The Lampasas County Commissioners Court last week set the proposed tax rate for fiscal year 2008-09 at $.6199, or 62 cents per $100 valuation.

Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Vincent, Precinct 2 Commissioner Alex Wittenburg, Precinct 3 Commissioner Lowell Ivey and Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack B. Cox voted for the proposed rate, which is the maximum amount the county may assess in the upcoming year.

County Judge Wayne Boultinghouse was not present at the recent Commissioners Court meeting, and Vincent presided in the judge's absence.

The Commissioners Court vote fulfilled state Truth in Taxation requirements as, according to state formulas for calculations, the county's proposed tax rate exceeds the effective and rollback tax rates.

The Lampasas County Appraisal District adds the proposed levies for the general fund, interest and sinking fund, and road and bridge fund to determine the total proposed tax rate.

The state of Texas does not count the interest and sinking fund tax as part of the effective tax rate or the rollback rate, however.

With I & S included, the 2008- 09 rollback rate is $.6308, and the effective rate is $.6326. The proposed tax rate is lower than both figures.

With the debt service tax excluded, however, the effective rate and the rollback rate both equal about 55 cents per $100 valuation.

"We disagree with the tax rate as presented by the appraisal district, because they're arbitrarily counting two numbers instead of three numbers," County Auditor Jack Clark said.

The auditor said he would contact state officials to explain why he and members of the Commissioners Court believe state calculations present an unfair comparison.

A public hearing on the proposed tax rate will be Monday at 6:30 p.m.

In other business, commissioners accepted a $15,000 bid from David D. Smith Construction Inc. of Copperas Cove for demolition of the former Brooks building.

The property, located directly north of the Lampasas County Office Building, will house a twostory addition to the county building.

David D. Smith Construction will not start demolition until county officials confirm that the county possesses clear title to the property.

Lampasas resident Kenn Manly addressed the Commissioners Court before its vote on the demolition bid, saying he is not sure the county has a clear title to the building.

Manly said a title policy signed in 1936 limited use of the Brooks building's north wall -- cojoined with the Mullican Dry Goods building wall -- to "mercantile purposes," and he said he is not sure if that restriction has been lifted.

"If there's a question as to title, I think that issue needs to be resolved," Clark said.

Cox said the county purchased about half the block on Pecan Street -- everything from the Brooks building to Fourth Street -- to allow for construction of the Lampasas County Office Building, which opened in 2002.

"There wouldn't have been any construction, in my opinion, if there had been a question over title," Cox said.

Wittenburg noted that the document Manly mentioned says of mercantile use "that said use shall not be exclusive."

In another item, the Commissioners Court voted 4-0 to set a 20-mile-per-hour speed limit on County Road 4450, a dead-end road south of U.S. Highway 190 between Lampasas and Kempner.

Several new residences have been built along the road, Cox said, and the Sheriff's Department recommends a 20 mph speed limit.

In addition, the court voted unanimously to pass budget amendments to designate unspent Federal Emergency Management Agency money as "fund balance." These funds will be used for road and bridge repairs.

Commissioners also voted 4-0 to approve a Lower Colorado River Authority water line in the right of way of CR 2509. The line will form a loop from Lometa to Nix and back.

In other business, the court voted 4-0 to approve $14,000 in amendments to the Lampasas County Appraisal District budget.

The appraisal district has about $62,000 in excess funds, which are to be refunded to taxing units. The district, however, asked to retain $10,000 of the excess to put in a reserve account and $4,000 for a vehicle reserve.

Although the Commissioners Court voted on the matter, Vincent said he thought the amendment already had been approved by default because the court did not vote by Aug. 21.

In another item, commissioners OK'd a resolution authorizing submission to the Governor's Criminal Justice Division of a grant application for the Major Crimes Assistance Unit.