During a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 7, Victoria College’s Board of Trustees proposed a 2023-24 property tax rate of 17.22 cents per $100 of taxable value, a decrease of twelve percent from the current tax rate. If adopted, it will be the college’s lowest property tax rate since 2016-17.
“On behalf of the Victoria College Board of Trustees, I commend the college for preparing a budget that exemplifies fiscal responsibility while remaining committed to its vital work of improving lives and strengthening communities,” said Bland Proctor, VC Board Chair.
Based on the Victoria County Appraisal District’s certified property tax values for 2023, a homeowner who lives within Victoria College’s taxing district would pay $172.20 for a home valued at $100,000, before exemptions, compared to $195.90 last year.
The proposed rate includes the first payment on the $10 million bond approved by Victoria County voters in May for the construction of a new Student Success Center. The bond was sold on July 24.
Victoria College applied $200,000 from its debt service reserves (savings) to reduce the amount of the bond payment and minimize the impact on taxpayers.
As a result, VC’s Interest & Sinking (I&S) or debt service tax rate used to repay debt for major capital improvements decreased nearly 8 percent – from 3.2 cents to 2.96 cents per $100 of valuation.
“When asking Victoria County voters to consider a $10 million bond for the construction of a Student Success Center, we shared our goal of keeping the debt service tax rate below 3.41 cents per $100 valuation,” said Dr. Jennifer Kent, VC President. “We initially projected an increase of 0.21 cents per $100 of valuation, but we are proud that we exceeded our goal with a new debt service tax rate of 2.96 cents per $100 valuation, an 8 percent decrease.”
If the lower 2023-24 proposed tax rate is adopted, VC’s maintenance and operations (M&O) tax rate used for day-to-day operations would decrease from 16.39 cents to 14.26 cents per $100 of valuation.
The board will host a public hearing on the proposed tax rate during a special meeting on Monday, Aug. 14 in Room 101 of the Academic Building at VC’s Main Campus, located at 2200 E. Red River Street. After the public hearing, the board will vote to adopt a 2023-24 tax rate and operating budget.
The agenda for the special meeting will be posted Thursday, Aug. 10 at VictoriaCollege.edu/BoardOfTrustees.