Primary Department: Tax Assessor-Collector
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Annette Ramirez
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Policy
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWBE Contracted Goal (if
applicable): N/A
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A - Not a grant item
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval to update the Harris County Tax Office's property tax collection fee rate.
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Background and Discussion:
In 2007, UHY advisors TX, LP submitted the Harris County Tax Collection Fee Model report to Commissioners Court, which established the current collection fee model. The fee schedule recommended in the report was approved by Commissioner's Court on July 10, 2007. Since its adoption, the Harris County Tax Office (HCTO) has continued to follow the rate model without adjustment, which, when coupled with increasing costs, has resulted in fees that no longer fully cover the costs of property tax collection services.
The proposed fee rate uses the original model fee structure, but updates the fee rate, better aligning collection fees with actual costs and ensuring an equitable distribution of costs across all 84 jurisdictions. The revised rate will also enable HCTO to recover the full cost of providing collection services for these jurisdictions.
This update is consistent with Harris County's five-year financial plan, which includes the strategic objective of periodically reviewing and updating fee structures to ensure they reflect the true cost of services and achieve full reimbursement of both direct and indirect costs.
Expected Impact:
For FY2026, the total cost of providin...
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