Mayor Sylvester Turner
Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday his administration is moving forward to implement the voter-approved charter amendment granting Houston firefighters equal pay to police of corresponding rank and seniority, though the city has not yet determined when firefighters will begin receiving increased paychecks or how the charter amendment will impact individual city departments.
Turner’s administration plans to lay off hundreds of city employees, including firefighters and police officers, to cover the cost of paying firefighters on par with police officers, a move city officials say will amount to a 29 percent raise costing the city upwards of $100 million annually.
The mayor said he did not know when the city would begin layoffs, but indicated to reporters Wednesday that it likely would take several months to put Proposition B into effect.
“I don’t want anybody to operate under the assumption that even as we move forward to the implementation that checks are going to start flowing in January,” Turner said. “It will take some time.”
[…]
Asked why the city is only now beginning to put Proposition B into effect, Turner said his administration did not take action while the temporary restraining order was in place from Nov. 30 until Tuesday. Proposition B passed Nov. 6 with 59 percent of the vote.
The fire union, meanwhile, has sought to negotiate a new contract with Turner that would allow the city to phase in Proposition B. Fire union president Marty Lancton has cast Turner’s refusal to return to the table as vindictive, and said after state District Judge Randy Wilson’s ruling Tuesday that the mayor could implement the amendment or “pick up the phone and call firefighters so we can work toward a solution that implements the will of the voters in the best possible way.”
Asked Wednesday about the union’s negotiation offer, Turner did not indicate he has was any closer to sitting down with the firefighters, saying that doing so would go against “what people wanted” when they approved Proposition B. The firefighters, who have contended that the police union’s lawsuit is aimed at circumventing the will of the voters, say it is possible to arrive at “a solution that implements the will of the voters in the best possible way.”
The mayor previously has said the city could not phase in Proposition B, and since has accused firefighters of attempting to confuse the issue by calling for negotiations while the lawsuits play out in the courts.
See here for the background. I don’t know what else there is to say at this point. It’s not clear what happens from here, but I’m pretty sure no one is going to like it.
I wish the Mayor would quit acting like a sore loser, he is reminding me of Trump with his childish behavior.
Annise Parker when faced with a large budget deficit resorted to numerous ways to bring down the deficit. For Example, https://abc13.com/archive/7871733/
She also asked departments to reduce budget by certain percentages across the board. One has to look at one of the weekly agendas to see how many 10s of millions of dollars are budgeted weekly. I won’t post a link as the comment may not post.
Before Turner starts firing people and I doubt that he will fire people from the Mayor’s office, he needs to find cost savings. Maybe he could ask Pena to find savings in the Fire Department. If he really wants good advice ask the firemen and women.
Was Annise Parker handed an annual $100M bill over night?
I think a general budget deficit is different than a big out of left field cost.
brad, How does it make a difference? Turner does not have to start the pay parity immediately. He may be working on a solution but he has not acted like it.
Besides the 100 million came from his mouth, they don’t know how much it will cost, if you look at the temporary order sought by the HPOU they stated from 85 to 98 million. http://mannybarrera.com/City/HPOU-Files-Lawsuit-in-Attempt-to-Stop-Prop-B.pdf
Parker had to cover I believe a 50 million deficit. Bill White created ways to generate more money, those red light cameras were great revenue generators, and they stop people from running some red lights.
Manny,
Look at France if you want to see the extreme of what’s going on in the city of Houston. The French are VERY liberal….they support generous welfare and every social program ever thought of, but they are tired of paying for it all. You mentioned the red light cameras? You know what they are doing in France right now? Destroying speed cameras and toll booths in France. Even the police unions are threatening to join the protestors.
Houston residents want to give the firefighters big raises, want free trash pickup, want their roads fixed, etc., but they don’t want to pay for it, they want someone else to pay. The 1% should pay! Big corporations should pay!
Yet, when it comes to getting rid of the revenue cap, keeping the red light cameras, or imposing a garbage collection fee, things that ordinary residents have to pay, oh HELL no!
Turner did not express the same certainty when asked about costs and layoffs during his Wednesday press conference as he did while campaigning against the proposition. Why?
