The county tax rate, budget and employee longevity pay were approved at the regular meeting of the Bowie County Commissioners Court last week.
The adopted budget and employee longevity pay will begin October 1.
The approved tax rate will increase property taxes by $2.5094 per $10,000 of appraised property value which will give the county about $25.57 million for their annual budget.
A public hearing has been set for September 7 to allow residents to address the court on the approved tax rate before it is adopted.
The approved longevity pay will award regular fulltime county employees after five years of employment.
“Bowie County wants to recognize service and time with the county with the monetary value of longevity,” the court said in a prepared document.
Employees with five to nine years of service will be given an additional $600. The amounts increase by $300 increments per every five years of service, capped at $2,700 for employees with 30 or more years of service.
All regular full-time employees, elected officials and department heads are eligible unless it conflicts with state law. This pay rate does not apply to part-time, temporary or seasonal employees.
While the court unanimously approved longevity pay for county employees, the newest budget and tax rate were met with one dissenting vote from Tom Whitten, precinct 2.
“I’d like to applaud the writers of the budget in different ways. The pay increase, I thought, was very good. Our employees mean the most to our individuals...
Bowie County Judge Bobby Howell
...in the county and they do a great job. Also the longevity pay. That’s something that’s been needed for years and I know our employees are going to like that,” Whitten said.
“What I’ve been saying for years, growth costs money. And I have the growthiest precinct in this county and continue to have the lowest budget,” he continued. “As far as the tax increase goes, again, my precinct pays 43 percent of the ad valorem taxes for this entire county and we receive 15 percent of the road and bridge allocation for the county.”
In other business, the court approved a donation of $47,427 by Steve Ledwell to allow the Bowie County Tax Assessor Collector Office to fund the contract purchase and first year subscription of online appointment scheduling software. The software is designed to streamline the process of in-office vehicle registration, Josh Davis told the court.
Additionally, the court approved the purchase of a contract for ballot printers for elections and set locations for the November 4 constitutional amendment and joint elections.
