Blinn College District Board of Trustees approves 2019 tax rate
Board sets tax rate at $0.0560 per $100 of property value
September 17, 2019
The Blinn College District Board of Trustees approved a 2019 Washington County tax rate of $0.0560 per $100 of property value during its regular meeting Tuesday.
This rate will generate an estimated $2,149,086 in tax revenue to support Brenham Campus maintenance and operations and equates to approximately $8.75 in monthly taxes on the average Washington County home valued at $199,906.
Blinn hosted two public hearings on Sept. 3 and Sept. 12 regarding the tax rate. The College received no comments from the public at those hearings.
While Blinn provides services to a 13-county area, only Washington County resides within the College’s taxing district. Property tax revenue pays for approximately one-third of the Blinn-Brenham Campus’s maintenance and operations costs, with Brenham Campus student tuition and fee revenues funding the remaining costs. By law, property tax revenue cannot be utilized to fund campuses outside of the taxing district.
According to a survey conducted by the Texas Association of Community Colleges, the average 2018 Texas community college property tax rate was $0.1816.
According to Blinn College’s most recent economic impact study, state and local taxpayers receive a 9.4% annual rate of return on their investment in the Blinn-Brenham Campus. For every dollar taxpayers spend supporting Blinn, they see $4.30 in social savings and benefits. Each year, Blinn-Brenham and its students add approximately $83 million in income to the local economy.
In other business, the board authorized the College to negotiate and execute a temporary agreement with the Texas Historical Commission regarding the operation of the Star of the Republic Museum. Under House Bill 1422, Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site was transferred to the Texas Historical Commission earlier this month. Star of the Republic Museum will transfer to Texas Historical Commission oversight by the beginning of 2020 following the passage of Senate Bill 2309. Blinn will continue to serve as the educational partner at the museum and will continue to own the museum, the land on which it is located, and the museum’s artifacts.
Media Contact
Richard Bray
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Blinn College District
Office: 979-209-7285
Richard.Bray@blinn.edu
Mailing Address
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902 College Ave.
Brenham, TX 77833
About Blinn College
With an enrollment of 19,581 students, Blinn ranks among the nation’s leaders in transferring students to leading four-year universities and has received national recognition for affordable educational excellence.