Ellis County taxpayers could hear two seemingly contradictory things during this year’s budget debate: the tax rate is staying the same, but the county is collecting millions more. The proposed FY2027 budget keeps the property tax rate at $0.273992 per $100 of taxable value, the same rate adopted last year. But according to the county’s own budget, that rate would raise 12.68% more total property taxes than last year’s budget — about $12.8 million more. About $5.7 million of the additional revenue is expected to come from new property added to the tax roll. Ellis County added more than $2 billion in new taxable property this year. The rest comes from growth in the existing tax base and other changes in taxable value. The proposed rate is also higher than Ellis County’s no-new-revenue rate of $0.244516. Under Texas’ truth-in-taxation system, the no-new-revenue rate is calculated to produce about the same amount of property tax revenue from properties taxed in both years. Precinct 2 Commissioner Matthew Zajic publicly criticized the proposal after reviewing the newly released budget. “I cannot see this budget surviving commissioners court,” Zajic wrote in a statement. He said he looks forward to debating the proposal during Commissioners Court on Aug. 18 and specifically objected to higher tax collections and growth in county government. “I will not stand for a 12% tax increase and growing our government bureaucracy,” Zajic wrote, urging residents to attend the Aug. 18 meeting at 2 p.m. Zajic’s wording refers to the roughly 12% increase in total property taxes collected, not a 12% increase in the county’s tax rate. The proposed rate itself is unchanged. That distinction also means individual homeowners should not assume their county tax bills will rise 12.68%. A homeowner’s actual bill depends on taxable value, exemptions and changes to their individual property. But countywide, the bottom line is much simpler: Ellis County may keep the same tax rate — while collecting substantially more tax money. Keeping the rate flat is not the only option. Commissioners could adopt a lower rate, reducing the increase in property tax collections. With at least one commissioner already openly opposing the proposal, the FY2027 budget appears headed for a real public debate before adoption.