Proposed County bonds could increase property taxes more than $100 on average home

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- This Monday, El Paso County commissioners authorized a University Medical Center (UMC) bond and five propositions for the County Quality of Life bond, all of which will appear on the November Ballot.

The UMC bond totals $396.6 million and would expand the number of hospital bed and operating room capacity. The bond would also build six new care centers in the community as well as a burn center.

For El Paso county residents with a taxable home value of around $200,000, the UMC bond would add about $70 a year to their property tax bill.

The county's quality of life bond is broken down into five propositions: parks and recreation, a new Medical Examiner office, upgrades to the courthouse and its annexes, renovation of the County Coliseum and a new animal shelter.

The $323.8 million bond would cost that same representative homeowner just over $60 a year.

"We want to make sure that we're being as transparent as possible, and people understand exactly what they're voting on," Precinct 2 Commissioner David Stout said. I think that if we package it all into one, it would be more difficult for them to understand."

In total, the UMC bond and all five propositions add up to over $720 million, which would mean over 130 dollars in additional property taxes per homeowner with a $200,000 home.