KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Certified property values in Kaufman County climbed 6 percent over the past year to a total of $6,488,043,553 in total taxable values, according to values released last week by the Kaufman County Appraisal District.
KAUFMAN COUNTY, Texas — Certified property values in Kaufman County climbed 6 percent over the past year to a total of $6,488,043,553 in total taxable values, according to values released last week by the Kaufman County Appraisal District.
The certified values came in higher than preliminary estimates, according to Kaufman County Appraisal District’s Chief Appraiser Chris Peace. County-wide, the taxable values increased 6 percent from $6,148,177,712 to $6,488,043,553 with a total market value of $9,389,003,207.
The certified values are used by taxing entities to set property tax rates and finalize budgets for the upcoming year.
In Forney, the combination of debt repayments and higher property valuations have allowed for a proposed 3.663-cent tax cut. Taxable values in the city limits increased 8 percent and 3 percent in the Forney Independent School District (ISD) boundaries.
“The Forney area continues to be our most active area in the county,” said Kaufman County's Chief Appraiser Chris Peace.“The Forney area continues to be our most active area in the county,” said Peace.
New improvements in the Forney ISD increased 36 percent from $92.7 million in new improvements in 2014 to $125.6 million in 2015. In comparison, the next leaders in new improvements are within the Crandall and Terrell ISD boundaries with new improvements totaling $18.4 million and $18.9 million, respectively.
Residential additions accounted for more than $32 million in new improvements in the City of Forney, according to the City of Forney which stated the numbers represent the “strength” of the housing market in Forney. “From 2014 to 2015, the average home value in the City increased from $146,467 to $153,399.”
The certified taxable values for Forney ISD came in at $2.6 billion and the City of Forney at $1.1 billion.
New improvements in Terrell ISD boundaries more than doubled from 2014 to 2015 with valuations increasing from $8.8 million to $18.9 million, respectively. New improvements in the city limits of Terrell also more than doubled from $5.2 million to $12.5 million.
New improvements in the Terrell area are expected to increase substantially in the coming years with improvements in the area of Farm-to-Market (FM) 148, Spur 557, and Interstate 20 in the 255-acre power center Crossroads at Terrell and the 89-acre Terrell Market Center which includes Buc-ee’s.
The certified taxable values for Terrell ISD came in at $1.3 billion and the City of Terrell at $1 billion.
Kaufman should also see an uptick with the completion of the State Highway 34 bypass which is expected to open 800 to 1,000 acres of land to commercial, retail, and residential development.
The certified taxable values for Kaufman ISD came in at $612 million and the City of Kaufman at $296 million.
Peace says the values take into consideration recently passed Senate Bill 1 — an upcoming November ballot referendum — which reduces taxable assessed values for school district valuations on homesteads. Peace says a home valued at $100,000 would have been assessed for $80,000 and will now be assessed for approximately $75,000. On average, Peace says this saves homeowners between $15,000 and $25,000 on their assessed values.
Continuing throughout the county, the certified taxable values for Crandall ISD came in at $585 million and the City of Crandall came in at $154 million — a substantial difference due to the master-planned community, Heartland, which was built outside of the city limits and within the ISD boundaries.
The Crandall ISD valuations were fairly flat year-over-year while the city valuations increased by approximately 3 percent.
The certified taxable values for Kemp ISD came in at $222 million and the City of Kemp at $43 million which represented a decrease in ISD valuations by 4 percent and a 3 percent increase in city valuations.
Mabank ISD’s certified valuations remained fairly flat at $248 million and the city valuations increased by approximately 9 percent to $154 million. Mabank experienced a 21 percent increase in market values due to re-appraisals which took aerial photos into consideration, according to Peace.
The City of Combine saw a 2 percent increase in taxable valuations as the values climbed from $71.8 million in 2014 to $73.2 million in 2015.
Scurry-Rosser ISD saw a slight decrease in taxable valuations from $155.4 million in 2014 to $154.2 million in 2015.
The City of Oak Ridge saw a 5 percent increase in taxable valuations with a 2015 total of $26.3 million, up from $25.1 million in 2014.
