Lavaca County Texas

Some good things happened in your Commissioner’s Court on March 22, 2021. First, we decided to sign a proclamation stating our opposition to H.B.749 / S.B. 235 which bans all taxpayer funded lobbying which on it’s face sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, the unintended consequence is that these bills as they are written would give an unfair advantage to very large populated districts who can afford whole legislative departments who can track the thousands of bills that are introduced every legislative session.

Smaller rural counties like Lavaca, belong to various associations like Texas Association of Counties (TAC) and the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas (CJCAT). These associations provide training for all public officials at the county level, advise us on issues legal and legislative. CJCAT also represents us smaller counties by lobbying on our behalf upon request. This is a benefit that we receive for a membership fee of only $350.00 per year. Our bargaining strength at the Legislature comes from the collective voice we enjoy by being members of these associations along with many other Texas counties who are also members. These bills would completely remove that benefit which in my estimation is a real bargain when you consider what we get for that minimal fee.

I can not support any bill that I know to be harmful to the people that I serve and your Commissioners feel the same way. That is why we agreed to sign our names in opposition of these bills on a proclamation sent to the Texas Legislature and the Texas Senate.

We received a total of over $657,393.00 in grants these grants and are broken down as follows. $461,868.00 COVID Relief Fund $120,000.00 HAVA Grant for partial reimbursement of election equipment $74,525.00 from the Southwest Border Rural Assistance Program for the purchase of in-car dashboard cameras for the Sheriff’s Dept. These grants came about because of the efforts of our County Auditor Shana Opela for the COVID grant and Sgt. Anthony Vaccaro at the Sheriffs Dept. for the SWB Rural Assistance Grant.

April 7, 2021, is the 175-year Anniversary of Lavaca County. We are planning a celebration and special meeting on the Courthouse Square on the South side of the Courthouse for the event. We are coordinating the event with the Lavaca Historical Society and it should be informative, educational and fun. Plan to come out around 11:30am and show your Lavaca pride. We anticipate great things to be heard on that day.

Lately, I know that many of you have been getting or are about to get your stimulus checks from the government. I want to urge you to try and spend that money with Lavaca County businesses and help out your local merchants. Odds are, they are someone that you know very well. Friday, April 2nd Lavaca County offices will be closed in observance of Good Friday. I wish you all a very Happy Easter.

Honorably in your Service,

Mark Myers
Lavaca County Judge
(361)798-2301
judgemyers@co.lavaca.tx.us

NOTICE ABOUT 2020 TAX RATES

Property Tax Rates in County of Lavaca

This notice concerns the 2020 property tax rates for County of Lavaca. This notice provides information about two tax rates used in adopting the current tax year's tax rate. The no-new-revenue tax rate would impose the same amount of taxes as last year if you compare properties taxed in both years. In most cases, the voter-approval tax rate is the highest tax rate a taxing unit can adopt without holding an election. In each case, these rates are calculated by dividing the total amount of taxes by the current taxable value with adjustments as required by state law. The rates are given per $100 of property value.

This year's no-new-revenue tax rate:                                                                                             $0.6016

This year's total voter-approval tax rate:                                                                                      $0.6115

Unencumbered Fund Balances

The following estimated balances will be left in the taxing unit's accounts at the end of the fiscal year. These balances are not encumbered by corresponding debt obligation.

Type of Fund                                                                                                               Balance
General Fund (M&O)                                                                                                   11,741,397
0

Current Year Debt Service

The following amounts are for long-term debts that are secured by property taxes. These amounts will be paid from upcoming property tax revenues (or additional sales tax revenues, if applicable).

Description of Debt           Principal or Contract                      Interest to be Paid from  Other Amounts to be        Total 
Payment to be Paid from      Property Taxes Paid from Property Taxes Paid Payment
Property Taxes

Total required for 2020 debt service                                                                                                   0
-Amount (if any) paid from funds listed in unencumbered funds                                                          0
-Amount (if any) paid from other resources
-Excess collections last year                                                                                                                 1.267
=Total to be paid from taxes in 2020                                                                                                    -1.267
+ Amount added in anticipation that the taxing unit will collect only
100.00% of its taxes in 2020
=Total debt levy                                                                                                                               -1,267

This notice contains a summary of the no-new-revenue and voter-approval calculations as certified by Deborah A. Sevcik, Tax Assessor-Collector on August 03, 2020.