Re: Cody’s Property Tax Record

 
 

Question from a voter: “I just want to know if you really consistently vote to increase property taxes and why?”

Fair question given the text you probably got on June 29th. I'm glad you asked it and I am happy to answer it.

To provide some context to my answer, here are the basics of the property tax system.

The property taxes you pay on your house are a product of your home's appraisal [set by the appraisal district] x a uniform tax rate [set by each taxing unit].

The total tax levy by a taxing unit is equal to the sum of all the property taxes for all the homes, land, and businesses on the tax roll.

Every year, your home and everyone else's property is re-appraised. Values may go down, stay the same, or go up--and it varies from property to property. Values are set by the appraisal district.

In July, the appraisal district adds up all the new values to come up with a certified tax roll.

This certified tax roll is used to calculate two tax rates. The first is a "no-new-revenue" rate, which is roughly equal to last year's total tax levy divided by the new certified tax roll for properties on the roll last year. The second is the "voter-approval-rate" which is 3.5% above the "no-new-revenue" rate for large taxing units and 8% above the "no-new-revenue" rate for other taxing units. If a taxing unit exceeds the "voter-approval-rate," voters get to veto the tax increase above the "voter-approval-rate" at the November election if they so choose. These calculations can be found in the Tax Code here: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.26.htm.

After receiving the certified tax roll, the taxing unit has to decide what to do with the rate it adopted last year. Does it keep it the same? Raise it? Or lower it?

To make that determination, it has to look at its budget. What is needed to maintain the same level of city services as last year? Is that the exact same revenue, less, or more? It varies by year.

Typically, in a growing economy, prices go up each year due to inflation. We see this at the gas pump, the grocery store, and in the costs of all kinds of items. The same is true for a city. For example, the cost of employing police officers rises with inflation.

If a city does not adjust its budget for inflation, it will end up sacrificing the quality of city services in the long-run. If police officers do not get COLAs, they eventually will quit. If infrastructure is not maintained, it will eventually fail.

In a bad economy, like what we are experiencing in 2020, inflation falls close to 0 and you likely do not need to adjust your budget at all. I think no local budget should increase during a recession.

You can find general information on inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index here: https://www.bls.gov/cpi/.

Finally, no matter what tax rate is adopted, some residents are likely to pay less in property taxes, the same, or more depending more so on their individual appraisal. Individual appraisals drive your taxes far more than rates do. For example, if the average home increases in value 10% and the city adopts the "no-new-revenue" rate, the average home will not see an increase, but if your home went up 20%, you will still see a tax increase. That is why it is critical to protest your appraisal each year if it is above market or not equitable.

Likewise, if your appraisal goes up by less than the average, or, if your appraisal goes down, and the City adopts a lower tax rate, you likely will end up paying less in property taxes even if the adopted rate is above the "no-new-revenue" rate.

So, all that context in place. Here is my voting record on Angleton City Council.

I voted to lower Angleton's property tax rate three times in 2016, 2017, and 2018 to adjust for rising property values.

However, we did not lower Angleton's property tax rate all the way down to the "no-new-revenue" rate because we would not have been able to raise enough revenue to adjust the city's budget for inflation had we done that.

Why? Because Angleton is a bedroom community that does not have access to many alternative funding sources to be able to cover inflation without bringing in additional revenue from property in town.

Other areas of the County have access to large alternative revenue sources that provide them enough new revenue to adjust their budgets for inflation while still adopting the "no-new-revenue" rate. These include Brazoria County, which has experienced tremendous growth from new industrial investment down south and rising sales taxes from commerce in Pearland and the Brazosport area. Angleton does not get access to the funding sources Brazoria County has in these areas outside the city.

As a result, Brazoria County has been able to lower its property tax rate to the "no-new-revenue" rate for years while still increasing its budget.

