CORYELL COUNTY, Texas (KXXV) — Coryell County borders one of the largest military bases in Texas, and is experiencing growing financial pressure due to a tax exemption for disabled veterans.
“The primary means for us to generate revenues, within a county government, is through property taxes. In Coryell County, approximately 25% of our land mass is owned by the federal government – called Fort Cavazos,” Roger Miller, Coryell County judge, said.
A bill was passed that made disabled veterans with a 100% disability rating fully exempt from property taxes. As the number of disabled veterans in the area has grown, the county is struggling to compensate for the loss of tax revenue and rising funding needs.
“There’s nothing in any of the bills, or anything that I am even suggesting, remotely connected to decreasing this disabled veterans tax exemption. What it is – it’s an effort to get the state to assist with our revenue losses,” Miller said.
In 2023, more than 2,100 disabled veterans with a 100% disability rating filed for the exemption, resulting in a property tax loss of nearly $2 million – funds the county is unable to recover.
Miller said that if this trend continues, the county will find it increasingly difficult to balance the budget. Still, he emphasized that the goal is not to eliminate these benefits for disabled veterans but to find a sustainable solution that can balance both their needs and the county’s financial stability.
“It needs to be shared across the state, so that counties and cities bearing a larger burden of the impact, don’t have to carry that burden alone,” Miller said.
