School Board, County lower millage rate — twice

In called meetings Monday afternoon, both the Jeff Davis County Board of Education and the Jeff Davis County Board of Commissioners made additional cuts to their millage rates, further reducing what taxpayers will pay in 2026 school and county taxes.
Both bodies had planned to reduce their millage rates due to the increased net digest. The planned millage rates were 12.816 for schools and 11.561 for the county — a total millage rate of 24.377.
In a 5 p.m. called meeting Monday, the school board further reduced its millage rate to 12.5 mills and in a 5:30 meeting the county further reduced its millage rate to 11.5 — a total of 24 mills.
The originally proposed total millage rate of 24.377 would set total taxes for the school and county at $14,741,379. With Monday’s actions, the total is now $14,513,832 — a reduction of $227,547.
A millage rate of 12.816 mills levied on a net digest of $602,973,671 for school purposes would have generated $7,727,711 in local taxes for the school system.
The 12.5 mills approved by the board at Monday’s meeting will generate $7,537,171, or $190,540 less than originally proposed.
A millage rate of 11.561 mills levied on a net digest of $606,666,208 for county purposes would have generated $7,013,668 in local taxes for the county.
The 11.5 mills approved by the commission at Monday’s meeting will generate $6,976,661, or $37,007 less than originally proposed.