Senior tax freeze for hospital district in question
Jul. 30—The board of the Hunt Memorial Hospital District this week approved a property tax freeze for residents age 65 and over.
Now they have to determine whether such a move is permissible.
"They did vote on it and it was approved," said Travis Potter, the district's vice president for business development, who noted the measure would not be implemented right away.
"It looks like whether a hospital district has the authority to freeze taxes is in question," Potter said.
Hunt Regional Healthcare CEO Lee Boles agreed and said the confusion came after the vote.
"We found out from the tax office Thursday that hospital districts don't have that authority," Boles said.
Many taxing entities within Hunt County, such as cities and school districts, have various versions of property tax exemptions in place for seniors. Additionally, the Hunt County Commissioners Court agreed in April to place a measure on the ballot for the Nov. 8 elections. If approved, it will give seniors the option of freezing their local property taxes at the same amount year after year. The proposal, if approved, would also apply to disabled residents.
Potter said the details of the hospital district's measure have yet to be ironed out.
"The board is going to have to look at it some more and see about that," he said, adding that it is hoped the measure can be brought back to the board during its next regular session in August.
Under the hospital district's 2021 tax rate of 23.6 cents per $100 valuation, the owner of a house with $200,000 in taxable value would pay $472 in taxes.
