Harris County Judge Ed Emmett has suggested cutting the county’s property tax rate by one cent, and the Chronicle‘s Bill Murphy has the story:
Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday floated the idea of cutting the county’s property tax rate 1 cent — a decrease that would save the average homeowner about $12 annually.
County Judge Ed Emmett, who will seek election next year to the post to which he was appointed this year, led the push for the tax cut.
He said appraisals on all types of property rose 12 percent on average this year, but county government doesn’t require a 12 percent increase in tax revenue.
Commissioners Court will hold a public hearing on the proposed cut at 9 a.m. Tuesday, on the ninth floor of the Harris County Administration Building, 1001 Preston. The court will vote on the tax rate Oct. 23.
The current Harris County overall property tax rate is 63.99 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Commissioner El Franco Lee said he may support the cut if it does not harm delivery of needed services. But he called the proposed reduction nothing more than a token gesture.
He said Emmett is pressing for the cut because he is seeking election and thinks there is a sector of the public that will be impressed by even a small cut in the tax rate.
The “token gesture” of a one-cent reduction, when county revenues are increasing by 12 percent a year, is a welcome move.
We see the same issue at the city level, where Mayor White is proposing a smaller rate reduction, but the city’s revenues will still go up by $80 million over the previous year, thanks to appraisal increases. As Councilmember Addie Wiseman notes, homeowners won’t see any savings:
“A dramatic increase like that, it’s an insult to the intelligence of the people of this city to say you’re giving them a tax cut when, in fact, their taxes are increasing,” said City Councilwoman Addie Wiseman. “Bottom line: When (taxpayers) go and write their checks, they won’t see a decrease.”
In today’s Chronicle story, former county District Clerk Charles Bacarisse, who will run for the county judge seat in the Republican primary, is proposing a five-cent reduction. That would be great, except that it is highly unlikely to pass commissioners court. As the story notes, in 2004 commissioners defeated Judge Eckels proposed quarter-cent rate cut.
As County Tax Assessor Paul Bettencourt says, “Any property tax relief is good. Something is always better than nothing.”
Yes. What would be even better is if government would limit its own growth. From Judge Emmett’s press release:
“It seems to me that the rate of government growth is too high,” Emmett said. “That money needs to be put back in the hands of the community that earned it. My proposal today is meant to start a discussion. For me, it’s a matter of principle that the government should not grow faster than the economy or the community.”
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