In Willacy, only taxes are on the rise

RAYMONDVILLE — Everything’s falling.

For two years, sharp drops in oil and natural gas prices have driven down property values in this farming county that’s been facing hard times.

This past week, falling property values led Willacy County commissioners to adopt an effective tax rate that increased the county’s property tax by 3.6 cents per $100 of valuation.

Commissioners adopted a rate of 63 cents, up from 60 cents, to go along with the county’s new $7.1 million general fund budget.

The increase will generate a total of about $112,000 more in tax revenues.

Under the tax rate, a home appraised at $37,000 will pay about $12 more in taxes than last year, said Agustin Lopez, chief appraiser for the Willacy County Appraisal District.

Across the county, property values are falling as commissioners struggle to pull out of hard times, 18 months after the Willacy County Correctional Center closed, slashing a third of the county’s income.

The drop in property values means tax revenues are falling.

As of Aug. 31, the county had collected $4.6 million in property taxes.

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