Brownwood News – Voters in Brown County answered the proposed Ranger College tax annexation with a resounding “No.” Over 3,000 votes were cast against the proposal with under 100 voting for the annexation according to early voting results released just after 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 7th.
The final tally was: 5,912 votes against the annexation, and 169 votes for the proposal.
“The voters have spoken, and Ranger College accepts the voters’ wishes,” said Ranger College President Bill Campion. “We appreciate our supporters; be assured our institution will continue to do everything possible to serve students throughout our service areas even though our severely limited resources preclude the many things we would like to do. We look forward to a cordial relationship with everyone throughout our service areas.”
In June, Ranger College announced its plans to campaign for the annexation of Brown County into the taxable base for the school’s funding. With the ability to collect a portion of property tax, Ranger College promised to reduce tuition costs as well as dual enrollment rates. Brown County would also be eligible to elect members to the Ranger College Governing Board helping determine where resources and programs would be offered.
Funding for the expansion into Ranger College would be made possible by a property tax of $.011 per $100 assessed property valuation. A public hearing was held Tuesday, June 27 at 7 p.m. at the Ranger College campus located at 300 Early Boulevard – Suite 105, located in the Heartland Mall.
At the hearing, many property owners and community members voiced concerns, mainly what would keep the college from raising the property tax at will. Though representatives from Ranger College assured the public they would stick to the proposed rate of .011 per $100 valuation, the language on the ballot told a different story.
The Brown County Elections office received a letter from Ackerman LLP’s Austin office in September detailing the official language to be used on the November ballots regarding the Ranger College annexation election. Instead of the 11¢ claimed during the college’s campaign, the ballot stated .43¢ per $100 valuation.
John Hatch, with Texas Petition Strategies – a company utilized by Ranger College to aid in their campaign – explained in an email why the rate is higher than Brown County residents had been promised.
“$.11/$100 is the proposed rate, but state law only allows us to list the current rate,” Hatch wrote. “Unfortunately, state law didn’t allow us to list the proposed rate.”
It was enough to make the voters see red, quite literally. A political action group titled Citizens Against Ranger College Annexation swelled in membership and red signs began popping up all over Brown County calling for a vote against the proposal.
Record numbers of voters for a non presidential election turned up at the polls, and not just in Brown County. In Erath County the final tally was 5,787 Against, and 229 For. In Comanche County 1,935 were Against and 31 For.
“It fills me with pride to see the collaborative grassroots effort that has taken place,” said Citizens Against Ranger Tax Annexation coordinator Kimberly Pevey-McKinney.
