded vote, Kirkpatrick, along with VZC Commissioners Chad LaPrade (Pct. 1), Virgil Melton Jr. (Pct. 2), Keith Pearson (Pct. 3), and Tim West (Pct. 4) unanimously adopted the VZC budget for fiscal year 2023 that begins on October 1, 2022, and ends on September 30, 2023.

The adoption and the setting of the 2022 tax rate was also unanimously approved by Kirkpatrick, LaPrade, Melton, Pearson, and West.

The property tax increase reflected in the new budget was also ratified by Kirkpatrick and the members of the commissioners’ court.

In other action during their Sept. 14 regular meeting, the commissioners’ court approved the fiscal year 2023 budget policy following a recommendation by VZC Auditor Sandy Hill.

A series of 2022 budget amendments were approved by the commissioners’ court.

Monthly reports submitted by various offices and departments of VZC government were approved and entered into the minutes of the commissioners’court.

Following a presentation by VZC Pct. 4 Constable Pat Jordan, the commissioners’ court approved a resolution ratifying a $8,500 non-matching grant application involving a ballistic shield.

The financial statements for the year ending September 30, 2021, of ESD (Emergency Services District) #3 were approved by the commissioners’court.

A plat for Fallow Hills located at the corner of VZCR 3108 and VZCR 3117 in VZC Pct. 3 was approved by the commissioners’ court following a recommendation by Pearson.

The leasing of two portable buildings for the VZC Courthouse East Annex on State Highway 64 were approved by the commissioners’ court following presentations by Pearson andVZC TaxAssessor- Collector Misty Stanberry.

“We had extended flooding there recently, about 7-8 inches of rain,” said Pearson. “We got the final report back recently. We are going to have to remove some of the interior walls in that building. We will need to empty that building as much as possible. The offices of emergency management, fire marshal, and the tax assessor-collector’s office are located there.”

Stanberry said, “I’m just glad to know what we need to do moving forward. We will do the best we can. We will need some help getting some stuff moved out, but I will be making some calls. We have boxed up a lot of stuff and moved it out. We want to serve our citizens. Thank you and thank you to the citizens for your patience. It has been a struggle to keep our sub-stations (Ben Wheeler, Grand Saline, Wills Point) going.”

No action was taken by the commissioners’ court regarding the hiring of a forensic engineer to design and oversee the VZC Courthouse roofing project.

The minutes of the Aug. 31 meeting were approved by the commissioners’ court as well as the monthly bills as they were submitted and ratified.

Following a closed executive session, the commissioners’ court, in a 3-1 vote, approved the hiring of VZC Judge-Elect Andy Reese to serve as the VZC Courthouse Facilities Coordinator taking the place of Joe Carter, who was appointed as the VZC Sheriff earlier this year. Reese will be sworn in as VZC Judge on January 1, 2023.

Melton, Pearson, and West voted in favor of hiring Reese as the VZC Courthouse Facilities Coordinator while LaPrade voted against the motion.