Here is the listing of the 50 cities with the highest homeowner property tax in 2014:
We are ranked 5th highest. Last year we were ranked 7th, but our local spending is beginning to kick in and we can expect to climb closer to number one next year.
Looking ahead
The majority of the $400 million we voted to spend for quality of life projects has not been borrowed yet and thus is not in our tax bills. It’s anyone’s guess what the final bill will be with the anticipated cost overruns included.
Our two major school districts are telling us that they will need a combined one billion dollars for school construction and maintenance.
Our city streets are crumbling. The bill there will be in the hundreds of millions.
The children’s hospital is in bankruptcy and our county hospital operated with a $12 million dollar loss last year without even considering any amount the children’s hospital owes them.
The city intends to build the Alameda Brio line starting soon at a projected cost of $35.5 million. The money for this will not come from federal grants but will be local money.
The county is talking about tearing down the downtown jail and building a new one. They have told us that it will take over $30 million to fix the existing building.
The property tax study does not include the franchise fees that the city is charging us through the water utility.
Could be 3rd highest
Our taxes would only have to go up $135 per year on a $150,000 dollar house for us to have been the third highest city last year. I can just hear it now, “that’s less than the cost of a soft drink per day”.
We deserve better
Brutus
elpasospeak 
A case of “trickle down politics?” Our local government’s fiscal irresponsibility seemes to be following the example shown by government at all levels up to and including our Federal government. I was taught all through my growing up years that I should try to save money and that Ican’t spend more money than I bring in. That apparently doesn’t apply to our govenment officials at any level. I would just advise that if “it’s less than the cost of a soda a day” that they quit drinking sodas and we quit buying them!
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Is all our downtown investment ever going to pay off? Now we’re talking about the arena downtown and we’ve got the trolleys coming but there’s no talk of a decent convention capable hotel and I”m hearing people are very upset with new management’s poor service at the Camino Real so they’re taking their business elsewhere. A recent post mentioned the “accomplishments” of getting some meetings to move downtown, yet now the County Commissioners are moving to nicer offices at Ascarate??? San Jacinto is a mess. We’re paying taxes up the wazoo! Is anybody making sense of all this?
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I have heard rumors that the Camino Real folks are angry with CC offering all kinds of bennies to other hotels, and they are allowing the place to deteriorate and also refusing to sell as revenge…
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Who can blame them? Mall owners who lost tenants to Foster’s Fountains feel the same way. The difference is that council and the downtown developers covet the Camino Real; not being able to control prime real estate is driving them crazy, but they don’t care what happens to most existing non-downtown commercial properties unless those properties are owned by a few special people who are the primary financiers of council member campaigns.
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Is all our downtown investment ever going to pay off?
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Not if the city keeps handing out multi-year tax abatements and corporate welfare.
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Milwaukee has arguably the best park system and zoo in the country, fabulous lake front, art museum and sport facilities (paid for by the rich folks, not taxpayers) and egregiously high tax. But at least you are getting something for it. I lived there 14 years.
El Paso in contrast pays high tax and has a stadium for a minor league team that we built for two bored billionaires who owned CC.
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Close your eyes and pretend it’s all a bad dream. That’s how I get by.
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People have you noticed we have not heard a word to tax increases for the coming year from the CC or the CCC. We’ll put money on it they will only tell us the details to these increases at the last minute that they can under law so no one will have time to mount any real opposition to any tax increases.
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You can look for a 4 cents -5 cents per hundred increase in your taxes this year. Our real problem is a $347,000,000 deficit as stated in the 2014CAFR. We also borrow money to keep the lights on. The money coming in cannot meet our bills without manipulating or financials. You hear the city say they are retiring debt but what they mean is they are refinancing the debt and pushing paying off said debt into the future.
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Besides the nonvoters, what can be done legally to stop this runaway train? A lawsuit, an injunction, what ?
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A petition signed by some percentage of registered voters to force it to a vote before the people. Unlimited Credit card you can be sure the CC or the CCC will make sure that no one will have the time needed to mount such a petition drive before the vote is taken to increase our taxes. You can also be sure that they will not increase tax beyond the limits that would automatically trigger a public vote by law. We cannot remember off the top of our head what number of registered voter would be needed for such petition for the City or the County or the tax increase percentage to trigger a vote by the public under law. You can call the city and the county and they have an obligation to give you this information.
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We just call the county and they have no idea what the percentage of tax increase would automatically trigger a vote before the people or what percentage or number of registered voters would be needed on a petition to force a vote on any tax increase. This is just how incompetent our government is at the county level. This information should be real easy to get for any citizen but nope not at the county. As soon as the county calls us back we will post this information. Now off to the city!
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Gee we are bating a thousand today! The city does not know the answer to these questions either. Doesn’t this instill confidence in your county and city government to information that should be easily available to the public.
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If a taxing unit adopts a tax rate that exceeds the rollback tax rate, voters in the taxing unit may petition for an election on the tax increase. A successful election limits the taxing unit’s current tax rate to the rollback tax rate.
http://comptroller.texas.gov/taxinfo/proptax/tnt/rollback-elections.html
What is the rollback rate?
The formula includes several variables like debt and new property and last year’s effective rate, but in round numbers the rollback rate is 8%. Don’t be surprised if we see 7.9%.
I believe that state law caps our city tax rate at $2.50 per hundred dollars of valuation. As a home rule city we are allowed to set a lower rate via a change to our city charter. We were at about 70 cents per hundred in 2014.
I could be wrong.
Brutus
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Brutus
We were sent to the Texas Secretary of State to get petition forms by the City which was total none sense but we got to talk to a lawyer there to understand how to do this and what ground are needed to bring a petition.She said look at what the city charter says which we believe you covered that but also Chapter 26 of the Texas tax code and Texas election code chapter 277 to information there to petitions outside the election code. We have not had a chance to research this but from what his lawyer was saying there are ways to challenge the tax increase under certain conditions. Also was told to call back if we need more help.
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The Times reported that Gonzalez says his restructuring of city staff has has resulted in a $3.5 million in savings since last September. Coincidentally, that’s the amount that they needed to cut to avoid the water franchise fee. So, if those cuts were available, why did they move forward with the franchise fee? Because city council at that time said they would rather institute the fee than to make cuts. It turn out they both made the cuts and implemented the new tax (call it what it is).
I am trying to understand why the city manager put a layer of management (Bartlett) between him and the police and fire departments. One would think that the two most important departments in the city would have a direct line to the city manager.
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I would doubt those are real cuts; maybe “soft costs” like Judge Escobar called EPCH’s debt to UMC. I doubt anyone got a pink slip. It’s not real until the budget goes down by the same amount.
Also, note that city departments always sandbag their budgets and there will be a traffic jam in Purchasing next month as they rush to spend unspent funds. You never leave money on the table at EOY in government.
Been there 🙂
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Man in the Moon, thanks. Now if we can just people to support a cap on taxes and spending, plus ask for third party audit.
They took the cuts and made the franchise tax because they CAN and know they’re in financial trouble. Only problem is you can’t save a cruise ship from sinking by bailing with a tea cup.
This has to be one of the most incompetent councils in the U.S. The only worst council was the California thieves. At least they had enough sense to take for themselves, not steal to self glorify.
Well, what happens after they vote for one of two spenders. Trolley Boy vs Nice Guy.
We need an uprising of the taxpayers against the city and the county.
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The Texas legislature is giving Texas property owners a Tax Cut but our elected City Council leaders are not…
😦
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