Hi Everyone!
I hope y'all are doing well and the start to the school year is a good one so far! It's that time of year again... Tax rate time... I want to break down what is going on so that it's easier to understand and to also dispel some of the information that floats around - much of it from elected officials. I also want to make sure that regardless of whether we agree or not on the issue of taxes, you'll have a slightly better understanding of things that happen this time of year.
But before I start in on that, I do want to mention that the only meetings on the calendar so far for this upcoming week are the Council briefing and meeting on Monday evening. Please check back on the city's calendar to see if any other meetings are posted after this newsletter goes out and for the supporting documentation (agenda or agenda packet) about what will be covered at that meeting. The city's website calendar can be found here: https://www.waxahachie.com/calendar.php
* One note before we get going. I will only be addressing property taxes related to the City of Waxahachie. The taxing entities who set your tax rates each year are based on where you live. For example, our family will have property taxes going to all of the following entities and the I've put the governing body who sets the tax rate for each entity in parentheses: Ellis County (County Commissioners); Waxahachie ISD (School Board Trustees); and, City of Waxahachie (Mayor and City Council Members).
Here we go!
How are property taxes calculated?
The amount you pay in taxes = (tax rate) x (taxable value of your property) / 100 .
Part 1 - My house is worth WHAT?!
Remember that letter you got in the mail a few months ago that showed your home is now worth a bunch more than last year? That was your appraisal letter and that is from the Ellis County Appraisal District (ECAD). They are responsible for appraising your property. PERIOD. They are NOT RESPONSIBLE for how much you pay in taxes. I often hear how a person went to ECAD only to be told told talk with their elected officials or governmental entities. Then when said person goes to talk to their elected officials (obviously not everyone is like this, but this happens OH so often), the elected official turns and points the finger back at ECAD citing rising appraisals being the source of the increased taxes. People get (and very understandably so) upset, confused and not sure exactly what to do!
So who is right here? ECAD is right and I'll tell you why. While there are plenty of issues with the appraisal system (we'll save that for another day), appraisal districts do NOT increase your tax burden because they don't determine your tax rates. You might think 'But hey! They said my home is worth $400,000 now! My taxes increased!' and your taxes probably did increase, but not because of ECAD because:
1 - Taxing entities (County, ISD, City) are given the numbers from ECAD - BEFORE * BEFORE * BEFORE - setting a rate. We receive our appraisal notices usually in Spring sometime, which allows citizens time to protest their appraisals (valuations) with the appraisal district. Appraisal districts are required by law to give taxing entities their certified rolls. This year July 25th was the last day for the chief appraiser to certify the appraisal roll to each taxing unit. Therefore, taxing entities all know how much revenue they will receive depending on which tax rate they approve that year -- ALL of which is done BEFORE they vote on that rate.
2 - Taxing entities (County, ISD, City) set a tax rate each year. This is so that they can use the information provided to them by their County Appraisal District, to determine what to set the rate at. In the presence of rising appraisals, taxing entities can lower a tax rate, to still get the same amount of revenue they got in the previous year!
3 - Rising appraisals are a great thing - as long as you have elected officials who respond accordingly. Here's an example: Say your ECAD appraisal on your 1,200 sq ft home came in at $1,000,000 but your City Council set your tax rate at 0 (yes, it could actually be set to that, although that IS a scenario where your city services would decrease), then you'd pay $0.00 in City taxes on a $1,000,000 home. While this is an exaggerated example, it does go to prove that it IS truly on the shoulders of our elected officials to determine the amount of taxes we pay and not a result of our appraisals in any way.
Part 2 - LOCAL. ELECTIONS. MATTER -
If you aren't registered to vote and would like to or if you aren't sure whether you're registered to vote, you can go to the Texas Secretary of State's website: https://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/index.html
If you are registered to vote in Texas, but have moved within Texas (used to only be within the county you lived in for online changes) and need to update your address on your voter registration card, please do so at the following link: https://txapps.texas.gov/tolapp/sos/SOSACManager
The Ellis County Elections department website has a ton of information! http://www.co.ellis.tx.us/629/Upcoming-Elections In fact, the next election is a General and Special Election on November 8, 2022. Stay tuned to that site for more information about who is on the ballot. The last day to register to vote for this election is Tuesday, October 11, 2022. It will be here before we know it!
Part 3 - What does THAT mean?
There are quite a few terms that get thrown around this time of year, but I'll pick the two most discussed/important ones. (You can also go to this website for all kinds of great property tax information including these definitions: https://www.texas.gov/living-in-texas/property-tax-transparency/#what-does-each-of-these-tax-rate-terms-mean- )
A - NNR or No-new-revenue tax rate: This is the rate that the taxing entity needs in order to get about the same amount of money they got last year from (this is key) the SAME properties taxed in both years.
