CC kills personal property tax levy

The Clarendon College District will no longer levy a tax on personal property in Donley County following action by the CC Board of Regents last Thursday.

CC President Tex Buckhaults said the board formally repealed the unpopular tax on automobiles, boats, and other personal property during its regular meeting on March 21.

“We feel like we’re financially sound enough to forgo that much disparaged tax,” Buckhaults said.

The repeal will mean the loss of about $58,000 in annual revenue for the college district, the president said, but he believes CC can manage without that income thanks in part to higher state funding coming from a new funding method approved by the Legislature last year.

The Donley Appraisal District said the regents’ move will become effective with the 2024 tax year, payments for which will start being collected this coming October. The personal property tax for CC is still applicable to 2023 and prior tax years.

Local governments still levying the personal property tax include Donley County, the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District, the City of Hedley, and Hedley Consolidated Independent School District.

The personal property tax has been used in “property poor” situations where appraised values are not high enough to otherwise generate enough ad valorem revune for some local governments.

In other college news, Buckhaults said the board of regents also approved a motion to reduce the dual credit tuition rate to $56.87 per hour, which he said is the state reimbursement rate and will make it cheaper for high school students taking classes for college credit through Clarendon College.