By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A majority of city council members voted to keep the same property tax rate as last year.
The council held a required public hearing on the proposed tax rate during its regular meeting on Tuesday Sept. 10.
After City Secretary Mari Acosta announced the agenda item, “a public hearing on the proposed property tax increase for 2024,” Mayor Al Arreola opened the public hearing at 6:40 p.m. Tuesday.
The mayor invited any citizen wishing to make comments to come to the podium and speak.
None did, then Assistant City Manager Manuel Chavez told the council he would like “to make a clarification on the wording ‘increase’.”
Chavez said, “The Texas state law requires, under the Property Tax Code, for certain language to be put out and in this particular case, the tax rate, which is the same as the previous year, is higher than what the effective tax rate was calculated.
He added, “The effective tax rate is a rate that generates the same dollar value as the previous year, and since there are higher (property) valuations, it’s a lower tax rate that’s required to match the same as the previous year. So that’s the effective tax rate, and since the proposed property tax rate, again, the same rate as last year’s, is higher than the effective tax rate, that’s why the language needs to state that it is an increase.
“(It’s not) an increase from the previous (year’s) property tax rate, but an increase to the effective tax rate,” Chavez finished.
Arreola asked if there were any additional comments. Hearing none, the mayor closed the public hearing on the tax rate at 6:41 p.m.
City council members won’t approve the tax rate formally until later this month, but during a special meeting on Aug. 28, took a record vote on the rate.
City staff had during previous meetings recommended a one-cent increase in the tax rate, from this year’s rate of $0.6970 to $0.7070.
During the Aug. 28 meeting, Chavez told the council, “As we have discussed previously, we are recommending a one-cent increase (in the tax rate). The item here tonight is to be able to approve a rate so that we go ahead and publicize it. Just as a reminder, any rate that we approve here tonight isn’t the rate that’s going to be adopted. That action will be taken at the Sept. 24 council meeting.
“At that time, you all can adopt the rate that we set here tonight or something lower. We just can’t adopt higher than what is set here tonight. . . With that being said, we are recommending a one-cent increase. That rate would then be $0.7070 and, again, that is a one-cent increase from the previous property tax rate,” Chavez added.
Arreola called for a motion and after several moments of silence, the mayor said, “Do I have a motion to approve that penny?”
Councilman J.P. Sanchez said, “I’m going to go ahead and make that motion. We need to get this budget taken care of, and we need to do it now.”
Councilman Randy Quiñones gave the second.
The motion failed, with only Sanchez and Quiñones voting in favor and Arreola, Mayor Pro-tem Jim DeReus, Councilman Jesus Lopez Jr., Councilwoman Ernestina “Tina” Martinez and Councilwoman Carmen Gutierrez voting against.
Arreola then called for a second motion, and Lopez said, “I move that the proposed property tax rate set at $0.6970 per $100 valuation,” and Martinez gave the second.
The motion passed on a 4-3 vote, with Lopez, Martinez, Arreola and Gutierrez voting in favor, and DeReus, Sanchez and Quiñones opposed.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
