Someone needs to fix something. Galveston is a small town with high poverty, high crime, a lot of trash, and a lot of tourism.
Yet we have 2 extra CEOs for a small-town population of 50,000 with one that makes as much as a Supreme Court justice, and the other makes much more. Both make more than the governor.
We charge the little guys extra fees and up taxes, while 8 representatives take unnecessary first-class trips to Barcelona, Spain on the public dime and ask for $120 million while falsely claiming it’s west end cargo related instead of east end cruise expenditures.
Galveston is home, but before I’m unable to ask again, I would like to see a real management audit of internal control of our assets.
This is what happens when a community is bamboozled into believing our “best and brightest” will be siphoned off to communities with far greater economic resources if we don't join a bidding war we can't afford for their services.
Scoggin posts "our legislature is far too busy with culture war issues instead of actually governing"
Perhaps if the GCDN would publish more articles about the PROPERTY TAX REFORM proposed by Lt Gov Dan Patrick instead of "culture war issues" Scoggin would know better. For example, from other publications.
"Texas Senate passes $16.5 billion package to lower property taxes" March 22, 2023
"Dueling property tax cut packages would reduce Texans’ tax bills by more than $16 billion" March 29, 2023
"Texas House passes $12 billion property tax relief package, setting up fight over appraisal cap with Senate" April 13, 2023
By the way, the GCDN does have an editorial - "Property tax reform should be significant, structural, permanent" by Michael A Smith Jan 20, 2023
and a guest column - "House Bill 2 is the best method of tax relief" by Cheryl E. Johnson Apr 5, 2023
This is one of the few examples of serious legislation. And the House and Senate are deadlocked as to their approach. But they seem to have time to punish people they don’t like and to continue to interfere in local matters.
I agree with Gary Scoggin, and God help me, with Gary Miller, who has proposed that home evaluations be updated only when the property changes hands. That encourages stable neighborhoods and allows the average Joe to build a little equity and wealth without the local government siphoning it off every year. This could easily be incorporated into the current homestead exemption.
Property taxes should be based on the value of the home AT THE TIME PURCHASED, and the appraisal should remain unchanged until that home changes hands!!
Mary > that was the system CAD replaced. City and school bureaucrats fought for CAD because they didn't like voters knowing they were responsible for tax increases. Now they claim they can't do anything about what CAD does.
Bailey > You mention my sugestion for property tax reform. Do you remember that CAD was supposed to be a property tax reform. It ignored the fact that bureaucrats tend to bend and modify laws they don't like. CAD turned out to be the cause of the present mess. Up grading a property value each time it is sold was the fix bureaucrats defeated to get CAD. Now we pay extra property taxes to pay for the bureaucratic overhead of CAD. On top of CAD adjusting property values to match city and school budgit increases. If you want real reform you must make sure no bureaucrat has anything to do with it. Taxpayers are getting poorer and poorer while CAD gets richer and richer.
Tax and spend politicians will fight to keep CAD. They don't like taxpayers knowing politicians raised taxes. We pay extra taxes for CAD's overhead and CAD raises taxes to match political budgets. Cad is a major tax consumer. Property appraisels go up when Cad hires more employees or gives them a raise.
When you exclude school property taxes, all other property taxes, City,County,Community Colleges, Mud Districts, Special Districts all set their own tax rate, the state can’t lower these taxes. If these property taxes increase blame locals, because they are free to lower the tax rate. So for rising taxes, take all these taxing units off the table for this argument.
Notice I left out school taxes. These taxes amount to 54 percent of your property tax bill state wide. This is more than all your property taxes combined. This should be an eye opener that demands an answer.
Fifty years of lawsuits have shaped school finance and rising property taxes. Key elements are
{a) U.S. Supreme court 1982 ruling that school districts must enroll all students regardless of legal status.
(b) Texas Constitution and TX supreme court orders that the state must equally fund across school districts these two rulings created an incentive to use children as a ticket to get into the country illegially.
( C) thousands of poor students (66) percent economic poor plus increase in hundreds of property poor school districts costing billions to educate.
(d) the state gets these billions by capping Schools M&0 tax rate. When appraisals increase the state benefits by taking billions of local property tax values by cutting their share of school funding. The state comptroller runs property values estimate and it is this survey, not the CAD values that is used to fund schools. In other words it is the state that forces CADS to raise appraisals so that the state can raise the billions to fund all the property poor school districts, thus shifting the state responsibility onto the backs of local taxpayers. I would put the whole system in the GCDN if the paper would allow me about an extra 100 word backed up by sources.
James tax is based on what the tax rate is. Appraisals is the market value based on sales with your property adjusted. The CAD used the medium value of comparable sales in your neighbor. Texas is a non-disclosure state, and the real estate lobby keeps it that way. You want all sales to get a more fair balance, by hiding property sales, one sale can make a big difference.
Property tax bills are outrageous. How can people afford to live anywhere? No wonder our houses are more and more crunched together.