For the same reason the firefighters claimed the City could raise pay, hire 2500 more firefighters and costs would go down. Politics. I personally hope the firefighters get totally screwed on this, as it really pissed me off that government employees would have the audacity to put this sort of crap on the ballot. And then, they lied to voters, and were whiny little kids about how bad their lives are. So, make it impossible for them to work second jobs, make the shifts as awful as possible, and convert their pension to defined contribution.
Bill you are so full of it, nothing is free, expect to people like you that use Houston roads and resources but live outside the city limits.
Just read where Turner asked departments to look at 3 to 6 percent cutbacks, that was in September.
Ross. I have no idea why so much dislike of the fire department, but I would be very surprised if everything is as dire as Turner has made it out to be.
They could convert all city employees to defined contribution, the county has if I am not mistaken. I don’t know how one could make impossible for them to work extra jobs. A lot of employees already do to make ends meet.
Unions are what made America great.
Ross, that’s exactly how this situation came about anyway. Prop B was not the first choice, but the last choice.
“Unions are what made America great.” Pension-obligated Unions are what make most GM cars cost $30K and not the $20K they’re actually worth. Pension-obligated Unions are what make postage stamps cost $0.50 and not $0.40. Have I been a member of a Union ? I have, but it’s been my experience Union officials are less concerned with working conditions these days and more concerned with a steady stream of company money going into the pockets of RIF’d employees, slowly killing the businesses themselves.
Bill’s right, everyone wants cheap or free shit these days, no one wants to pay for anything.
My young daughter and I had a discussion last night about red light cameras after watching a couple folks run the red. She couldn’t understand how having an electronic camera snap a photo of a license plate and sending a ticket in the mail to the offender could/would be a bad thing. Neither can I.
Manny,
What am I full of? No, scratch that. Let’s not go there. What am I wrong about with that post? Even the very liberal OTK commenters don’t want to pay a trash fee, for the most part. Most don’t want to bust the revenue cap, except for Kuff, Joe and you, and I’m still not clear whether you even PAY property tax, as an over 65 resident. My barber in Garden Villas doesn’t pay any property taxes to the city, and I’m sure he could care less if other folks have to pay more. I don’t remember the breakdown of the red light camera feelings here, but at best it was probably 50/50.
As to what’s happening in France, I can post links if you need them.
Ross,
I don’t understand why you want to intentionally destroy the morale of the firefighters left standing when the big layoff comes. Those people will have to do more, with less, so let them enjoy their big raises. I mean, the people who get fired aren’t going to be happy, at least let those who remain enjoy life, right?
“Bill’s right…….”
C.L.
I just wanted to quote that for posterity!
@Bill, the firefighters as a group are rent seeking bastards. I don’t care one whit about their morale. They don’t deserve the raise, and it’s ridiculous that they can get a charter amendment to get a raise.
Yeah, Ross, it’s ridiculous they HAD to, Merry Christmas!
Bill, Property taxes pay the bulk of the services, including garbage collection, so if you don’t have property in taxes you are not paying for the upkeep of the streets that you drive on. Of course I don’t want to pay a garbage fee, but at least Boykins is putting ideas out there. Like throwing stuff at a wall to see what sticks.
If you live in the City you pay taxes, you may defer the taxes if you are over 65, but the taxes are being accumulated and will have to be paid by the new owner. It is possible that if you don’t have a home you don’t pay property taxes directly, but someone does if you live in the city limits. Exception is if the home is valued less than the exemptions, so there are some that do not pay property tax. But there are fees in the phones, the electricity, the gas, etc. if you live in the city. If the shop belongs to the barber he pays a property tax on the property, there are no exemptions on business property.
If you purchase things in Houston you actually do pay the 1% sales tax and the 1% Metro tax.
I know what is happening in France, they did not like the gasoline tax.
Actually Bill we are full of manure (Some more than others), that why there is an orifice for it.
Manny, per the CoH’s own financial report for 2017, property taxes made up 45.45% of their revenue, sales tax made up 24.67%, with the other 30% split among franchise fee, permits, fines and forfeits, etc… so if I live in The Woodlands and drive into work every day and work downtown, every time I eat at Sbarro in the tunnel system (is that even a place anymore ?), I’m indirectly paying for the upkeep of Main Street, Travis, Fannin, etc.
