Friday, April 26, 2024
Granbury city officials and other city officials throughout the state are bracing for battle against a Legislature that appears determined to impose what they believe are restrictions that would cripple local governments.
Mayor Nin Hulett, councilmember Trish Reiner and City Manager Chris Coffman traveled to the state Capitol in Austin last week to attend a meeting held by Gov. Greg Abbott’s policy office.
The meeting pertained to school finance reform and local property tax issues that will play a critical role in the 86th Legislative session, which is now underway.
At that meeting, city officials from across Texas were presented legislation that, according to a press release issued by the city, would “hinder citizens’ ability to have a voice in vital decisions affecting their community by drastically changing the way cities are allowed to administer property tax collection.”
The press release stated that there were three main parts to the plan presented at the meeting. They were:
■ Locally elected officials will be limited in their ability to make decisions on behalf of the community by being denied the ability to collect more than 2.5 percent more in property tax revenue for maintenance and operations than they did the previous year.
■ To increase beyond the 2.5 percent, the city must hold an election in which not a majority but rather two-thirds of the voters elect to go beyond 2.5 percent. Local governments would be forced to pay for that extra election.
■ Even if the community wants to increase property tax revenue in order to fund a project or service, the only reasons a city may go beyond a 2.5 percent increase is for fire or police. Under the governor’s proposal, citizens will be denied any request to increase the tax rate in order to fund any other needed project or service if the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does not increase by more than 2.5 percent.
CITY VS. STATE
Fearing what the upcoming legislative session would bring, the Granbury City Council, at its Dec. 4 regular meeting, unanimously adopted a resolution formally opposing any measures that would limit, reduce or remove the current level of local control regarding the ability of city officials to govern, finance or otherwise make decisions on behalf of the community.
Legislation proposed in the meeting held in Austin on Jan. 9 “is directly in the category of the types of legislation the Granbury City Council has decided to stand against,” the city’s press release stated.
Hulett expressed concerns about uncontrollable costs such as unfunded state and federal mandates, emergencies and growth-related service demands.
“For example, the drought of record that we experienced a few years back did not affect all communities in the same way it did ours,” Hulett said. “City officials are the most knowledgeable about community needs and should be given the flexibility to address those needs.”
The proposed revenue caps “fly in the face of local control by taking choice out of the hands of the voters who elected local decision-makers to address the needs of the community. One size does not fit all,” Hulett stated.
Reiner shares Hulett’s concerns.
“The concept of a spending cap sounds enticing on the surface,” she said. “However, the devil is in the details. This 2.5 percent cap will cripple cities of every size by ultimately forcing them to take on unexpected debt in the event of a crisis, spend money on unnecessary elections, and take the power away from the citizens who elected us to run the city and who hold us accountable to do so.”
She added, “What the state needs to do is address the true crisis, which is the need for school finance reform, and let us do our job.”
According to the city’s press release, elected officials from across the state who attended the meeting roundly rejected the plan, noting that it would pose problems with public safety and bond ratings.
For many cities, including Granbury, property tax revenue does not cover the cost of public safety services such as police and fire.
The capped rate would make it even more difficult for cities to make sure that public safety services, the salaries of public safety employees and the equipment they need are adequately funded every year.
Bond ratings would be negatively impacted if the Legislature adopts the governor’s plan, city officials believe. Good bond ratings help cities save money on interest charged for large-scale projects that meet a community’s needs, such as the water treatment and wastewater treatment systems that are currently being upgraded in Granbury.
Granbury consistently boasts one of the lowest property tax rates in the region. Only 20 percent of the property taxes paid by Gran-bury residents go to the city. The other 80 percent goes to the county and the Granbury school district.
To learn more about the “Our Home, Our Decisions” initiative in which Granbury and other Texas cities are participating, visit www.granbury.org/OurHomeOur-Decisions.
kcruz@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 258
