Melissa voters will see the phrase "THIS IS A TAX INCREASE" attached to at least five bond questions on their Nov. 3 ballots, four from Collin County and one from Collin College. State law requires the wording, but the expected effect on tax bills is not the same for the two governments.
The county's four propositions
Collin County is asking for $817.5 million in borrowing, to be sold over six budget years from 2027 through 2032:
- Proposition A, $296.5 million: courthouse work, jail capacity, a probation building, and jail medical and mental health space
- Proposition B, $475 million: roads and bridges that would not be tolled
- Proposition C, $6 million: parks and open space
- Proposition D, $40 million: an elections and records storage building
When commissioners called the election, the county's debt service rate, the slice of the tax bill that repays bonds, was 4.1891 cents per $100 of taxable value, out of a total county rate of 14.9343 cents, according to the election order.
County administrators project the debt rate could rise in steps to a peak of 4.95 cents in 2031 as the bonds are issued, The Farmersville Times reported this week. At that peak, the owner of a $350,000 taxable home would pay about $27 more a year in county debt taxes, the paper said, and the county describes the figures as projections rather than promises.
The election order also lists what the county already owes: $1.13 billion in principal on tax-supported debt and $506.3 million in interest. The county says it does not expect the interest rate on the new bonds to top 5%.
Collin College's proposition
The college's $600 million Proposition A would pay for the next two phases of its long-range building plan, including a McKinney aviation academy and new or expanded campuses in Anna, Royse City and elsewhere. The college projects they can keep the district's rate at 8.122 cents per $100, where it has been since 2018, if voters approve, according to the Times.
A homeowner's total bill could still rise if the appraised value of the property goes up.
