The Commissioners Court proposes the property tax rate as calculated by the Tax Assessor Collector annually (generally early August).  By policy the court proposes the highest calculated rate to set the ceiling of the maximum rate the court may consider without seeking  approval from voters.  This approval also allows for staff to publish the required notices, publications and set the public hearing date. This year the court proposed the Voter Approval Rate on August 9th.  The public hearing is only for the purpose of receiving public comment, both proponents and opponents, on the 2021 proposed property tax rate for the Fiscal Year 2021 - 2022 El Paso County Budget.  At the conclusion of the hearing the court could adopt the proposed rate or announce the date and location of when the court will adopt the tax rate.  This year the court will only conduct the hearing and set the tax rate adoption meeting for the next regularly scheduled meeting on August 30th 2021.

Tax Code 26.06 (d) The governing body may vote on the proposed tax rate at the public hearing.  If the governing body does not vote on the proposed tax rate at the public hearing, the governing body shall announce at the public hearing the date, time, and place of the meeting at which it will vote on the proposed tax rate.

(e)  A meeting to vote on the tax increase may not be held later than the seventh day after the date of the public hearing.  The meeting must be held inside the boundaries of the taxing unit in a publicly owned building or, if a suitable publicly owned building is not available, in a suitable building to which the public normally has access.