At Monday’s meeting of the Brown County Commissioners Court, approval was given to a new County budget and a new County Ad Valorem tax rate.  The total County budget for the 2025/2026 fiscal year, which begins October 1, is $34,398,134.  The Commissioners approved three ad valorem tax rates:  Maintenance and Operations:  $0.39624 per $100 valuation; Debt Service: $0.02385; and Road & Flood:  $0.07473.  The total of the three is $0.49482 per $100 valuation, which the Commissioners approved as the total ad valorem tax rate.  The new tax rate is an increase of 4.83% over the current ad valorem tax rate of $0.4720.

The average homestead taxable value, as set by the Brown County Appraisal District, is now $189,197, an increase of 6.16% over last year’s average homestead taxable value of $178,217.  The new tax rate times the new homestead value will produce an average ad valorem tax of $936, an increase of 11.29% over the current average tax of $841.  The total ad valorem tax levy on all properties in Brown County will be $20,118,520, an increase of 6.42% over this year’s total tax levy of $18,903,509.

Commissioners also heard a presentation from Arleace Green with the U.S. Small Business Administration.  She informed the Commissioners of a disaster recovery program known as the Economic Injury Disaster Loan, which is available for businesses, homeowners, renters, and non-profit organizations.  The benefits of the program include loans of up to $2 million to meet ordinary and necessary financial obligations; low fixed-rate interest rates with terms up to 30 years; and no payment and no interest for 12 months.  For more information on this program, call 1-800-659-2955, or visit the web site:  sba.gov/disaster.

Commissioners agreed to keep the current Burn Ban on for now.