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Houston Mayor seeks property tax hike for Harvey recovery

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by MojoMan, Sep 11, 2017.

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  1. MojoMan

    MojoMan Member

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    Never let a crisis go to waste....

    The City of Houston's property tax rates have been limited in recent years by a state law capping them - except in case of an emergency. Now Mayor Sylvester Turner want to increase them, to the levels they would be at now without the caps.

    Lots of home and business owners have been devastated by these floods and are not going to be very excited about the prospect of a property tax increase.

    In any case, the debate is on and Democrat Mayor Sylvester Turner is proposing a tax hike.

    What say you, especially those of you hailing from Houston?
     
    #1 MojoMan, Sep 11, 2017
    RocketsLegend likes this.
  2. KingCheetah

    KingCheetah Contributing Member

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    After one year, the emergency period would end and the city's tax rate again would be dictated by the voter-imposed revenue cap, which limits the annual growth of Houston's property tax revenue to the combined rates of inflation and population growth, or 4.5 percent, whichever is lower.
     
    #2 KingCheetah, Sep 11, 2017
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  3. MojoMan

    MojoMan Member

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    So the tab is estimated in the article in the OP at $20 million (10% of $200 million) extra for debris removal plus whatever it costs to replace ruined city vehicles (however many of those there are - I bet not very many) and the costs related to "the municipal courts building, City Hall and its adjacent annex, and two sewage treatment plants knocked offline by flooding," much of which will be covered by insurance. Let's just say another $20 million, just to be generous.

    So that is an estimated $40 million in costs to the "City of Houston".

    The estimated increase in taxes proposed by Democrat Mayor Sylvester Turner - $113 million for one year, or about 300% of the estimated costs.

    This smacks of political expediency by people who are notorious for loving to raise taxes.
     
    #3 MojoMan, Sep 11, 2017
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  4. dmoneybangbang

    dmoneybangbang Member

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    Well... if Houston wants to not just slowly deflate, the METRO, will need to come up with a lot of money to not only repair the damages down from Harvey but a lot of money to mitigate future floods. Houston may not ever recover without significant investment in repairs and flood mitigation. What major businesses will want to relocate here if we go cheap? Will we continue to be the Energy Capital or will that slowly go away?

    This is more a result of underinvestment in infrastructure and poor land use policies from conservatives and libertarians. I really don't see property owners not having to pay up after decades of "let the free market" decide how we develop.
     
    #4 dmoneybangbang, Sep 11, 2017
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  5. FranchiseBlade

    FranchiseBlade Contributing Member
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    Oh man, I wanted to be mad and scream and yell about this!
     
    #5 FranchiseBlade, Sep 11, 2017
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  6. ipaman

    ipaman Contributing Member

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    Guaranteed spending for extreme widening of existing waterways and watersheds, create strategic area catch basins, more green space in form of water soaking parks, etc... give those spending guarantees and we'll talk.
     
    #6 ipaman, Sep 11, 2017
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  7. Deckard

    Deckard Blade Runner
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    I don't have a problem with it at all. Do people really think that a disaster of this magnitude can be dealt with by wishful thinking? Abbott doesn't want to dip into the state's multi-billion dollar rainy day fund. The Feds have come up with about $15 billion, a drop in the bucket, with some of that no doubt going to Florida. How else is the horrific damage going to be repaired? Wishful thinking? What happened to paying for what you spend? Sure, I live in Austin, but I'm a Houston native with a load of relatives and friends in and around the city. I want Houston to recover and become better than it was before Harvey.
     
    #7 Deckard, Sep 12, 2017
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  8. MojoMan

    MojoMan Member

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    We need a more exact accounting of these costs.

    Of course this isn't just about the storm. It is also about a leftist mayor who sees the opportunity to raise taxes, which is a nearly irresistible temptation to a Democrat politician.
     
    #8 MojoMan, Sep 12, 2017
  9. No Worries

    No Worries Contributing Member

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    Did you have to type this with only one hand?
     
    #9 No Worries, Sep 12, 2017
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  10. peleincubus

    peleincubus Member

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    Don't worry homie. It will turn into tax cuts for businesses and more strip malls. I promise no mass transit will be considered.

    Need more traffic and oil consumption. Because obviously it's impossible for a hurricane to hit Houston again. Perhaps a MAGA wall will even make it turn around and hit the brown folks in Mexico.

    Republicans are right and scientists are all wrong. The billions of humans have no effect on this world.

    Keep doin you.
     
    #10 peleincubus, Sep 12, 2017
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  11. Big MAK

    Big MAK Member

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    My problem is that the hurricane affected everyone - not just property owners. I, as a home owner, have paid in various forms to protect and rebuild my home at my own expense. I don't mind assisting the city, but everyone who benefits from the cleanup efforts (ie everyone) should help.
     
    #11 Big MAK, Sep 12, 2017
  12. MojoMan

    MojoMan Member

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    All flood insurance is underwritten by the federal government, so the federal government role in this will be the substantial majority. It should be noted that the city of Houston has insurance for all of this, so those amounts covered by insurance will not need to be paid by the city. Home and business owners are on their own, with insurance covering some of the losses and the city of Houston covering none.

    The amount of this tax hike appears to be excessive.

    We need a more exact accounting of the actual expected costs to the city of Houston related to this storm and those numbers need to be checked and checked again. Sylvester Turner and the City of Houston should not just be blindly trusted about all of this.
     
    #12 MojoMan, Sep 12, 2017
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  13. glynch

    glynch Contributing Member

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    No need for improvements on dams and holding ponds funded by the theft of taxes.
    The free market will take care of it. People can just sue in courts that are run by folks whose campaigns are funded by the developers
     
    #13 glynch, Sep 12, 2017
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  14. Amiga

    Amiga 10 years ago...
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    Isn't property tax capped at 1mil? How about a lift there? They can certainly afford it more than other folks.

    Or maybe a one-time temp income tax?

    Not so fond of the idea of raising tax on those that can't afford it and on many of those that just got flooded.

    And yes, need to be clear on what the additional tax are for.
     
    #14 Amiga, Sep 12, 2017
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  15. glad_ken

    glad_ken Contributing Member

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    #15 glad_ken, Sep 12, 2017
  16. dmoneybangbang

    dmoneybangbang Member

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    This...

    Have folks already forgotten about the massive flooding during the spring of 2017? The Houston metro needs significant flood mitigation investment.
     
    #16 dmoneybangbang, Sep 12, 2017
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  17. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Contributing Member

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    I'm for it. I don't really like that property taxes are the primary way we fund things in Texas, but I think the tax burden is too low and state spending is too low. I think our underinvestment in infrastructure, education, and services are a threat to the ongoing success of Houston and of Texas. I am not at all concerned about spending a few extra bucks on the assessments on my properties. I am very concerned about the distress costs that result from government underfunding.
     
    #17 JuanValdez, Sep 12, 2017
    zksb09, Deckard, SWTsig and 1 other person like this.
  18. Buck Turgidson

    Buck Turgidson Member

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    I though it was a generally accepted fact that people who rent pay property taxes and insurance, as they are factored into the rent.
     
    #18 Buck Turgidson, Sep 12, 2017
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  19. No Worries

    No Worries Contributing Member

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    This is not just a City of Houston problem or a Harris County problem, but a multi-county problem.
     
    #19 No Worries, Sep 12, 2017
  20. MojoMan

    MojoMan Member

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    Very little of the problem is a "City of Houston" problem.
     
    #20 MojoMan, Sep 12, 2017
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