EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 On Monday, El Paso County approved a slightly lower tax rate for the 2027 fiscal year for its hospital district; however, homeowners will still pay more as property values have risen. <\/p>\n
El Paso County approved a $2.1 billion budget and a tax rate of 23.7 cents per $100 of property value. <\/p>\n
This is lower than the current rate, which is 24 cents per $100. <\/p>\n
This means the average home valued at $240,000 would have a hospital district tax bill of about $568.<\/p>\n
That would be an increase of almost $10 compared to last year, or about 81 cents more per month.<\/p>\n
RELATED: El Paso County hospital district proposes lower tax rate; many homeowners may pay more<\/a><\/p>\n According to the County, this is the sixth time in the past seven years that the Hospital District, which includes University Medical Center and El Paso Children\u2019s Hospital, has proposed and adopted the no-new-revenue tax rate, even as the Hospital District revenues have grown by three times since 2017. <\/p>\n A no-new-revenue rate is designed to bring in about the same amount of money as the prior year from existing properties, even as home values change.<\/p>\n The County also raised the minimum wage for its employees from $15.50 to $16, as well as pay adjustments for employees in the first five pay grades, but not for people in senior leadership positions. <\/p>\n The County also said that property taxes account for only 8 percent of the District’s overall budget and only 11 percent of UMC’s budget.<\/p>\n UMC expects to treat about 2 percent more patients next year and estimates the cost of caring for uninsured patients will reach approximately $277 million next fiscal year.<\/p>\n RECOMMENDED: El Paso City Council approves 2026-27 budget; increase in property taxes<\/a><\/p>\n Jacob Cintron, president and CEO of the El Paso County Hospital District, said hospitals are watching for potential impacts.<\/p>\n “I think every hospital is worried about this. We all take patients and if they come into the ER, even the for-profit hospitals are required by law to see those patients. So, right now, we haven’t seen the impact hit. We do think it’s going to come,” Cintron said.<\/p>\n Cintron said the district considered taxpayer pressures in bringing forward the rate.<\/p>\n “Given all the pressures that have been hitting El Paso taxpayers, and in appreciation also for the support they did in the voter-approved general bond, we felt that, at this point, there wasn\u2019t enough for us to say, we see a trend to reserve a certain amount,” Cintron said.<\/p>\n It is important to note that while the Children’s Hospital is in the district, it doesn’t use tax revenue; only UMC does.<\/p>\n Presentation attached below:<\/p>\n 9dc322c3-633c-4827-8ed9-52525e8ab530-a611397b21324421bdecb9ef4182f5c6PDF previewPreview PDF<\/p>\n