Tax values up throughout county

By Donnie A. Lucas

Certified taxable values for each taxing entity in Shackelford County were announced recently, with minerals and property increasing 7.85 percent overall.

The total taxable value for the county increased by slightly less than $45 million from $571,814, 787 in 2021 to $616,705,866.

Similar increases in the mineral and real estate values were reported within the other taxing entities in the county, the exception being the value of industrial property, which decreased by $14.2 million.

The drop in industrial values is blamed on the decreasing value of wind farms in the county.

“Mainly the increase was in mineral values due to both an increase in production and the price of oil, which was up by about 30 percent on Jan. 1,” chief appraiser Clayton Snyder said. “There was also a 20 to 30 percent increase in the values of housing and rural land prices.”

Homeowners who have filed a homestead exemption are capped at a maximum increase in taxable value of 10 percent per year due to a recent state law.

Also, homestead exemptions for school districts increased from $15,000 to $40,000 this year thanks to a voter-approved state constitutional amendment passed in May and made retroactive to the start of 2022.

“Housing prices have been crazy,” Snyder said. “The market has increased considerably this year, from 20 to 30 percent.”

Snyder said that the housing market seems to have moderated  some over the summer.

He noted that the 10 percent ceiling is a capped yearly amount, which means a home that increased in value by more than 10 percent this year will automatically increase next year by up to another 10 percent even without a change in value next year.

Snyder said that the taxing jurisdictions in the county have all been sent their certified tax values and are in the processing of adopting budgets and setting tax rates for 2022.