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Property Tax
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When I was first elected to City Council here in The Colony in 2003,
our City had one of the very highest tax rates in the area. It was a major factor in why our growth had
been “stunted” for so long, and why new developments did not choose to locate
here in The Colony. I knew that had
to change. Philosophically, I am always for smaller government, and less
taxes. And, starting during my first
term in office, the tax rate no longer went up, but started an 18 year
decrease in the municipal property tax rate in The Colony. And, I was
committed for my three terms on City Council to drive down the tax rate …
and, we did! I COMMIT TO
CONTINUING THE TAX RATE REDUCTION TREND IN THE COLONY! We must continue to drive down the property tax rate for our
residents and homeowners in The Colony.
We must begin to utilize and benefit from the financial advantages now
available to us due to the increased revenues from sales taxes of our
expanding retail and entertainment base. There will always been increased needs with a growing
community. The Colony will have to
look at future expansion and needs of our public safety (both police and
fire). We will need to be able to fun
the additional infrastructure that may be needed to facilitate the growth that
is yet to come. But a balanced budget
can be accomplished both with funding these needs, while driving down the tax
rate. With that being said, I also must address the BIGGEST problem with
property tax in not only The Colony, but in all of Texas. Our State legislature has passed
self-serving legislation that they disguise as “property tax reform”, all the
while taking political grandstanding and “victory laps” to the extreme. The fact is that they have tightly
restricted and tied the hands of the municipal governments that support your everyday
needs, while NOT ADDRESSING THE REAL PROBLEM.
To achieve real property tax relief in Texas, there must be a major
change to the way Appraisal Districts work.
In The Colony, while tax rates go down, all of
our tax bills go up!! Why?? It is increased taxable values assigned by
the Denton County Appraisal Districts.
Cities, counties, ISDs lower their rates the small percentage that
they are able in order to still function, while the
Appraisal Districts increase the property values by up to 10% a year, so that
all of our tax burdens increase! THIS
IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED AT THE STATE LEVEL! Here is what I commit to you, if
you elect me as your Place 1 Councilperson: ü I will continue to drive the property
tax rate in The Colony down each and every year ü I will work closely with City staff to
look at ways to increase efficiencies and find possible reductions in costs ü I will fight with all of you to get
the State legislature to look at real property tax reform that does not hurt
Cities ü I will join with the Texas Municipal
League and all the representative cities in the organization to find tax
reform opportunities ü Finally, I will gladly sit with any
resident during budget time to review the City budget, and take suggestions
on improvements My wife and I have paid property tax in The Colony for 25
years. We understand the need for taxation
but hate the way our tax burden has increased nearly 5 fold
during this time. We cannot see our
residents taxed out of their homes, and I promise to diligently work to find
solutions to this issue. |