Everyone should soon get their annual property tax bills in the mail. We can all be sad and angry at the same time together. Is there anything that can be done to provide some relief? The answer is yes, but that is more of a political question to be addressed by the state. However, there are some things that your local government can do. But it will be a slow process to get there.
Property tax bills are a function of property appraisals multiplied by the tax rate. The state recently mandated a fairly large homestead exemption to apply to school taxes, where the appraised amount is reduced and multiplied by the school tax rate. The City of Rockdale has no control over appraisals. State law, however, allows cities to grant a homestead exemption. The city exemption can reduce the appraisal by up to 20%. The City of Rockdale has not offered this form of taxpayer relief, not because they don’t care, but because they do not have other revenue sources to afford such relief.
This homestead exemption serves to transfer property tax burden away from residential property onto everything else, such as industrial or commercial owners.
If and when the city starts to get other non-tax revenue, such as more sales tax, industrial payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT), or commercial ad valorem value, then the city can start to:
• Shift the property tax burden away from residents.
• Provide appraisal relief in the form of a homestead exemption.
• Provide tax rate relief for residents and every property owner.
The city’s tax rate is higher than average. The Texas Municipal League conducts an annual tax rate survey among all member cities. There are multiple factors which go into a city setting their tax rate. But, for those communities with a population between 4,000 and 7,000, the average total property tax rate is $0.48.
Another way to look at this is by the city’s total net taxable value. Those communities with a population between 4,000 and 10,000 with total net taxable values between $300 and $500 million have an average tax rate of $0.50. At $0.85 Rockdale has a higher-than-average tax rate among Texas cities. In the absence of other revenue sources, the city councils of the past had to use property tax to pay for the increasing costs of providing city services.
Financial benefits for everyone will eventually be realized as the City of Rockdale grows, and we add new houses and businesses. This will take some time, and we would ask folks to be patient in this.
We are going to do great things in Rockdale, Texas!
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.