Legislation aimed at reducing homeowners’ property taxes passes out of the Texas Senate. But some critical of the bill still worry it will reduce what cities and counties use to fund their local police, fire, and emergency services.
The bill introduced by Sen. Paul Bettencourt would lower the percentage that cities and counties could raise property taxes when property values aren’t providing enough revenue to fund local municipalities’ budgets.
“What we are talking about is lowering the rate of growth on taxing jurisdictions so that hard-pressed homeowners and small business owners can stay in their home and business by lowering the rollback rate and cutting the rate of growth," Bettencourt explains.
Cities and counties use this rollback rate to determine the tax rate. As property values increase, the tax rate goes down and vice versa. Once that rate reaches more than 8 percent, voters can petition their local taxing entity to lower that rate back down to 8 percent. Bettencourt’s bill would keep the local tax rate at 5 percent or lower.
State Sen. Carlos Uresti, a Democrat from San Antonio, is concerned Bettencourt’s bill will lead to less money for police, fire, and EMS services, which are all funded by local property taxes.
“In San Antonio, about 66 percent of the budget is used primarily to fund the firefighters and the police department. And, so what do I tell them and what do we tell our first responders about this bill?" Uresti asks.
Bettencourt says with the rate increases Bexar County has had over the last three years, it should not have trouble funding its emergency services. The bill passed out of the Senate on an initial vote of 18 to 12.