Property taxes aren’t deferred for homeowning folks over 65, they’re capped. And taxes aren’t accumulated and required to be paid by the new homeowner if the Seller is elderly….
C.L. here is a link that says property taxes may be deferred. https://www.revenue.state.mn.us/individuals/prop_tax_refund/Pages/Senior_Citizens_Property_Tax_Deferral_Program.aspx
Glad I got someone to do some research, property taxes are the bulk of the taxes, I used the word majority.
I said as much as to buying things in Houston, you also, pay a metro sales tax. But unless you shop for high priced items doubt that anyone would shop here to pay additional sales tax to help Houston.
Sorry C.L. I provided a wrong link
https://www.mysanantonio.com/life/life_columnists/paul_premack/article/Property-Tax-Deferral-is-high-cost-option-13018253.php
Reason I found out is while researching a State Rep, he was deferring the property taxes.
If the link works here is the State Rep, he still shows tax deferred
https://www.hctax.net/Property/TaxStatement?account=jtU9KtgBlF/ZrASGZqRCXKbD81dP2usC2reYQZCINrQ=
If you want to buy a property and taxes are owed, someone will have to pay them, it might be you.
You can defer taxes if you are over 65.
Try doing research, CL, instead of just spouting what you *think* is true.
You must eat a shit ton at Sbarro if you pay for upkeep on all those roads every time you eat there.
Ross, making it personal against them really doesn’t help, nor does retaliating when they act like children. Restructure the organization to provide optimal coverage during peak demand times/days, leaving enough redundancy on off peak occasions to cover the basics. If that requires times when a less aggressive fire suppression strategy is used, so be it.
CL & Bill, according to the city sponsored study and the Kubosh brothers, the red light cameras might have caused more accidents than they prevented, at least rear collisions. The ticket did not necessarily go to the offender, it went to the registered owner of the vehicle. Said owner could fill out paperwork and hope throwing someone else under the bus would get their ticket dismissed but it wasn’t a given. And CL, don’t forget the revenue the city makes from the hundreds of “limited purpose annexations” in the county; the city provides no services but gets half the sales tax revenue in deal with MUDs. Friends in the county aren’t too keen on those, and for good reason.
Manny, thanks for the research but tax policies in MN have little to do with taxes here in Texas. Both the city and county provide a large exemption on city and county property taxes, $160,000 + 20% of the market value last I looked, for seniors like yourself, and also freeze such taxes. Any deferrals are the result of someone owning a more expensive property and failing to pay the lower amount but CL is correct that none of the exemptions results in deferrals to be paid later. As it stands, about half of seniors pay no county or city taxes because of the exemption:
https://www.chron.com/news/article/Property-taxes-Big-burden-for-seniors-11156986.php
And while I doubt the firemen’s advice to Turner would be very valuable given their childish comments of late, don’t forget that Parker laid off many hundreds of city employees on top of those furloughs, cutting subsidies to retiree’s health benefits, and so forth. Bill White was worse in that regard, he simply stopped paying enough into two of the pensions, later admitting he had no intention of fully funding either of them. How some in HFD translate that into their system was subsidizing the municipal and police pension as their benefits grew while the others were cut, is just another spin job.
And the county has always used a defined contribution pension, during tougher times they lower how much the county matches which employees don’t tend to notice until years later but don’t worry, Bill King still holds onto the hope of further cutting pensions by adopting a similar program if he finally runs and wins. You can’t just convert existing pensions to a DC style though and past reports show that changes to those who’ve already been cut won’t yield much benefit. If you are ever elected to council, you can push the state to allow cities to set their own sales tax rates to pay for things but I suggest you let the voters vote on it. As for now, the city can’t set property values either so you can start cutting all those feel good liberal programs but it won’t be enough.
Jules, unless he drives a heavy commercial vehicle, I doubt his car is wearing Houston’s roads very much. And unless he isn’t paying any state or federal taxes, both groups subsidizing road projects in cities, he’s chipping in there as well. He’s also probably bought gas if driving in the area so add that to his food bills, parking fees, and so on.