* Taxing entities who choose the NNR are usually STILL GETTING MORE MONEY THAN THE YEAR BEFORE due to new properties on the tax rolls *
PLEASE READ THAT AGAIN ^
I wanted to be sure that this distinction was made because some elected officials seem incredibly reluctant to even ENTERTAIN the idea of adopting a no-new-revenue rate.
So what does the NNR mean for tax payers? Generally speaking, while the taxing entity (County, ISD, City) still will get more money using this tax rate because of new properties on the rolls, it means that TAX PAYERS WON'T BE PAYING MORE. That is why I have asked for the city budget to be presented to Council based on the NNR - or even at 0 and working from there; however, there was not enough Council support to make it happen.
If your taxing entity drops your tax rate from .50 to .25, but your NNR is .20, you WILL be paying more in your taxes. This is really important because some will focus on the relationship to last year's tax rate there is, when that isn't exactly what is important. What's important is that NNR.
While looking for some more information to pass along, I stumbled across the City of Colleyville, who is proposing to adopt their NNR rate on 9/20/22, and if adopted, it will be the 5th year in a row for their City Council to adopt the NNR property tax rate! That is amazing! Here is the link to that announcement: https://www.colleyville.com/Home/Components/News/News/629/18
So, now that we know what the NNR is; how it effects us; and, that it IS possible for a city to adopt it - let's look at some numbers that are in front of the Waxahachie City Council Monday:
NNR - 0.540834 (or 54.0834 cents per $100 valuation)
Proposed tax rate - 0.63000 (or 63 cents per $100 valuation)
That, my friends, is a difference of 0.089166 (or 8.9166 cents per $100 valuation)! Which brings us to the other term I wanted to touch on - Voter Approval Rate.
B - Voter-Approval Tax Rate: This rate is a calculated MAXIMUM rate allowed by law without an election to get voter approval. Here's another important facet of this term. The voter-approval tax rate allows cities 3.5% increase (to their M&O rate).
Alright, so let's turn our focus to the City of Waxahachie once again and look at the numbers for Monday night:
NNR - 0.540834
Proposed Tax Rate - 0.63000
Voter-Approval Tax Rate - 0.630350 (MAX rate allowed without an election)
The tax rate that Waxahachie is proposing to approve this year is only .00035 below the MAXIMUM rate Waxahachie is allowed to charge without an election!!!
You are going to hear about a huge drop in our tax rate - a 3 cent tax rate drop (which is BIG), but is it really a goodwill gesture that our elected officials are hearing our cries for tax relief? That's for you to decide... for me, it shows taxing people at the max they can get away with.
I know.... it sounds harsh to say, but I don't say it without justification. For one, the City of Waxahachie has had a NNR either right around or BELOW 63 cents this year, 2021, 2020 AND 2019. Why hasn't the city lowered the rate to 63 cents any of those times BEFORE now??
Here's what the NNR rates were for those years:
This year: 0.540834 (proposing 0.63)
2021: 0.62588 (adopted .66)
2020: 0.63041 (adopted .66)
2019: 0.629553 (adopted .68)
Two, look at how close (ESPECIALLY on years when the adopted tax rate was lowered from the previous year) the proposed/adopted rates are to the MAX allowed without an election. The city KNOWS that voters will not approve an increase above the voter-approval rate, so that's the only reason, in my opinion, that they even decreased the rate in the first place. Seriously... it makes me sad, but I want to cut through all the BS that folks put out there and empower Waxahachie citizens with knowledge on what is happening and what they can do about it!
Here are the voter-approval rate (max rates w/o an election) and what was proposed/adopted:
This year: 0.630350 (proposing .63) - 3 cent decrease from prior year
2021: .66050 (adopted .66)
2020: .66289 (adopted .66) - 2 cent decrease from prior year)
2019: .717493 (adopted .68 which had been the same rate for YEARS)
My point of listing the above numbers was to show that in those years where the tax rate adopted was actually a decreased rate, the City would've had to have an election to go even a half of a penny higher.
Part 4 - Seriously... You're still talking about the tax rate?
Yes! Although, I will admit I had no intention of taking so long! I'm tired of politicians either being ignorant or downright deceitful to the city's residents and knowledge is power. I want you to be empowered to take the reins regarding the amount of taxes you pay.
There has been talk recently about "meaningful tax relief" from our Council in the form of exemptions... those exemptions would NOT take effect this year, so what are residents supposed to do in the mean time? Get to a Council meeting and speak your mind during the Public Comments portion of the meeting about the tax rate they are going to consider. Some on Council will have several come and speak FOR the 63 cent (MAX) tax rate because it's still a decrease. Monday's meeting simply takes a vote of the Council on publishing the city's intentions with regards to the tax rate; however, if you wait til the actual public hearing, you'll hear the same thing I did before... that it was "too late".
