Taylor County residents will be receiving their annual tax bills in the mail beginning next week, and as a whole, they'll be paying more than ever because of higher property values.

Residents will be paying a combined total tax bill to cities, schools and the county to the tune of $131 million -- the largest tax bill ever, said Richard Petree, the county's chief appraiser.

Last year residents paid a total tax bill of $121 million. The previous high total was $124 million in 2006, Petree said.

Tax bills mailed Friday were generated for $6.2 billion in taxable property value, a half billion more than last year, Petree said. Some of the increase is due to wind farms, construction and increased value of existing real estate.

The composite tax roll for all taxing jurisdictions in Taylor County rose $10 million from the 2007 tax roll, or about 8 percent. The largest increase came in the Abilene Independent School District, where the tax roll increased $3.2 million from the 2007 tax year (8.09 percent).

The largest percentage increase came from Abilene and was due to the increased bond tax rates. The amount of tax increased $3.2 million or 10.96 percent. Taylor County taxes increased $2 million (7.37 percent) despite a reduced tax rate.

Property owners have until Jan. 31, 2009, to pay their taxes or make arrangements to pay them over time. If half the tax is paid by Nov. 30, the remainder can be paid as late as June 30, 2009, without penalty, according to a news release from the Taylor County tax assessor's office.

Homeowners over 65 or those with disabilities are allowed to pay quarterly. All options will be listed on the bill.

Tax bills are being sent out approximately two weeks later than usual due to changes made by the Texas Legislature. Tax appraisal districts are required to make their boundaries mirror county lines, which caused problems all over the state, Taylor County tax assessor-collector Richard Petree said.

Residents in the Jones County portion of Abilene will still pay Abilene city and school taxes. However, their property was appraised by Jones County, and their county taxes will go there. Taxpayers will still write only one check; it will be divided appropriately by the tax assessor's office.

Some Merkel and Trent residents will face the same situation. Part of the Merkel school district is in Jones County, and Trent ISD includes portions of Jones, Fisher and Nolan counties.

Petree doesn't expect additional problems with collections due to the economy.

"I don't see any problems in Abilene," he said. "Our economy is still pretty strong. Right now, our foreclosures are real low. People still seem to have money."

He reported that 98.6 percent of taxpayers paid their taxes on time during the last collection cycle.