And as for “fair market value”…. People are moving in from out of state and willing to over pay for houses. Many homes have doubled in fairnarket value but have no improvements. The folks living in them for 50 years are forced to sell because they can no longer afford the insane taxes. Our legislature MUST do something! Put aside all the culture/moral debate and address something critical that seriously impacts us all!
"The folks living in them for 50 years are forced to sell because they can no longer afford the insane taxes."
Texas has given property owners over 65 and disabled a way out to avoid moving. It's called deferment and is available in every county in Texas. A one-page form and the taxes are deferred until the house is sold; it can even stop a tax foreclosure in its tracks.
Yes, the taxes must be paid when the last home owning survivor dies, but no one in Texas over 65 or disabled who owns their home outright ever has to pay those taxes or face eviction. It's the law, it has been in place since the 1980s I believe, and counties are not wild about the idea of it being well known.
Appraisal increases have nothing to do with what your taxes are for Cities,County,Mud Disrtricts, Community colleges and special districts. In each of those their boards set the tax rate, if appraisals goes up and they do nothing they get more money,plus the advantage of new construction, Also they set their budget, Nothing prevents locals from cutting rates. This is not criticism it is just a fact. You can;t blame the Appraisal district.
Public Schools are a horse of a different color. These taxes are 54 percent of all your property taxes, more than all the property taxes combined. When millions of poor from around the world enter the U.S. illegially, the U.S. supreme court in 1982 Plyer Vs Doe ruled that schools must enroll all students regardless of legal status.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state must follow the state constitution and provide equal funding across state lines. Those rulings created children being and incentive to use children for entire families and others to enter the U.S. illegally and stay by enrolling the child in public schools. The state puts caps on the school tax rate, thus tying the hands of school trustees, When appraisal increase, the sttat benefits by reducing the state's share of sdchool funding, shifting their share to local property owners. Billions of local property tax is needed to fund hundreds of property poor school districts. Sixty Six percent of all public school districts are classified as eco nomically poor. When you invite the poor of the world to America and the courts mandate schools must enroll then and Anerican Taxpayers pay for it.
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(27) comments
Someone needs to fix something. Galveston is a small town with high poverty, high crime, a lot of trash, and a lot of tourism.
Yet we have 2 extra CEOs for a small-town population of 50,000 with one that makes as much as a Supreme Court justice, and the other makes much more. Both make more than the governor.
We charge the little guys extra fees and up taxes, while 8 representatives take unnecessary first-class trips to Barcelona, Spain on the public dime and ask for $120 million while falsely claiming it’s west end cargo related instead of east end cruise expenditures.
Galveston is home, but before I’m unable to ask again, I would like to see a real management audit of internal control of our assets.
Let’s see if I’m deleted again.
This is what happens when a community is bamboozled into believing our “best and brightest” will be siphoned off to communities with far greater economic resources if we don't join a bidding war we can't afford for their services.
Kenneth, I agree but our legislature is far too busy with culture war issues instead of actually governing.
Scoggin posts "our legislature is far too busy with culture war issues instead of actually governing"
Perhaps if the GCDN would publish more articles about the PROPERTY TAX REFORM proposed by Lt Gov Dan Patrick instead of "culture war issues" Scoggin would know better. For example, from other publications.
"Texas Senate passes $16.5 billion package to lower property taxes" March 22, 2023
"Dueling property tax cut packages would reduce Texans’ tax bills by more than $16 billion" March 29, 2023
"Texas House passes $12 billion property tax relief package, setting up fight over appraisal cap with Senate" April 13, 2023
By the way, the GCDN does have an editorial - "Property tax reform should be significant, structural, permanent" by Michael A Smith Jan 20, 2023
and a guest column - "House Bill 2 is the best method of tax relief" by Cheryl E. Johnson Apr 5, 2023
and of course, this Letter to the Editor.
This is one of the few examples of serious legislation. And the House and Senate are deadlocked as to their approach. But they seem to have time to punish people they don’t like and to continue to interfere in local matters.
Reconciling differences in joint committee is not "deadlocked".
Someone cue up "I'm Just a Bill" for Scoggin!
Punish people they don't like, OK, examples.
Transsexual people and Houston voters to name two groups.
The Harris County Voter Bill is also going to cost us the taxpayers when the state fights tooth and nail to defend this atrocious bill in court.
I agree with Gary Scoggin, and God help me, with Gary Miller, who has proposed that home evaluations be updated only when the property changes hands. That encourages stable neighborhoods and allows the average Joe to build a little equity and wealth without the local government siphoning it off every year. This could easily be incorporated into the current homestead exemption.
[thumbup]
[thumbup]
Write this day down! I agree with Bailey!
Property taxes should be based on the value of the home AT THE TIME PURCHASED, and the appraisal should remain unchanged until that home changes hands!!
Mary > that was the system CAD replaced. City and school bureaucrats fought for CAD because they didn't like voters knowing they were responsible for tax increases. Now they claim they can't do anything about what CAD does.
