HomeMy WebLinkAbout030449 RES - 03/24/2015 RESOLUTION NO. 3 , 9
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI,TEXAS,IN OPPOSITION
TO A REVENUE CAP AND LEGISLATIVE INTERFERENCE WITH LOCAL
SERVICES.
WHEREAS,bills have been introduced to cap the amount of property tax revenue cities can
collect each year in a misguided effort to reduce the property tax burden on homeowners and
businesses; and
WHEREAS, currently, if a Texas city increases property tax collections by more than eight
percent over the previous year, voters can petition for an election to rollback the increase; and
WHEREAS, bills have been introduced to replace that eight percent"rollback rate"with a hard
cap of four percent and require mandatory elections on an increase over four percent—all with
the false claim that this would provide property tax relief; and
WHEREAS, according to the state comptroller's latest survey of property tax rates in 1,002 cities
in Texas, 67 percent of cities raised their property taxes by less than four percent from 2012 to
2013 and 37 percent of cities actually reduced their property taxes; and
WHEREAS, that means property owners in at least 669 Texas cities would have seen no
reduction in their city property taxes if the four percent cap had been in effect; and
WHEREAS, while the savings to individual taxpayers are very small or even non-existent, a four
percent cap could represent a loss in vital city services; and
WHEREAS, cities collect just 16 percent of the property taxes levied in Texas, and most of the
property taxes paid by Texans(55 percent) go to school districts; and
WHEREAS, according to the comptroller's report, the total amount of property taxes collected
by cities rose by 3.61 percent between 2012 and 2013, while school district tax collections rose
by more than twice that rate or 7.72 percent; and
WHEREAS, school property taxes have been rising because the legislature continues to reduce
the state's share of funding for schools,which forces districts to get more revenue from property
taxes.
NOW THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS:
1. That all of the above recitals are true and correct;
2. That the City Council of the City of Corpus Christi,Texas, is OPPOSED to the legislative
imposition of a revenue cap and legislative interference with local services; and
3. That imposing a revenue cap on cities: (a) does not provide meaningful tax relief; (b)robs
cities of the ability to meet local needs; and(c) diverts attention from the real cause of higher
property taxes,which is the legislature's failure to address the problem of school funding.
0304 .49
INDEXED
PASSED AND APPROVED this 14: day of Ina-0\J , 2015.
ATTEST: THE CITY OF CORPUS CHRISTI
1-212-1Z,OCX-e, )A-1
Rebecca Huerta Nelda Martin
City Secretary Mayor
Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi, Texas
The above resolution was passed by the following vote:
Nelda Martinez (L
Carolyn Vaugha/n
Brian Rosas C
Lucy Rubio Af-'
Colleen McIntyre 4
Rudy Garza Cy
Chad Magill &luxL
Lillian Riojas ( ty
Mark Scott
ar,
031) 449