Commissioners approve budget, tax rate

Milam County Commissioners approved a tax rate of 54.2 cents per $100 valuation during a meeting on Monday. The also approved the budget for 2025.

The new tax rate is .0712 cents lower than the previous tax rate of 61.32 cents per $100 valuation. The proposed maintenance and operations tax rate is 48.9133 cents and the interest and sinking tax rate is .052867 cents for a total tax rate of 54.2 cents.

The budget will raise more revenue from property taxes than last year’s budget by an amount of $637,199.08 which is a 3.75 percent increase from last year’s budget.

Before the vote to approve the budget Precinct 4 Commissioner Wesley Payne voiced concerns over the inclusion of $100,000 salary for a future Economic Development Coordinator for the county. 

“There isn’t a current county employee that makes close to that,” Payne said.

County Judge Bill Whitmire said that the state average for that position is $100,000 to $110,000. He also said that the county probably doesn’t need someone in that position until the middle of 2025 after SRO in Rockdale and the new Samsung plant in Taylor open.

“The City of Rockdale is paying their Economic Development Director $130,000,” Whitmire said. “So, to get someone that is going to be able to do that the way we want to do it will cost that much. Before we hire, we will interview that person in court and make that determination.”

Payne said he just does’t see needing that right this second.

Whitmire said it is just put in the budget in case we need it and those funds will go into reserve if they aren’t used.

Whitmire said his concern is that when those projects kick off the county is looking at 10 or 11 little fabrication plants that are looking to buy land in the county and an economic development director will be able to help direct that growth.

Commissioners also heard a presentation from Kain Dodd about the 2025 budget for Milam County ESD 1.

The ESD will approve the tax rate of 10 cents per $100 valuation on Sept. 17 at 6 p.m. at the Milano Civic Center.

Dodd said this tax rate will generate $3,522,900.84 for the district.

Dodd said the main chunk of the budget will be EMS contracts  at $1.86 million to provide ground ambulance services for the entire county.

The ESD was created in November 2023 through a county-wide vote.