Bailey > You mention my sugestion for property tax reform. Do you remember that CAD was supposed to be a property tax reform. It ignored the fact that bureaucrats tend to bend and modify laws they don't like. CAD turned out to be the cause of the present mess. Up grading a property value each time it is sold was the fix bureaucrats defeated to get CAD. Now we pay extra property taxes to pay for the bureaucratic overhead of CAD. On top of CAD adjusting property values to match city and school budgit increases. If you want real reform you must make sure no bureaucrat has anything to do with it. Taxpayers are getting poorer and poorer while CAD gets richer and richer.
Theyll just kick the can down the 2 year road .. like they always do
31 billion stashed..
Tax and spend politicians will fight to keep CAD. They don't like taxpayers knowing politicians raised taxes. We pay extra taxes for CAD's overhead and CAD raises taxes to match political budgets. Cad is a major tax consumer. Property appraisels go up when Cad hires more employees or gives them a raise.
Tax is based on "market value". Market value is the amount a buyer and a seller agree on. How can value be raised every year if there is no sale?
[thumbup]
When you exclude school property taxes, all other property taxes, City,County,Community Colleges, Mud Districts, Special Districts all set their own tax rate, the state can’t lower these taxes. If these property taxes increase blame locals, because they are free to lower the tax rate. So for rising taxes, take all these taxing units off the table for this argument.
Notice I left out school taxes. These taxes amount to 54 percent of your property tax bill state wide. This is more than all your property taxes combined. This should be an eye opener that demands an answer.
Fifty years of lawsuits have shaped school finance and rising property taxes. Key elements are
{a) U.S. Supreme court 1982 ruling that school districts must enroll all students regardless of legal status.
(b) Texas Constitution and TX supreme court orders that the state must equally fund across school districts these two rulings created an incentive to use children as a ticket to get into the country illegially.
( C) thousands of poor students (66) percent economic poor plus increase in hundreds of property poor school districts costing billions to educate.
(d) the state gets these billions by capping Schools M&0 tax rate. When appraisals increase the state benefits by taking billions of local property tax values by cutting their share of school funding. The state comptroller runs property values estimate and it is this survey, not the CAD values that is used to fund schools. In other words it is the state that forces CADS to raise appraisals so that the state can raise the billions to fund all the property poor school districts, thus shifting the state responsibility onto the backs of local taxpayers. I would put the whole system in the GCDN if the paper would allow me about an extra 100 word backed up by sources.
James tax is based on what the tax rate is. Appraisals is the market value based on sales with your property adjusted. The CAD used the medium value of comparable sales in your neighbor. Texas is a non-disclosure state, and the real estate lobby keeps it that way. You want all sales to get a more fair balance, by hiding property sales, one sale can make a big difference.
[thumbup]
Ah ha! James. The light came on.
Property tax bills are outrageous. How can people afford to live anywhere? No wonder our houses are more and more crunched together.
And as for “fair market value”…. People are moving in from out of state and willing to over pay for houses. Many homes have doubled in fairnarket value but have no improvements. The folks living in them for 50 years are forced to sell because they can no longer afford the insane taxes. Our legislature MUST do something! Put aside all the culture/moral debate and address something critical that seriously impacts us all!
"The folks living in them for 50 years are forced to sell because they can no longer afford the insane taxes."
Texas has given property owners over 65 and disabled a way out to avoid moving. It's called deferment and is available in every county in Texas. A one-page form and the taxes are deferred until the house is sold; it can even stop a tax foreclosure in its tracks.
Yes, the taxes must be paid when the last home owning survivor dies, but no one in Texas over 65 or disabled who owns their home outright ever has to pay those taxes or face eviction. It's the law, it has been in place since the 1980s I believe, and counties are not wild about the idea of it being well known.
Mr Cross i get the thought you could be clear thinking poloticion.
Appraisal increases have nothing to do with what your taxes are for Cities,County,Mud Disrtricts, Community colleges and special districts. In each of those their boards set the tax rate, if appraisals goes up and they do nothing they get more money,plus the advantage of new construction, Also they set their budget, Nothing prevents locals from cutting rates. This is not criticism it is just a fact. You can;t blame the Appraisal district.
Public Schools are a horse of a different color. These taxes are 54 percent of all your property taxes, more than all the property taxes combined. When millions of poor from around the world enter the U.S. illegially, the U.S. supreme court in 1982 Plyer Vs Doe ruled that schools must enroll all students regardless of legal status.
The Texas Supreme Court ruled that the state must follow the state constitution and provide equal funding across state lines. Those rulings created children being and incentive to use children for entire families and others to enter the U.S. illegally and stay by enrolling the child in public schools. The state puts caps on the school tax rate, thus tying the hands of school trustees, When appraisal increase, the sttat benefits by reducing the state's share of sdchool funding, shifting their share to local property owners. Billions of local property tax is needed to fund hundreds of property poor school districts. Sixty Six percent of all public school districts are classified as eco nomically poor. When you invite the poor of the world to America and the courts mandate schools must enroll then and Anerican Taxpayers pay for it.
your property taxes will continue to climb.
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