And if a senior citizen is accruing city property taxes after all the exemptions they get (see above), maybe they should move to a more affordable house. $160,000 + 20% of the market value is more than a few bucks.
Steve, you can defer taxes if you are over 65, no matter what you and CL think.
@Jules… props for incorporating ‘shit ton’ and ‘Sbarro’ in the same sentence.
Thanks, CL. According to Steve, if you ate there on weekends too, you’d solve all of Houston’s problems with your tax bounty.
Jules, we’re speaking of two different things. While seniors and disabled MAY defer property taxes, given the city and county provide extraordinary exemptions to those two groups, they shouldn’t NEED to defer them. If you read my comment, you’ll note that I never took exception to the ability to do so, only pointing out that a great many currently aren’t paying such courtesy of the exemptions. For a homestead worth $200,000, you get a free ride.
Steve, thanks for clarifying your long confusing post. No doubt if these free ride old folks in their moderately priced homes ate at Sbarro once in a while, they’d more than make up for not paying property taxes.
Steve, I corrected my link, but I also noticed that your statements were full of misinformation, that is typical for you.
Steve, you don’t get a free ride if house is appraised at $200,000, that is a misstatement.
Steve, why do you insist in posting misinformation? In some cases above you mislead by telling half truth. While a small vehicle may not cause much damage to a street, someone had build that street and all the infrastructure to goes with it. I remember when Westheimer was two lanes, there is more than wear and tear.
But if you want to defend your nonsense than why should I pay when I use the toll roads, as I have a small vehicle.
Steve, I will clarify that if you limit it to city and county, you are correct there are school taxes. The reason us old folks get so much consideration is we vote.
I left this out, because you seem to read what you choose, just wondering if you will read my second post.
A great discussion, but it boils down to Turner is not able to rise to the challenge here. He may be a super nice guy, but his smallness and limited ideological tool box can’t address this situation. Houston needs a creative, magnanimous leader right about now, and not someone who supports segregation. Not someone who is going to pay all kinds of law firms staffed by his friends. Another note: as we see, the people in office ignore the will of voters, which is why I never waste my time voting.
So, Jason, how is Turner a segregationist? How is he ignoring the will of the voters? Realistically, given Turner’s time in the Legislature, every law firm qualified to accept the City’s legal work is going to be staffed by his friends. Turner is far better than the ignorant dilettante King would have been in the current situation.
Jules, you can continue to mischaracterize what I said as you see fit but the roadways are still subsidized by people other than residents of the city too, you might get more mileage out of a free rider argument if he professes frequent use of the parks that Houston has poured untold millions into of late, or if he tricked his way into a library card while living outside the city limits.
Manny, you did follow up with more appropriate links but you missed CL’s point, and mine, no big surprise there. While seniors may pay school and other property taxes, the discussion here was on money the city of Houston gets from such taxes. I agree why you old timers get the huge break, you tend to vote more often, but it still doesn’t change the fact that many of you do NOT pay property taxes to the city yet are still eligible for all services. As such, it’s easy for you to tell someone to raise taxes…just so long as you don’t have to pay them. But if the Harris County tax office or Chronicle article I posted are incorrect in terms of the city and county exemptions, feel free to offer something tangible up. Remember, city related property taxes…lol
Jason, so who is this fantasy politician you are envisioning? You must have someone in mind and it sure isn’t anyone that has run in the past 40 years so go ahead and tell the world who it might be. Contrary to what a few of you claim, I’m not a blind follower of Turner, I just think it makes sense to weigh the relative qualifications. Ross makes the point about King, I haven’t heard a good word about Buzbee or the wrestler that have announced, and I’m sure Manny or Joe would be ridiculed endlessly if either of them were to run for the office.
Steve most people that reach 65 have spent many years paying property taxes, I bought my first house in 1975. So for about 40 years I paid property taxes with the only exemption being a homestead. At one time I had two rental properties, no exemptions on those. All I could do and did was protest the value. So it is not necessarily a free ride.
