HomeMy WebLinkAboutPR 18948: OPPOSITION TO A REVENUE CAP AND LEGISLATIVE INTERFERENCE WITH LOCAL SERVICES (REQUESTED BY MAYOR PRINCE) P.R. No. 18948
04/07/15 gt
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS, IN
OPPOSITION TO A REVENUE CAP AND LEGISLATIVE
INTERFERENCE WITH LOCAL SERVICES (REQUESTED BY MAYOR
PRINCE)
WHEREAS, bills have been introduced to cap the amount of property tax
revenue cities can collect each year in a misguided effort to reduce the property tax
burden on homeowners and businesses; and
WHEREAS, currently, if a Texas city increases property tax collections by more
than eight percent over the previous year, voters can petition for an election to
rollback the increase; and
WHEREAS, bills have been introduced to replace that eight percent "rollback
rate" with a hard cap of four percent and require mandatory elections on an
increase over four percent — all with the false claim that this would provide property
tax relief; and
WHEREAS, according to the state comptroller's latest survey of property tax
rates in 1,002 cities in Texas, 67 percent of cities raised their property taxes by less
than four percent from 2012 to 2013 and 37 percent of cities actually reduced their
property taxes; and
WHEREAS, that means property owners in at least 669 Texas cities would have
seen no reduction in their city property taxes if the four percent cap had been in
effect; and
WHEREAS, while the savings to individual taxpayers are very small or even
non-existent, a four percent cap could represent a loss in vital city services; and
WHEREAS, cities collect just 16 percent of the property taxes levied in Texas,
and most of the property taxes paid by Texans (55 percent) go to school districts;
and
WHEREAS, according to the comptroller's report, the total amount of property
taxes collected by cities rose by 3.61 percent between 2012 and 2013, while school
district tax collections rose by more than twice that rate or 7.72 percent; and
WHEREAS, school property taxes have been rising because the legislature
continues to reduce the state's share of funding for schools, which forces districts to
get more revenue from property taxes.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS:
Section 1. That all of the above recitals are true and correct.
Section 2. That the City Council of the City of Port Arthur, Texas, is
OPPOSED to the legislative imposition of a revenue cap and legislative interference
with local services.
Section 3. That imposing a revenue cap on cities: (a) does not provide
meaningful tax relief; (b) robs cities of the ability to meet local needs; and (c)
diverts attention from the real cause of higher property taxes, which is the
legislature's failure to address the problem of school funding.
READ, ADOPTED, AND APPROVED, this day of , 2015 AD,
at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Port Arthur, Texas by the
following vote: AYES:
Mayor:
Councilmembers:
•
NOES:
Mayor
ATTEST:
City Secretary
APPROVE AS TO FORM:
\lad, 1
City Attorney
APPROVED FOR ADMINISTRATION:
City Manager