Reprint from the Progress Times - September 7, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

County to provide tax assessment, collection for La Joya

Beginning in October, Hidalgo County will be responsible for collecting and assessing taxes in La Joya.

In a regularly scheduled meeting of the Hidalgo County Commissioners Court on Tuesday, commissioners voted to approve a an inter-local cooperation agreement with the City of La Joya and La Joya ISD for tax assessment and collection beginning October 1.

According to the terms of the agreement, which is for the collection of city and district taxes for the 2007 tax year, the city and district will appoint Hidalgo County Tax Assessor-Collector (TAC), Armando Barrera Jr., as the city and district tax collector and assessor.

Barrera will have full authority and responsibility to assess all of the real and personal property subject to taxation located within the boundaries of the district and the city. The TAC is also authorized to collect all taxes of the district and city, both current and delinquent.

The county, through its TAC, has agreed to compute and publish the effective tax rate subject to consideration and approval of the City, establish the tax roll based on property values certified by the Appraisal District, prepare and mail tax statements for all of the city tax accounts, receive payment of taxes on behalf of the city, refund overpayment or erroneous payments of taxes, as well as prepare and submit reports to the city accounting for all taxes collected.

The county will also provide tax information and reports for state agencies as well as current and delinquent tax rolls, quarterly status reports on partial payment contracts and delinquent tax statements upon request.

While this measure goes a long way in consolidating the efforts of the City and County, La Joya and La Joya ISD will retain some measure of autonomy.

There are a few duties and responsibilities of the city and the district that are excluded from the agreement adoption of a tax rate for the city or the district.

This agreement will give a few people in the county an extra workload.

The head accountant will now be charged with giving presentations and reports to the La Joya School Board and the La Joya City Commission. County accountants will be responsible for preparing daily, monthly and annual reports for both La Joya ISD and the city.

In the same meeting the court also approved of a resolution establishing an economic incentive program for the county.

The purpose of the policy is to create incentives to developers and private businesses that make or will make a "measurable" difference in achieving economic growth and development within the county.

Specifically, those companies who meet qualification standards set by the county stand to earn incentives such as rebates based on property tax increment payments or assistance in pursuing grant or loan funding from other public agencies.

For a project to be eligible for these incentives, it must meet at least one of the following criteria.

At least 80 percent of jobs created or retained must be at or above median county wage for Hidalgo County and offer health insurance benefits to employees for which employer pays for at least 50 percent.

The project must be located in a Federal Zone, Census Tract with greater than 20 percent of its population at or above the poverty level or located in a County defined Targeted Redevelopment Area or underdeveloped or blighted area.

The project or company must have a market for service or product that is regional, national or global.

The goal of this new incentive policy, as stated by the county, is to pursue a stable, year-round economy with unemployment rates at least as favorable as the rest of Texas, with an emphasis on targeting quality jobs.

A quality job is defined by the county as a job that pays a wage or salary equal to or greater than the current Hidalgo County Median Wage as computed annually by the Texas Workforce Commission.