By Becky Brewster
The Culberson County Hospital District met in Regular Session on August 8. The Board received an update on the clinic construction project. In an effort to expedite the opening of the new clinic, the Board directed the District’s Attorney to propose a resolution to the dispute between Ameriway Construction Company and the District as discussed in closed session. In the meantime, the remaining furniture and equipment has arrived at the site and is being installed. The main outstanding component is the IT wiring and the access controls for the doors. The required inspection for Texas Accessibility Standards and the State Fire Marshal inspection have been completed.
The Board reviewed the 2018 Certified Taxable Value as prepared by the Culberson County Appraisal District. The 2018 Values were certified at $1,874,494,900 which is up from the 2017 Value of $1,385,417,140. In Culberson County, the Certified Taxable Value has increased by $1,576,532,720 over the last ten years due to the increase in mineral rolls.
The increase in the Certified Taxable Value has resulted in a reduction of the effective tax rate. The 2018 effective tax rate is $0.136021/$100 valuation and the rollback rate is $0.144163/$100 valuation. The 2017 tax rate was $0.183734/$100 valuation. And this is down from a high of $0.60/$100 valuation in 2009. The board chose to begin the tax increase process to adopt the rollback rate which will generate approximately $150,000 in additional income to the District while the average homeowner will still see a reduction in their property taxes for the District. The Board is putting aside funds in order to be able to replace the ambulances on a regular basis.
In other business, the Culberson County Hospital District:
- Approved the consent agenda.
- Engaged Knapp and Company as auditor for FYE 9-30-18
- Heard updates from the hospital administrator.
