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Collin County Appraised Property Values Down Less Than Expected 

05:48 PM CDT on Tuesday, July 27, 2010
By ED HOUSEWRIGHT / The Dallas Morning  

Collin County property values dropped in the past year, but not as sharply as had been predicted,
according to the county’s certified tax roll released Tuesday.
Countywide, taxable values fell 1.5 percent to $71.2 billion. In May, the Collin Central
Appraisal District had predicted values would fall 4.4 percent.
“We’re absolutely delighted,” County Judge Keith Self said. “This will make our job easier.”
Cities, school districts and the county use the certified tax roll to gauge how much property tax
revenue they will have for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
Higher appraisals mean the taxing entities have more money to spend. Lower taxable values
cause officials to consider budget cuts or tax increases.
Most Collin County towns and school districts saw property values decline in the past year,
according to the final tax roll.
For instance, Plano’s taxable values dropped 3.3 percent, Frisco’s 2.3 percent and
McKinney’s .2 percent. Allen’s values, meanwhile, rose .9 percent.
Frisco, which has experienced rapid growth in the past decade, is accustomed to steady appraisal
increases, not decreases.
“We’re still focused on providing excellent city services,” Frisco Mayor Maher Maso said.
“We’re not reducing services.”
He said he was pleased that Frisco’s tax roll fell less than the 4.2 percent decline predicted in
May.
“We’re approaching it as good news,” Maso said. “We understand people are still facing a lot of
challenges. That’s why we’re being very conservative.”
McKinney school officials had prepared for a 2 percent drop in taxable values, while the final
roll shows a .5 percent drop, said Steve Fortenberry, the district’s chief financial officer.
“There will be very little impact on the operating fund budget since state aid will float up or
down to offset any gains or losses in local property tax collections,” he said.
School officials in Frisco and Plano have discussed budget cuts because of the declining property
values.
The Plano district expects to raise the property tax rate 2.5 cents to $1.35 per $100 valuation. The
increase will help pay down more than $1 billion in debt incurred from bond sales.
In the Frisco school district, board members have discussed raising the tax rate 3 cents to $1.42
per $100 valuation. The tax revenue increase also would help pay off bond debt, not cover daily
operations.
While most Collin County towns and school districts saw tax roll declines, a handful saw
increases.
The largest property value jumps were in Prosper (8.8 percent), Fairview (7.4 percent) and
Lavon (5.6 percent).
The towns with the sharpest drops in appraisals were Josephine (4.9 percent), Blue Ridge (4.3
percent) and Farmersville (3.8 percent).
The appraisal district also released average home values throughout Collin County.
The highest average value was $409,183 in Parker, while the lowest was $66,350 in Blue Ridge.
Among the four largest towns, Frisco had the highest average home value at $262,195,
followed by Allen ($218,527), McKinney ($207,412) and Plano ($196,643). 

Staff writers Matthew Haag and Sam Hodges contributed to this report. 

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