Rollback process

June 7, 2015
A regular reader sent us this note:
Brutus
Here is what receive from the City Tax office you can post this also there is a petition form in PDF on the bottom of the e-mail. So far nothing from the county.
Subject: rollback rate
If a taxing unit, other than a school district, adopts a tax rate that exceeds the rollback rate, voters may petition for an election on the tax increase.
The rollback rate is the tax rate that would be needed to raise the amount the unit levied in the preceding year plus 8%.  The rollback rate is published along with the effective tax rate.
Rollback process starts after the taxing unit formally adopts the tax rate.  If the adopted rate exceeds the rollback rate, voters may start the petition drive.
If the tax rate adopted for the current year by the taxing unit imposes M&O taxes of $5 million or more, seven percent of the registered voters shown on the most recent official voter list must sign the petition.  If the tax rate adopted by a taxing unit imposes taxes for M&O of less than $5 million, the signatures of 10% percent of the registered voters in the unit are required on a petition.
We don’t provide the forms for the rollback petition.  Attached is a sample rollback petition and ballot, from the 2012 Truth-in-Taxation pamphlet provided by the Texas State Comptroller, Property Tax Division.
You may find this link helpful,

1 Comment | City government, County Government | Permalink
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Do we need these things?

June 6, 2015

This came in from Helen Marshall on June the first:

In today’s EP Times one front page story tells us that the Children’s Hospital is a financial disaster just waiting to blow up.  The op-ed by Dr. Papas continues that theme, noting that at the time it was proposed the math simply did not work, and many people said so – but not the wizards at the UMC, who are now working to assume control of the failed project they pushed for.   And below the fold we learn that Council will consider tomorrow the possible sites for the $180M Downtown arena – in secret, of course.  (What will happen with regard to the Children’s Museum and the Cultural Center is not included.)  Mr. Bryan Crowe asserts that the community has been included in ample discussions – translation, we will make a decision now, not you rubes.

I am waiting to hear what it is that cannot be satisfied now by the available facilities.  What high school graduation ceremonies do not take place?  What events do not come to El Paso because there is no downtown arena?   Is the intention to take some of the business away from UTEP’s Don Haskins Center?  Where will the parking be for the 12,500 people expected to fill this arena?  Please don’t tell me that they will arrive by Brio bus!
How can we be thinking of spending $180 million (in principal costs, not to mention the interest costs – and let’s note the projections about the impact of the Children’s Hospital bankruptcy on future El Paso bond ratings) while confronting significantly under-estimated costs for the Children’s Museum (undefined) and the Cultural Center (undefined).  The current New Mexico magazine has an excellent piece about the struggles of the National Hispanic Cultural Center in Albuquerque, and the costs to date.   Someone in the City should read it and sober up!
The two candidates in the District One run-off both assert that they are determined to see the city complete these three projects without asking the voters for more funds.   How?
Do we deserve better?

4 Comments | City government, County Government, El Paso Times | Permalink
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Are we really business friendly?

June 5, 2015

The last two days we have seen that El Paso is the eighth poorest major city in the nation and that we have the fifth highest homeowner property tax rate among the nation’s 50 largest cities.

U. S. News and World Report  has listed us as the city with the 5th lowest real income (with the lowest median incomes relative to their respective costs of living).

What can we do?

Some will say that we need to attract industry.  Better jobs will make the difference.

Well, take a look at this:

2014topindustrial

Yes, El Paso has the third highest taxes on industrial property among our largest 50 cities.

Maybe we can attract some industries that don’t worry about money.

We deserve better

Brutus

11 Comments | City government, County Government, El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
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“Never have so many been manipulated so much by so few.” — Aldous Huxley

June 4, 2015

CBS news has a post on their web site dated February 18, 2015.

They tell us that El Paso is the 8th poorest major city in the nation.  The article says:

  • Percentage of incomes under $25,000: 30.7%
  • Percentage of population with bachelor’s degree: 22.7%
  • Percentage of incomes over $150,000: 5.2% (#28, tied with Indianapolis)
  • Total population: 660,795

Education and low wages are two of the biggest economic issues in this border city. The U.S. Census Bureau notes only 74 percent of El Paso residents ages 25 and older have a high school degree or the equivalent, compared to the national average of 85 percent. And lower levels of education often equal lower earning power. According to a recent Forbes survey of 100 metropolitan areas where people earn the biggest and smallest paychecks, El Paso was ranked 97, with median starting salaries of $39,600 and an overall median salary of just under $47,000.

Making this even more unfortunate is the fact that El Paso is now ranked as having the fifth highest property tax of the fifty largest cities in the United States in the “50 State Property Tax Comparison Study” published by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence.

Highest taxes, lowest incomes

Not quite but close.  We have the fifth highest taxes and the eighth lowest incomes.

Stay tuned.  Tomorrow we will look at the study in more detail.

We deserve better

4 Comments | City government, County Government, El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
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5th highest taxes

June 3, 2015

Here is the listing of the 50 cities with the highest homeowner property tax in 2014:

2014top50cities

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

19 Comments | City government, County Government, El Paso Independent School District | Permalink
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