I don’t pay into social security either after paying for over 50 years.
You’ll have a great Christmas or whatever you choose to believe or not believe.
Steve they did not ridicule many people that have run for mayor that were not as knowledgeable as Jules or Me. But you are entitled to your opinion. I would suggest you go look at all the candidates that have run for mayor. If I did choose to put my name there it would be to draw certain population away from other candidates. The Spanish surname people voted in very large percentage this last election. Over 30% in District J. Why do you think Morales almost always gets into a run-off? I believe there was a fireman that ran not to long ago, and a probation officer that almost pulled it of.
Probably the most qualified person in recent history to run for comptroller, was never elected.
Bill Frazier, he would not run a negative campaign, he was that kind of person.
But have a great holiday, don’t drink and drive, nor text and drive which is even more dangerous.
Steve, try reading your post above my post. You are the one calling the over 65 Houston home owner crowd “free riders”. I was merely suggesting that these folks also (in addition to CL) eat at Sbarro to support the tax base.
Manny, a free ride from the age of 65 onward… If that is going to be the biggest source of funding for a city, then at least tie such wonderful exemptions to a means test. That way, the truly poor can get a break while those of means can pay their fair share.
“I don’t pay into social security either after paying for over 50 years.”
If you are referring to the Windfall provision of Social Security that teacher’s face, note that I don’t think that’s fair either.
And whatever our differences of opinion (this applies to everyone here), I hope you enjoy the holidays as well.
Controller city of Houston,
Manny,
I’m glad to see you are finally coming clean about not paying city property taxes. You can see how someone who doesn’t pay, who tells others, “surely you can pay more in tax to the city” could be seen as a little hypocritical. As to your argument, that you USED to pay, well, I used to have toilet paper at my house, then I ran out. The fact that I used to have it doesn’t really help me now, does it?
Anyhoo, Merry Christmas to all at OTK!
Bill, I pay my drainage fee, every month. Amazon collects my sales tax, I paid for those services for a long time in property taxes, but about half the people that live in Houston may not pay property taxes to the City. I live in Houston have done so since 1969.
But you have a bad problem about changing the topic, if one were to read what I have posted above, you won’t find that I advocated for increasing taxes. I have discussed removing the CAP. Which saves the average homeowner, not 65, about $90 a year. https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/houston/article/What-has-Houston-s-revenue-cap-saved-you-13293034.php
Removing the CAP does not increase the tax rate, it just allows Houston to do is to tax at the actual value, the way Pearland does.
I voted in favor of the rain tax this past November, I do pay that tax. So don’t equate me with you Bill that wants government to take care of the roads and services but don’t want to pay for that.
But Bill, you should consider moving into Houston, the amount of property taxes that you would pay are less in Houston than in Pearland.
Ross, HUD has scolded Turner for his policies which promote segregation. It had put the federal funding for Harvey recovery at risk. Not a lot of news coverage, but for example, here is one article:
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/houston/article/HUD-City-s-subsidized-housing-procedures-promote-10857101.php
Jason, there was a fair amount of coverage on that, including Turners initial response before HUD agreed to cut way back on its demands (to the point HUD was sued earlier this year). Turner’s response:
https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/houston-mayor-hud-segregated-housing-charge
That was all because a project on Fountainview nobody in the area wanted built (check the city council video archives) except the developer who stood to make $6 million, the grand total of low income units to be had was 23. I don’t pretend to be an expert in Housing and Houston’s lousy history extending back for decades proves this was nothing new, but I’d suggest the city simply walk away from providing any such housing, refusing grants from now on because they can’t make everybody happy.
Manny: I think Mr. Frazier had the best set of technical skills for the position of Controller but he also was under the impression that he would be able to make changes only the mayor & city council could make. And if the probation officer running for mayor you speak of was Orlando Sanchez, let’s be charitable and say he was the least qualified candidate for the position to come as close as he did, maybe not as bad as Jimmy Galvan but a terrible choice nonetheless.
