Tarrant County commissioners lower JPS tax rate again. Here’s how much you’ll save

Tarrant County commissioners surprised the leaders of the county’s public hospital Tuesday by lowering its tax rate to 18.25 cents per $100 of assessed value, down from the previously planned rate of 18.75 cents.

Although the change in the rate amounts to a small decrease, JPS Health Network’s board of managers will likely need to rewrite and re-approve its budget, which was previously written with the rate of 18.75 cents. County Judge Tim O’Hare said the change would amount to about $14 million less for the health system.

Commission Gary Fickes recommended passing a tax rate of 18.25 cents at a commissioners court meeting Tuesday. Commissioners approved that rate 4-1, with Commissioner Alisa Simmons opposed. Commissioners did not explain why they had lowered the tax rate from the one they previously approved. The average tax will bill be $504.70, down from $552. 61 a year ago.

Dr. Karen Duncan, the CEO of JPS, said commissioners didn’t tell her before Tuesday’s meeting that they were going to lower the tax rate.

The hospital’s 2025 fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Exactly what happens next for the hospital’s budget is unclear. County Administrator Chandler Merritt said commissioners would receive a legal briefing on how the county and JPS should move forward with the budget.

A statement from the hospital district said that its administrative and finance teams “are working to adjust and present an updated FY2025 budget to our TCHD Board of Managers that is in response to the new tax rate.”

The hospital district is a component unit of Tarrant County government. The hospital’s board of managers, which makes major hospital decisions, is appointed by county commissioners. In previous years, the board of managers has passed a tax rate and a budget as a first step before county commissioners make the final decision on the hospital’s finances.

This year, county commissioners voted to approve a tax rate of 18.75 cents per $100 of assessed value before the hospital’s board had voted on a tax rate or had a public discussion of the budget. But that previous vote — for a tax rate of 18.75 cents — was preliminary, and Tuesday’s vote — which lowers the rate to 18.25 — is the final vote.

JPS Health Network is responsible for caring for a large share of the county’s uninsured residents, and operates one of only two emergency rooms in the county that can treat the most serious and urgent emergency cases. The hospital is also in the midst of a massive period of construction that will include a new hospital and psychiatric emergency room, along with numerous other updates to the hospital’s main campus. The construction is being paid for in part through an $800 million in bonds that voters approved in 2018. The remainder of the work will be paid for through cash the hospital has been saving for years.