Some landowners may see lowered tax bills
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Property owners who didn't see an increase in their property value from 2006 to 2007 will see a slight savings on their county tax bill this coming year.

The savings is based on a 2008 tax rate of 56.343 cents per $100 property valuation adopted by the Wharton County Commissioners Court on Monday. The 2007 tax rate was 57.358 cents.

The approximate taxes on a $100,000 home, before exemptions, in 2007 was $573.58. The approximate taxes on the same home for 2008, before exemptions and with no value increase, will be $563.43 - a savings of $10.15.

"This is the second year in a row that county residents will receive a break," County Judge John Murrile said. "We're adopting lower tax rates and property owners are benefiting from that decision."

The value of the average homestead in the county went up during the past year.

The average 2006 value of a homestead property, before exemptions, was $71,947. The 2007 value, before exemptions, is $79,838. Based on the respective year's tax rates, the 2007 approximate tax bill was $412.67 while the 2008 approximate tax bill will be $449.83 - a difference of $37.16.

The savings are the result in an overall increase in the value of the county, which increased from a 2006 certified appraisal roll value of $2.338 billion to a 2007 value of $2.437 billion for the general fund as calculated by the Wharton County Central Appraisal District.

The number of properties counted by the CAD in the county totaled 56,215 in 2006 and 56,948 in 2007. The total values by land use were up across the board as well with homesites increasing from $97,107,740 to $103,456,280. Non-homesites climbed from $194,505,650 to $212,467,720. The majority of the county's value comes from agriculture market land, which went from $927,401,860 to $995,733,660.