The Brown County Commissioners today held a public hearing on the 2024/2025 County budget and the new County ad valorum tax rate.  No citizens attended the hearing to offer comments.  Commissioners then voted to approve the new budget and tax rate, as well as salaries in the new budget year for elected officials.

The new County budget begins October 1 and runs through September 30, 2025.  It totals $34,228,007, an increase of 6.6% over the current budget.  The new ad valorum tax rate is $0.4720, up from the current rate of $.045223.  The new tax rate will add about $30 to the County taxes on an average value house in Brown County.  Any changes in the appraised value of the house will also affect the tax obligation.  The full County budget can be found on the County’s website www.browncountytx.gov, then click on Financial Transparency and then click on Budgets.

Also the Commissioners approved a lease agreement for a building at 600 North Fisk Ave.  The building, just across the street from the Courthouse, will be occupied by the County Attorney’s office.  The relocation of the County Attorney’s office will free up space in the courthouse for the District Attorney’s office.  The lease agreement is for five years at $1,200 per month, including utilities.

At the regular meeting on Monday, the Commissioners approved the Brown County Wildlife Protection Plan.  More information about that plan can be found in a story that ran yesterday in brownwoodnews.com by clicking here:  WildlifeProtectionPlan.

Also on Monday the Commissioners approved a right-of-way agreement and performance bond for the installation of a private line by Bahia Pipeline.  Bahia is building a pipeline of more than 600 miles to transport Natural Gas Liquids (NGL) from Ector County is west Texas to a processing facility in Chambers County, east of Houston.  NGL’s are a component of natural gas that are separated from the gas in the form of liquids.  NGL’s can be processed into ethane, propane, butanes, isobutanes, and pentanes, and can then be used for heating, cooking, fuel, plastics, and petrochemical feedstocks.  The Bahia pipeline will be 30-inches diameter and will be buried.  The right-of-way agreement is for 180 days, and stipulates that any roads affected will be returned to as good or better condition.