Taxable values rise county-wide With Luminant project, county values up almost 15%, RISD almost 23%
BY MIKE BROWN
Reporter Editor
Preliminary 2008 taxable values for Milam County entities were released Monday by the appraisal district and the ongoing construction of Luminant’s Sandow 5 power plant unit at Alcoa’s Rockdale Operations spurred some big increases.
Values in the Rockdale ISD soared 22.7 percent over the 2007 preliminary taxable values, going from $683,251,472 to $838,360,392. “Much of that increase is attributable to Sandow 5,” Chief Appraiser Pat Moraw said.
Sandow 5 construction was also reflected in an increase in the county as a whole with Milam County values increasing 14.8 percent, from $1,255,508,176 to $1,440,774,467.
Protests
Moraw cautioned that the totals released Monday are preliminary figures and will change later this summer after tax protest hearings conducted by the district’s appraisal review board (ARB) conclude.
She noted that among the properties under protest is Luminant’s Sandow 4 power plant and the figures released Monday include a total for Sandow 4. “So that figure has the potential to change,” she said.
Totals used in the box at right are “after freeze” preliminary figures for those entities which offer homestead and senior citizen exemptions.
Special case
There’s a special statistical case this year.
A new law prohibits appraisal districts from appraising property across county lines for districts which are in more than one county.
That means Thorndale ISD property is being appraised by Milam and Williamson County Appraisal Districts.
All Milam entities showed increases during the past year except for the Buckholts ISD, City of Buckholts and the Donohoe Creek Watershed.
Other ISDs
For the first time, Moraw released preliminary taxable value totals on non-Milam County school districts whose boundaries extend into Milam.
Preliminary taxable values were listed as follows:
• Rosebud-Lott ISD, $10,794,194.
• Lexington ISD, $1,465,870.
• Bartlett ISD, $11,134,245.
• Holland ISD, $2,374,765.
• Rogers ISD, $7,594, 946.
