93% of taxes collected

By Melinda L. Lucas

Close to 93 percent of the 2020 tax levy had been collected as of Jan. 31, according to chief appraiser Clayton Snyder at the Shackelford County Central Appraisal District (CAD) office, with eligible payments coming in for another week or so at the beginning of February.

Official CAD reports show that $8,515,099 of the $9,193,065 total levy, or 92.63 percent, had come in as of last week.

“I was surprised and grateful to see that collections were only five bps (basis points) lower than this time last year,” said Snyder. “The total levy had already decreased by about 2.5 percent, adding unneeded strain to tight taxing unit budgets, and I had been expecting a two to five percent decrease in the collection rate to also affect local jurisdictions. Instead, we collected $8,515,099, roughly in line with the previous year.”

He added that it had been a tough year for local businesses and property owners, but the taxpayer base had stepped up and taken care of business.

“Total outstanding balances on record from 1981 to present decreased by almost nine percent when compared to the balance in the prior year at this time,” said Snyder. “Of that total balance, 48 percent is made up of the most recent tax year’s outstanding levy, compared to about 45  and 46 percent for the 2019 and 2018 tax years, respectively. That tells me that our tax base is reducing older outstanding balances from prior years while maintaining comparable current tax year collections.”

The chief appraiser also reported that CAD personnel recently sent out rendition notices and some of those are beginning to come back, with a cutoff date of April 15, unless taxpayers request a 15-day extension in writing.

In the latest report, collection percentages were 92.58 for Albany ISD, 93.73 for Shackelford County, 93.86 for the Shackelford County Hospital District, 87.31 for the City of Albany 88.27 for Moran ISD, and 79.10 for the City of Moran.