Residents of Farmersville can expect the city’s annual property tax rate and budget process to move into its final stages this month as city officials prepare to review and consider the proposed tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year.

Several required steps in the property tax process have already been completed, including the mailing of notices of appraised value, certification of taxable values and appraisal rolls, and calculation of the no-new-revenue and voter-approval tax rates.

The next major milestone will be an Aug. 17 meeting of the Farmersville City Council to discuss the proposed tax rate. If the proposed rate exceeds the lower of the no-new-revenue tax rate or the voter-approval tax rate, the council will be required to take a record vote and schedule a public hearing before adopting the rate.

State law also requires several public notices before any hearing is held. The Notice of Public Hearing must be published in the newspaper at least five days before the hearing, posted on the Collin County tax transparency website, CollinTaxes.org, at least five days in advance, and displayed prominently on the city’s website at least seven days before the hearing. A Notice of Tax Rates also must be posted on the city’s website at least seven days before the public hearing.

The public hearing on the proposed tax rate is scheduled for Sept. 9. The City Council may adopt the tax rate during that meeting. If the rate is not approved at the public hearing, council must announce a follow-up meeting to vote on the tax rate within seven days. State law requires the tax rate to be adopted no later than that meeting.

Once adopted, the signed tax rate ordinance must be submitted to the Collin County Tax Office by noon Sept. 16, completing the city’s annual property tax rate adoption process.

Residents interested in following the process can monitor meeting agendas and notices through the City’s website and attend the scheduled public hearing to provide comments before the tax rate is finalized. The Farmersville Times will continue to report on upcoming meetings, public hearing dates and the results of council action as the city’s tax rate adoption process moves forward.

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