Last Monday, the Bastrop County Commissioners Court took their first look at the county’s budget for the upcoming year. The discussion started with an overview of the proposed tax rate and budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year, presented by County Judge Paul Pape.  The proposed ad valorem property tax rate for the next fiscal year is 55.9 cents per $100 of value, a one-cent decrease from last year’s tax rate. “That leaves us five or six cents higher than Travis County, Williamson County and Hays County, and they are the ones that we compete with when it comes to economic development: new jobs,