R-3287-3-15RESOLUTION NO. 3287-3-15(R)
' A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN
COUNTY, TEXAS, IN OPPOSITION TO A REVENUE CAP AND LEGISLATIVE
INTERFERENCE WITH LOCAL SERVICES; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE
DATE.
WHEREAS, bills have been introduced in the Texas Legislature to cap the amount of property tax revenue
cities can collect each year in a misguided effort to reduce the property tax burden on homeowners and
businesses; and
WHEREAS, currently, if a Texas city increases property tax collections by more than eight percent over the
previous year, voters can petition for an election to rollback the increase; and
WHEREAS, bills have been introduced to replace that eight percent "rollback rate" with a hard cap of four
percent and require mandatory elections on an increase over four percent — all with the false claim that this
would provide property tax relief; and
WHEREAS, according to the state comptroller's latest survey of property tax rates in 1,002 cities in Texas,
67 percent of cities raised their property taxes by less than four percent from 2012 to 2013 and 37 percent of
cities actually reduced their property taxes; and
WHEREAS, that means property owners in at least 669 Texas cities would have seen no reduction in them
city property taxes if the four percent cap had been in effect; and
' WHEREAS, while the potential savings to land parcel owners in Allen for FY 2014-2015 would only
represent $3.53 per month, it would cost the City of Allen $1,404,385 if a four percent cap were in place
resulting in loss in vital city services; and
WHEREAS, this legislation will force local governments to defer critical maintenance expenses for
infrastructure assets such as facilities and streets, which will decline more quickly, needing to be replaced
when they completely deteriorate; and
WHEREAS, tax relief will not be accomplished through revenue caps. Instead, costs, and the property taxes
that pay for them, will be shifted to support additional debt that will have to be issued to rebuild this
infrastructure. Shifting taxes to pay debt is not a tax cut and will cost taxpayers more in the future since
communities will now be required to pay the interest on these costs, as well; and
WHEREAS, in addition to the interest costs, taxpayers will have to pay exponentially higher costs associated
with rebuilding our streets and other infrastructure. In other words, deferring maintenance expenses will cost
our taxpayers much more in the future; and
WHEREAS, the State of Texas has relied on local governments' use of economic development incentives to
facilitate job growth and revenue caps will only serve to eradicate the use of incentives driving away the job
growth and business that have made Texas the economic development leader in the nation; and
WHEREAS, cities collect just 16 percent of the property taxes levied in Texas, and most of the property
' taxes paid by Texans (55 percent) go to school districts, which are inadequately funded by the State; and
WHEREAS, according to the comptroller's report, the total amount of property taxes collected by cities rose
by 3.61 percent between 2012 and 2013, while school district tax collections rose by more than twice that rate
or 7.72 percent; and
WHEREAS, school property taxes have been rising because the legislature continues to reduce the state's
share of funding for schools, which forces districts to get more revenue from properly taxes; and
' WHEREAS, the citizens of Allen and other Texas cities are strongly encouraged to contact their state
senators and representatives to voice their opposition to this revenue cap and legislative interference with
local service;
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NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN,
COLLIN COUNTY, TEXAS, THAT:
SECTION 1. That the findings set forth in the preamble of this Resolution are incorporated by reference
into the body of this Resolution as it fully set forth herein.
SECTION 2. That the City Council of the City of Allen, Texas, is OPPOSED to the legislative imposition
of a revenue cap and legislative interference with local services.
SECTION 3. That imposing a revenue cap on cities: (a) does not provide meaningful tax relief; (b) robs
cities of the ability to meet local needs; and (c) diverts attention from the real cause of higher property taxes,
which is the legislature's failure to address the problem of school funding.
SECTION 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval.
DULY PASSED AND APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ALLEN, COLLIN
COUNTY, TEXAS, ON THIS THE 24o day of MARCH, 2015.
APPROVED:
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StepheA Terrell, MAYOR
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Sheehy B. GeoGige, TRMC, C SECRETARY
Resolution No. 3287-33287-3-151, Page 2