I will certainly be paying attention to how each Council Member votes on the tax rate. Will they stay true to their campaign promises?
Pretty sure that the city will not erupt into chaos or go down in flames if the NNR is adopted or even seriously considered... Southlake seems to be doing well and they not only increased homestead exemptions, but adopted their NNR and even went BELOW IT! Come on, Waxahachie... you can do so much better...
From Southlake's website: "Since 2009, the City has implemented tax relief initiatives (FY 2009, FY 2013 - FY 2022) focused on increasing the homestead exemption for residential property owners as new commercial properties have been developed. Since 2008, the City has moved from a 0% residential homestead exemption to a 20% exemption adopted with the FY 2018 budget. Since FY 2020 the tax rate has been reduced below the No New Revenue Tax Rate, a $0.037 rate reduction in FY 2020, a $0.005 reduction in FY 2021, and a $0.015 reduction in FY 2022." https://www.cityofsouthlake.com/343/City-Budget-Finances?fbclid=IwAR0D-K5SqyAucer1HulzbyDaM4InIbSV5uMMJ86-OicMhh-72M7NzNSGAUs#:~:text=Since%20FY%202020%20the%20tax,%240.015%20reduction%20in%20FY%202022
Part 5 - My last word on the subject... really...
People have accused me of being for lower taxes "just to get elected"
and then it was "just to get re-elected". Well, here I am, no longer a
sitting member of the Waxahachie City Council; no intentions of running
again; and yet, I will still say the same things because it's the truth
and how I see it.
For those who have an insatiable appetite for all things property taxes (really just me? - lol) here is the actual statute on the matter: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.26.htm
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Monday, August 15, 2022
City Hall - 401 S. Rogers St.
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6:30 PM - City Council Briefing Session located in the Council Conference Room - Public is allowed to attend
7:00 PM - City Council Regular Meeting - Council Chamber
Agenda Packet: https://storage.googleapis.com/document-uploads-001/uploads/video/agenda_file/178780/8-15-22_City_Council_Agenda_Packet.pdf
** As this newsletter has gone on long enough, I will keep the highlights of Monday's Council meeting very short. I just encourage all to review the agenda packet that I've linked above. **
5a - 5c: I don't normally point these out, but there have been a lot of important items going on in the city and the minutes of these meetings have a lot to offer so please take a minute to review them, if possible - especially the minutes of the City Council work session of August 4, 2022.
4 - Public Comments - If you wish to address Council on the tax rate or any other matter on/off this agenda, this is the appropriate time to do so.
6 - Present Proclamation proclaiming August 23, 2022 as "Martin Van Buren Davis, Sr. Day" - To celebrate his fantastic achievements and in honor of his 100th birthday! My thanks to him for his service to both country and community and hope he has a wonderful birthday!
10 & 11 - Chick-Fil-A is requesting to change their drive-thru layout. P&Z voted 6-0 for approval on 08/9/22 and staff is recommending approval per comments.
18 & 19 - Public Hearing in regards to a zoning change request located at 206 and 208 N. Jackson Street to reuse the existing building for indoor amusement. The owner has a prospective tenant who would like to operate a haunted house (Reindeer Manor) during October and a skate park the rest of the year. "Although the zoning change from SF-2 District to CA District is appropriate, Staff is concerned with the haunted house use and the lack of enhancement or improvements to the existing building." Basically, due to a POTENTIAL use of the old Police Station and this being across the street from it, staff is recommending denial. I can understand the reservation; however, it doesn't seem right to deny a very successful business (Reindeer Manor) whose owners relocated to Waxahachie, the right to this use based on a MAYBE for the old Police Station? I feel this is another case of aesthetics > what's right. For the record, I'm NOT a haunted house fan AT ALL; however, it really does not seem right to deny their request. P&Z voted 5-1 to approve this zoning change on 08/09/22. Staff recommends denial.
20 - Consider setting Proposed Tax Rate and Dates for Public Hearing: (see beginning of the newsletter)
This meeting is open to residents to attend in person, but will be live-streamed as well at the following link: https://www.waxahachie.com/government/city_council/city_council_meeting_live_stream.php
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No matter how much information I put out, I always inadvertently leave out something, so please reach out and ask me if you have any questions. I won't pretend to know all there is to know about taxes or anything, but I'm always willing to help where I can.
I hope everyone has a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week ahead!!
Your Friendly Neighbor,
Melissa Olson
(text) 817-507-5162
(email) olsonfortexas@gmail.com
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