Midland County (Texas) Judge Mike Bradford said an early estimate showing an 11 percent drop in valuation is a strong indicator of the type of budget the county will be facing during the tax season. Because of the expected loss of revenue, Bradford said the attention of the Commissioners’ Court will turn to sales tax collections, which he said is down about $3.5 million compared with last year.
“The commissioners were very conservative in their projection for the year, the run of double-digit percentage drops must come to an end. Should the drop-offs continue, it will give us different conversations about how we use reserves,” Bradford told the Midland Reporter-Telegram.
Bradford said he sent out guidelines calling for an 8 percent reduction in operations. That means no new hires (full-time and part-time), no major acquisitions and specific parameters on vehicles.
The reason for the belt-tightening is the valuations decrease, including a 15 percent decrease in expected minerals valuations. The Midland Central Appraisal District recently performed the estimates as required by law.