The contrast is most stark in 2019. That year, Angleton's property tax rate stayed the same, bringing in 2.8% more revenue from rising appraisals. Brazoria County lowered its rate to the "no-new-revenue" rate. Angleton's budget was limited to about 4% higher than the previous year (inflation + population growth) while Brazoria County's budget was able to grow 13%+ from all the additional revenue it brought in from new development and other sources. So, one would think Brazoria County was more frugal by adopting the "no-new-revenue" rate, that is what my opponent wants you to think, even though it increased its budget 3x what Angleton did.

Even though Angleton brought in more revenue, every year, many residents ended up paying less in property taxes because their appraisals either fell, stayed the same, or went up by less than the average. For example, in 2018, my opponent's appraisal stayed the same, but I voted to lower the property tax rate 1.018-cents. Thus, she paid less in property taxes to the City of Angleton in 2018 than she did in 2017. My personal taxes went up.

In May 2020, due to the recession we are in, I instructed City Staff to limit its proposed budget for 2020-2021 and its proposed tax rate to no higher than last year's budget and no higher than the "no-new-revenue" rate because inflation is now down to .1%. (https://www.facebook.com/cityofangleton/videos/2935964143191725/ at -21:20).

So, did I vote to raise Angleton's property tax rate? No.

Did I vote to lower Angleton's property tax rate? Yes.

Would residents have paid even more in property taxes had I not voted to lower Angleton's property tax rate? Yes. In fact, I was the only one on Council to propose lowering Angleton's property tax rate in 2017, which, if passed, would have cut tax bills another 1% that year. But, I did not receive a second to my motion. So, I opposed the property tax rate that year because I thought it was too high.

Did I vote to lower Angleton's property tax rate all the way down to the "no-new-revenue" rate? No for 2016, 2018, and 2019. I voted to limit the proposed tax rate for 2020 to the "no-new-revenue" rate.

Why? Because I could not do that and adjust the city's budget for inflation and population growth in 2016, 2018, and 2019.

Did that result in Angleton bringing in more revenue from existing properties on the tax rolls each year? Yes.

By how much? Roughly inflation + population growth.

Was this issue covered on video before? Yes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLxSUhJiep4&feature=youtu.be and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ7wjLt6QmY&feature=youtu.be

Has my opponent known this the entire time? Yes.

Have I misled anyone? No.

Have I ever claimed to have lowered property taxes for all residents? No.

Have I ever claimed that my opponent is in charge of appraisals? No.

Have I ever claimed that my opponent is responsible for rising property taxes? No.

Why then does she keep sending out mailers, posts, and text messages trying to make you think I've said these things when I haven't and that I am somehow misleading people when I'm not? Because she is trying to distract you from the fact that she has opposed property tax reform for years and offers voters no reforms that will improve the property tax system. Which is why conservative organizations and legislators have not endorsed her. Instead, they've endorsed me.

In what ways has she opposed property tax reform?

What is my record on property tax reform?

  • I supported property tax reform in 2017 and 2019, including the bill my opponent opposed, SB 2. (2017-R-2C, 02/28/17).

  • I lobbied our prior representative extensively in the last session to give cities the power to eliminate their property tax levy and replace it with a sales tax if the voters so decided.

  • I urged our prior representative to replace the school district M&O property tax with a revenue-neutral consumption tax during the last session.


What is my opponent's proposal to make the property tax system better? She has not presented one that I have seen.

What is my proposal to make the property tax system better? Abolish it and replace it with a revenue-neutral consumption tax. Until then, lower appraisal caps to protect homeowners from ballooning appraisals or lock-in appraisals at the purchase price and limit their growth to only inflation. No more 10% increases. Replace the school district M&O property tax with a revenue-neutral consumption tax to cut property tax bills in half.

How long have these ideas been a part of my platform? Since the beginning.

This election has been going on for close to 8 months now. Has my opponent come up with any proposal yet to make the property tax system better? No.

Does she support replacing our property tax system with a revenue-neutral consumption tax system? No.

If you want to maintain the status quo of our broken property tax system, my opponent is your candidate. If you want to actually move towards solving problems with the system, I am your candidate.

I hope that addresses your question. If you'd like to discuss further, I'd be happy to talk with ya. Feel free to call me at 979-922-5156.