Collin County property owners, including homeowners in Prosper and Celina, will pay a higher tax rate starting Oct. 1 after the Commissioners Court voted 4-1 to approve the first rate increase in 33 years.
The court set the new rate at $0.151414 per $100 of property valuation at its Monday, Sept. 14 meeting, up 1.4% from the $0.149343 rate. The prior rate had been in place since fiscal year 2023-24, but the county had not raised its tax rate since 1993. Commissioners also approved a $619.6 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27, a $20.4 million jump from the current year. County Judge Chris Hill cast the lone dissenting vote on both measures, Community Impact Newspaper reported.
For the average-value Collin County home with a 5% homestead exemption, the county tax bill rises from $682.10 to $744.98, an increase of $62.88, according to county budget documents cited by WFAA. The county's median home value climbed to $517,911 from $480,773.
Not every homeowner will see a bigger bill. Director of Budget Mónika Arris told commissioners that while the median home value rose, the average home value actually fell. Individual bills depend on how each property's assessed value changed from last year, Arris said.
Hill pushed back before the vote with two motions. Both failed. The first asked every department to cut its budget by 2.76% to avoid the rate hike. Under that plan, smaller departments would have lost tens of thousands of dollars, while jail operations faced cuts exceeding $1 million. His second motion would have lowered the county's employee pay target from the 75th percentile of comparison counties to the 50th.
Hill said he wanted to avoid raising the rate, noting the county had held the line since 1993. Commissioner Susan Fletcher opposed the cuts, pointing to years of belt-tightening already asked of departments.
"If we ask them to do this, especially after we've already asked them to cut, cut, cut … How do we do that?" Fletcher said.
The court also called an $817.5 million bond election for Tuesday, Nov. 3. Four propositions are on the ballot:
- Proposition A: $296.5 million for court and detention facilities
- Proposition B: $475 million for road improvements
- Proposition C: $6 million for parks and open space
- Proposition D: $40 million for an elections and records storage facility
The bond carries no immediate tax increase. But if all four propositions pass, the county's debt service rate could reach 4.95 cents per $100 of valuation by 2031, up 18% from the current 4.19 cents. Officials said the actual rate would depend on population growth.
The compensation package for elected officials, including raises for Hill and the four commissioners, also passed 4-1 with Hill opposed.
Voter registration for the Nov. 3 election closes Oct. 5. Early voting runs Oct. 19-25.
