MIDLAND, Texas — The Midland County sales tax currently sits at seven percent. However, the Midland County Commissioner's Court, looking to improve the county's infrastructure as well as other areas of need, proposed a county assistance district to help with those issues. It could also raise the county sales tax all the way up 8.25 percent.
Midland County Commissioner for Precinct 4, Randy Prude knows that the county has issues that need to be fixed. At the current sales tax rate, the county simply doesn't have the money to pay to fix those issues.
"I wouldn’t say we're short. It’s just if we want to spend 30 or 40 or $50 million a year on the roads, the sales tax alone that we currently have will not be enough to do that," Prude said.
One option is the county assistance district, which would likely bump up the sales tax for county residents outside Midland city limits.
"One of the things we have available is a sales tax that would make the county sales tax equal to what people pay in the city, and so that’s the main reason for this that we’re going to propose for or put on the ballot," Prude said.
The money generated through the tax increase would be earmarked for certain projects.
"The tax itself has specific uses: roads, health, parks, different things that it allows us to do, and that will also free us up in our general fund to help maybe bring water to Midland county," Prude said.
However, it's not a done deal. The sales tax bump must be put to a vote before the people that live in the county.
"I obviously think it’s very, very good important thing to do, but I don’t want that to determine the issue. I want people that are going to be voting on and paying for this to have all the voice whether or not it’s a good thing or not," Prude said.