As of July 20, the Uvalde County Appraisal District’s year-to-date tax collections total $41.272 million, which is 95.4 percent of the current year tax levy, up slightly from the 94.5 percent collected at this point last year, said chief appraiser Roberto Valdez during a report to the district’s board of directors.
This year’s overall tax levy the district is responsible for collecting is $43.033 million.
“We were able to reach the 95-percent threshold as far as collections,” Valdez said. For collections per taxing entity, Valdez said most entity collection rates are in the 95-percent range, with the exception of the city of Sabinal.
In a follow-up phone conversation, Valdez said Sabinal property owners are paying their taxes at a slower rate than other county residents. He said the district has collected about 89 percent of taxes owed to the city of Sabinal.
Director Tony Moreno asked Valdez why the collection rate was low.
“… Has anyone looked into that? It doesn’t quite go along with the rest of the figures that are pretty high,” Moreno said.
Valdez said the district is consistent in its collection processes for all the entities.
“…I would say we perform the same processes for all of them,” Valdez said. “It’s a matter of the economics for the citizens.”
Delinquent Taxes
Valdez said the appraisal district has submitted approximately $1.9 million in delinquent taxes for 2020 to tax collection attorney, Perdue Brandon Fielder Collins and Mott, LLP.
For tax year 2019, he said the tax attorney had collected $1.56 million, as of July 2021, which equates to 66 percent of the delinquent tax total of approximately $2.36 million.
