Early voting to begin Monday

By Tony Farkas
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Two constitutional amendments dealing with property taxes will be on the ballot of the May 7 election, along with any contested city and school board races for each county.

Proposition 1 will benefit individuals with an over-65 or disabled exemption on their property.

According to information released by Sen. Paul Bettencourt, if an individual currently has an over-65/disabled exemption on their home, the proposal will provide a reduction on school district property taxes.

There are 1.8 million over-65 exemptions and 180,000 disabled exemptions in the state; on average these households will see a $110 reduction the first year and $125 reduction in the second year, and the reduction will continue to grow each year.

This amendment will become effective as of Jan. 1, 2023, if it passes.

Proposition 2 will increase the homestead exemption by $15,000.

If this amendment passes the state homestead exemption on home values for school district taxes will increase from $25,000 to $40,000. On average, the 5.67 million homesteads in Texas will see a $175 savings in their school district tax bill at the current average statewide school property tax rate.

This amendment will be effective as of Jan. 1, 2022, if it passes, so homeowners will see the savings when they receive their property tax bill this fall.

Early voting locations for the state measures include Groveton VFD, 249 W. Front St., Groveton; Trinity City Hall, 101 W. Main St., Trinity; and Apple Springs VFD, 14755 Highway 94.

Other races in Trinity County include:

• Trinity: For the city of Trinity, three people have filed for the mayor spot — incumbent Mayor Wayne Huffman, current Mayor Pro Tem Billy Goodin, and Jimmy McCasland.

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For Council Member Position 1, incumbent member Clegg DeWalt faces Willie Evans Jr.; for Council Member Position 2, incumbent Bubba Smith faces Martha Gray; and for Council Member Position 3, incumbent Chris Dennis faces off with Scott Womack.

Early voting runs from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays from April 25-May 3 at City Hall, 101 W. Madison St., in Trinity.

For Trinity ISD, School Board President Kevin Searcy, along with incumbent board members Maggie Trevino and Monty Andrew Huffman, face opposition from JoMichelle Mauldin, Khristopher Scarcliff, Don Fisher and Michael “Bubba” Schanfish.

The three candidates with the most votes will be seated on the board.

Early voting runs from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays from April 25-May 3 at the School Administration Building, 101 W. Jefferson St. 

Groveton

Eight people have filed for the three Council Member at Large positions up for election this year.

Three of the hopefuls are incumbents — Mayor Pro Tem Ralph Bennett, the current, Steven Casper and Joe Don Kennedy are joined on the ballot by Camille Simmons, Chris McFarland, Nathan Galloway, Darnell Donovan and David Robison.

Since the positions are at large, the top three vote-getters will be placed on the council.

Early voting runs from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays-Fridays from April 25-May 3 at City Hall, 115 W. Front St.