San Antonio City Council is considering raising property taxes for the first time in 33 years to account for the loss of city revenue resulting from rapidly dropping property values, the Express-News reports.
The matter was brought up at city council meeting Wednesday afternoon, during which City Manager Erik Walsh said city revenue projections haven’t looked this bleak since 2011.
Taxable values on existing San Antonio properties are down 3.54%, and overall taxable value, which includes new properties, is down 2.13%, according to the daily.
The city’s general fund depends on property and sales tax to support basic city services including the San Antonio Fire Department, San Antonio Police Department, parks and libraries.
San Antonio already has a $70 million deficit in its general fund. Without a tax rate hike, the deficit could nearly double in the next two years.
A city can collect up to 3.5% over the prior year’s property taxes without voter approval, and Walsh is proposing going after that 3.5% maximum, the Express-News reports.
Council is set to consider the rate hike later this summer, after it receives certified tax rolls from the Bexar County Appraisal District.
However, some on council remain unconvinced about raising property taxes — particularly its more conservative members, who argue that the city has a spending problem, the Express-News reports.
“I do think that these times call for us to tighten our belt,” District 7 Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito said, according to the daily. “I’d also really like for us to look at which programs we’re getting our biggest bang for our buck on, and which ones aren’t providing as much benefit as we’d like to see. I know that it’s never easy to make cuts, but all of us up here were elected to do hard things, and so we just need to make those tough decisions.”
Meanwhile, council also is considering rate hikes for CPS Energy and San Antonio Water System this year.
District 2 Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez said property taxes are a catch-22 for council, since many residents rely on the programs they fund.
“People don’t want to pay higher property taxes,” McKee-Rodriguez said, according to the Express-News. “They don’t want us to cut their services. And so where do we go from here?”
Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones hasn’t yet committed to supporting a rate hike, indicating that she would like to look at other revenue sources first, such as unpaid civil fines and parking tickets.
Council will hold a budget goal setting session May 22 and preview city staff’s “trial budget” on June 17, according to the daily.
The city will release its proposed budget in August, which council members will vote on in September.
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
