Local officials concerned about proposed property tax cap, rate rollback elections

Texas lawmakers are proposing a cap on how much local authorities can increase your property taxes, pushing a bill that would allow residents to easily roll back property tax increases beyond a certain amount through a local election.

The move has some local government officials, including those at the City, the County and local school districts, concerned.

Currently, any tax increase above eight percent goes to the voters. If the proposed bill is passed, any increase above four percent would automatically trigger an election.

“I think, in the political climate that we have right now, we need to have a little bit more say. Everyone should get out and vote on everything that they can at this point,” said Charmain Martin, an El Paso homeowner, “I know that it could be hard to come up with 8 percent for property taxes and maybe (the proposed bill) would allow people to get more involved as to what’s going on in El Paso.”

State lawmakers supporting the change say the bill would give residents the ability to decide how much they should pay for public services. They argue property taxes consistently grow more rapidly than the median household income.

“Here in El Paso, I think we have a unique situation and certainly the burden of taxes is one that limits a lot of people from being able to buy homes, because they are not affordable because of the taxes,” said Dan Olivas, president of Border Realtors. “One of the biggest problems we have here is the burden falls on the homeowners, we don’t have a broad enough tax base.”

Olivas told ABC-7, that in El Paso, 70 percent of the property tax burden falls on homeowners and 30 percent falls on industrial and commercial property owners. “Every place else, its flipped. So El Paso has a unique set of circumstances, but certainly the burden of taxes is one that keeps a lot of people from being able to afford homes,” Olivas said.

City and County officials say the bill could have disastrous effects if the country is hit by another recession and property values decline. They argue that would make it difficult for municipalities to raise enough tax revenue to support police and fire departments, among other local government services.

“We have to be very cognizant of what it would do to us,” City Rep. Emma Acosta told ABC-7. “One, obviously, it ties the hands of local government. Second of all, it causes you more cost because then you have to call for an election and then pay for the election itself. So, it’s something that we’re all concerned about.”

Acosta said local governments across the state share those concerns. “Right now, they’re tying the hands of the city, the county, community college, UMC and so that’s something we really need to be careful with. All of the Texas cities are very concerned about this. The legislature is taking away our control,” Acosta said.

“At the school board level, we are already required to by state law, if we want to adjust our tax rate on the debt side or the operating side, to go to the voters,” said EPISD Trustee Susie Byrd, who feels municipalities are better equipped to make decisions regarding property taxes.

“I think you’ll find that local elected officials take a really hard look at those numbers every year and are very careful about adjusting their tax rates,” Byrd, a former city representative, said. “They invite the public and I really think those decisions are better left to local elected officials.”