Hidalgo County Property Taxes – Officials Refuse to Raise Tax Rates to Balance the Budget

Hidalgo County is a rare exception among counties across the country.

While many counties have cut spending, most have simply adjusted the property tax rates so that the same amount of revenue comes in even as property tax values continue to decline.

It’s an outrageous practice and one that leaves most of us wondering why our property tax bills continue to go up in a slumping real estate market.

Hidalgo County hasn’t joined the crowd on this one and has resisted the temptation to raise tax rates despite the fact that property tax revenues are down for the second straight year.

First the county moved aggressively to cut operating expenses. While some counties have exempted certain departments from budget cuts, Hidalgo County required all departments to reduce expenses by 8%. It also implemented a salary schedule for employees, froze hiring for new positions, and eliminated travel.

When this process was completed, the county was still $5 million shy of a balanced budget.

This is the part of the process where most counties around the country have simply adjusted property tax rates to balance the budget.

That did not happen in Hidalgo County.

County officials decided to use reserve funds to make up for the budget shortage and were adamant about not increasing property tax rates to make ends meet.

Looking to the future, property tax revenues in Hidalgo County are expected to continue to decline.

As a result, county officials are still aggressively considering other options to reduce spending including employee furloughs, salary cuts, as well as looking at department workload and productivity.

Hidalgo County is clearly showing leadership by refusing to increase taxes on its declining property tax base and by insisting on getting more productivity from its operating departments both now and in the future.

It is clearly an example of how county governments should be run during these difficult times.