BC school taxes go up for new construction

Property owners in Bridge City will be paying more in school taxes this coming year, but the increase is nothing unexpected. Voters in May approved a $72 million bond election to construct new buildings and improve other ones. The tax increase is to pay off the bonds, which are a kind of loan.

Based on calculations from the legal numbers provided by the Bridge City ISD, the owner of a home at the average value in the district will pay $77.94 a year more. For someone making monthly mortgage payments with escrows, that would mean $6.50 cents a month more.

The school board on Monday night approved the new tax rate, which will cover the 2022-23 budget year.

Based on the appraised values in the BCISD, the average market value of a house went from $183,700 last year to $202,100 this year. Homeowners with a tax homestead exemption would have taxes calculated to $161,400 this year and up slightly this year to $162,100.

The tax rate for last year was $1.01 per $100 of appraised value and the homeowner of the average house paid $1,636.40. The new tax rate will be $1.05 cents per $100 valuation. The homeowner of the average house this year will pay $1,714.34.

Taxing entities across Orange County are currently working on new property tax rates and budgets for their upcoming fiscal years. The entities vary by the place where a person lives, however every property owner in the county pays to Orange County, plus a school district, the county port district, and the county drainage district. People who live within incorporated areas also pay property taxes to their cities. Many residents in the county also pay property taxes to one of the four Emergency Services Districts that provide fire protection service.

When all the representatives of the entities approve their budgets, the Orange County Tax Assessor-Collector gathers the rates and will then mail statements to every property owner in the county with their tax bills. People with mortgages through financial lending services usually pay into a monthly escrow account and the mortgage company pays the complete tax bill from the account.