The Scurry County Hospital District board of trustees will consider lowering the property tax rate, but that doesn’t mean taxpayers’ property taxes will go down.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Cogdell Memorial Hospital Chief Financial Officer John Everett said he would propose a tax rate of 24.7 cents per $100 valuation, down from the 2019 rate of 29.3264 cents per $100 valuation.
Everett’s projects showed that the lower tax rate would bring in more than $7.4 million, which amounts to more than $100,000 more than the current year.
The 2020 budget includes $37 million in expenses, up from $33 million for the current year. Everett said part of the increase is due to the construction loan and federal government reimbursement payments not being scheduled during the budget year.
The budget includes $600,000 in capital needs, including rehab equipment, parking lot renovations, computer server upgrades, medical equipment and a transport van.
The biggest expense for the hospital in 2020 will be salaries at more than $18.9 million. The 2019 budget had salaries totaling more than $17 million.
While the tax rate is lower, the district will still hold two public hearings because it is bringing in more revenue than the previous budget.
Everett said the district’s effective rate, which would bring in the same amount of ad valorem taxes as the current year, is 24.21 cents. The rollback rate was set at 26.05 cents.
The district’s certified values increased 21.76 percent, according to figures from the Scurry County Appraisal District. Mineral values alone increased 54.24 percent compared to a year ago.
Everett said he would check with the tax assessor’s office on when the public hearings will have to be scheduled. Both hearings may be held during August, but Everett said one could be pushed back to early September, depending on how the hearing schedule must be set.
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