The average homeowner would pay about $25 more each year in exchange for the improvements.
JOHNSON COUNTY, Texas — Voters in Johnson County will decide whether to raise property taxes to pay for road improvements that promise to reduce congestion.
This fall, county commissioners moved unanimously to put the proposal on voters’ Nov. 5 ballots. Johnson County has never before asked its residents to consider a transportation bond.
The $60 million investment would help pay for a series of projects meant to accommodate the county’s growth. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Johnson County’s population has grown from about 150,000 in 2010 to about 200,000 in 2023.
“When you have growth, you have more cars on the roads,” Johnson County Judge Christopher Boedeker told WFAA. “You don’t grow new lanes automatically. There’s congestion. There’s longer commute times. It costs local businesses money, and it costs people money in travel time and actual commute costs.”
The county would use some of the money to cover its share of TxDOT-approved projects, effectively unlocking state funding and expediting construction. A portion of the revenue would also go to federally supported projects that merit grant awards.
Boedeker hopes the $60 million package’s approval would ultimately lure an additional $300 million in state and federal funding for projects in Johnson County.
The money would help fund new bridges over railroad crossings as well as new signals and turn lanes to make existing roads safer. The revenue would also pay for feasibility studies for a loop around Godley and a loop around Cleburne.
Perhaps most importantly, the bond package would help pay for the realignment or widening of segments of Farm-to-Market Road 917. Upgrading that road would give drivers a viable east-west alternative to U.S. Hwy 67, Boedeker said.
To pay off the debt, Johnson County residents’ property tax rates would increase by $.0099. An average homeowner would pay about $25 more each year.
Boedeker noted that Johnson County has cut its property tax rate by $.035 over the last two years. He added that Johnson County commissioners did not need voters’ approval to increase their taxes to pay off the bond debt, but they wanted voters to have the final say.
“The voters need to decide if we’ve earned their trust,” he said.
“We have an experience of not doing anything to invest in our major thoroughfare road network,” Boedeker added later. “We’ve seen what the result is: It’s congestion, it’s increases in travel times and injuries on our roadways.”