Recent history shows public servants across Rockwall County delivered a mixed bag of property tax hikes and relief.
The calculations in this article were made using data from the Rockwall Central Appraisal District. The average taxable values of single-family homes in 2019, 2021, and 2022 were multiplied by the property tax rate local officials in Rockwall County approved for those years. This provided the average property tax bill for single-family homes in this area.
This comprehensive approach was done because year-to-year comparisons of tax rates are meaningless. The average taxable value of properties fluctuates every year. Such a system requires capturing more data to provide a more accurate picture of the local taxpayer’s burden.
With a handful of exceptions, the public servants of various taxing entities in Rockwall County decreased property tax rates over the course of three years (2019 to 2021 and 2022). However, the average taxable value of properties simultaneously jumped 26 percent on average from 2019 to 2022.
In September 2024, the Rockwall City Council adopted a property tax rate of 24.745 cents per $100 of valuation. That was down from the prior year’s 27.0245 cents.
However, city homeowners may not see relief on their tax bills despite the reduced rate. A local government’s property tax bill may increase despite a lower tax rate. That happens when public servants do not lower property tax rates enough to offset the increase in appraised taxable value.
To just keep tax bills more or less flat, there is the no-new-revenue rate. It is the property tax rate that, in the aggregate, offsets increases in the taxable value of properties. If adopted, homeowners’ property tax bills would not, on average, significantly increase from the previous year.
A good example of higher bills despite tax rates is Rockwall County. From 2019 to 2022, the county commissioners hiked the average property tax bill for homeowners more than 14 percent.
Conversely, Heath City Council has a history of combating rapidly increasing property valuations with aggressive cuts to the property tax rate. This resulted in a three percent drop in the average tax bill from 2019 to 2022. McLendon-Chisholm City Council members mirrored this activity, with a more than 11 percent drop over the same period.
Not all public servants in the county have followed this trend over this time frame.
Rowlett City Council handed down a 12 percent increase in the average tax bill. Fate City Council members more than doubled that mark by coupling a rate increase in 2022 alongside taxable property valuations increasing in-line with the county average: 27 percent.
The elected trustees of both government school districts in Rockwall County have added to taxpayers’ burdens too. Calculations using data from the appraisal district show they have some of the highest three-year tax hike percentages.
Rockwall ISD has proposed a property tax increase and three bonds. These will appear on voters’ ballots during this year’s November election. Meanwhile, from 2019 to 2022, trustees hiked taxpayers average tax bills more than 12 percent.
For the portion of Royse ISD in Rockwall County, school board trustees hiked the average property tax bills for homeowners more than 19 percent.
As Rockwall County continues to experience growth and increasing property values, decisions to keep property taxes in check will depend on two factors: spending and the will of voters to push back. There are also state lawmakers in 2025 considering ending this tax on unrealized gains.
From now until tax day in 2025, Texas Scorecard will report on counties across the state, highlighting local officials who are working to lighten, or at the very least not add to, property taxpayers’ burdens.
Conversely, public servants who have added to taxpayers’ already burdensome load will also come under scrutiny.
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