Update: 10:29 a.m.

Lubbock County Commissioners unanimously approved setting the property tax rate at the effective rate. 

Commissioner Chad Seay apologized for missing the last meeting; he thanked the other members of the court for keeping their promises to taxpayers. 

Update: 10:03 a.m.

Commissioners Jason Corley and Chad Seay were in attendance at Monday morning's meeting after skipping two weeks ago to prevent a vote on property taxes. 

Original Post:

Lubbock County Commissioners plan to vote Monday morning on the property tax rate and discuss the future of the medical examiner's office.

Property Taxes

At the last meeting two weeks ago, Commissioners Jason Corley and Chad Seay refused to show up for the meeting to vote on property taxes. That prevented a vote from taking place. Corley and Seay said they did not trust the other three members of the court to vote for the effective rate. That is the rate that would raise the same amount of revenue from homes on the appraisal roles last year and this year. It would, on average, keep property taxes from going up. 

Corley and Seay said they would attend Monday's meeting if the other three members of the court promised in writing to approve the effective rate. 

If County Commissioners do not approve a tax rate by the end of the month, state law automatically sets the effective rate. 

Medical Examiner

Commissioners will also consider its next move with the medical examiner's office. The agenda includes the proposal of a partnership with Tarrant County for forensic pathology services. It would also include a private company to transport work between Lubbock and Fort Worth.

Commissioners will also debate keeping Dr. Sam Andrews on staff. The current medical examiner would work on finalizing all outstanding death investigations started in the last year. This would prevent a backlog of cases the county has seen in the past.