Jules, your comedic attachment to Sbarro aside, city services require funding by residents. It is already expected that residents will buy things that include sales tax as part of the monies that keep the lights on just as those who want premium services should expect to pay property taxes. Someone would have to spend an awful lot of money to offset not paying property taxes, at least CL’s hypothetical provides an example of where a commuter would contribute to city coffers. Given many people pay no property taxes, the “average” mentioned falls on a shrinking number of people, that being in addition to all the other taxes they pay.
Steve you have the same habit that Bill has, you change the topic to accommodate what you want to argue for.
If you think Frazier lost because of those believes that you quote, I have bridges that are for sale.
But, like Turner, you are full of why not and not a single of maybe we could this to accommodate what the voters chose.
Houston voters passed a 90 million dollar exception to the CAP that goes to police. I am fairly sure that those that voted in favor of paying for parity would support an additional exception on the CAP for the fire department.
Based on your arguments you sound like an agent for some corporation that has multi-million dollars investments in Houston property. Besides one gets to deduct those property taxes from their income tax.
If you want to blame high property taxes, blame the Republicans that control the state. They have burdened the School Districts with raising property taxes to offset the loss of State Money.
Did I say that person was not qualified? Since when does a degree or the job they have make one qualified? I would say that person was better qualified than the person that came out ahead. Frazier was certainly much better qualified than Green.
Steve, your attachment to long winded posts aside, I still have no idea what point you are trying to make.
That people over 65 should get no tax breaks?
That people over 65 should live in homes that are worth no more than $200,000, regardless of what they paid or how much values have increased since they bought?
That CLs point about commuters sometimes buying a cheap lunch is a novel and interesting take?
Manny,
How about I eat at a Sbarro in the city of Houston once a month, and that way, I’ll be paying about what you pay for city of Houston services. Oh, and good on you for paying that drainage fee. What’s that? About $ 5/month? Let’s round up and say you pay $ 100 a year, AND you eat at Sbarro, so lots of city tax paid there, amirite?
Yes, you do have the moral high ground to tell others to dig deeper and pay ’till it REALLY hurts.
Jules,
Nobody begrudges giving senior citizens a break on their taxes, but the city of Houston is out of the mainstream on that issue. Many seniors, like Manny and my barber, skate with a free ride from the city. Seniors in my backwater get a small break, but they still pay, even if they don’t have a McMansion.
You have vast swaths of Houston…..Sunnyside, Fifth Ward, Acres Homes, Denver Harbor, etc. where virtually nobody living there pays any city tax other than the “drainage fee.” They don’t pay to have their garbage picked up, they don’t pay for libraries, streets, police, fire….they don’t pay for anything, except when they eat at Sbarro.
Adding irony to that is, the ones who live in those areas who DO pay are the apartment dwellers, who actually pay city property tax via their rent.
Thanks for your supposed Ross. Better yet, when you need to dial 911for either fire or ems in Houston, Idd really like to see you say that to the very same people saving your life that you wish they would get screwed in this. They had no option but to ask voters. When you have a form of mayoral dictatorship like we have in Houston, it’s his way or the highway. These hfd heros tried to negotiate with the mayor and he practically said no to all offers. I’d really hope you actually did some investigating to find out truths as I did instead of listening to the very same politicians screwing over tax payers
somebody disable the comments. The internet has proven free speech is a little to powerful for most, a great power that should be respected, like a ninja-power.
Really Bill, what makes you think, I pay zero? You are one misguided and ignorant person. The county gives the same break to seniors as do the hospital district, HCC, Flood Control, etc..l look it up rather than spout off stupidity. I, also, pay a fee to my civic club of which I am the president, we donate to police and fire, $2,000 each. I vote for that, those are part my fees.
As someone that paid taxes for 40 years to Houston, with only a homestead, I have room to talk. Your analogy would be like people that have retired and are on Social Security would have no reason to decide what happens to Social Security. Like I stated above you are a racist and an idiot.
Find one post where I said pay taxes that I don’t, other than get rid of the Cap. Houston is the only city burdened with that. I did say that the garbage fee was something to consider, but I would have to pay that.
Like I said Bill you are a racist and an idiot. To point out to people chose neighborhoods of color to state that they don’t pay taxes. Which is also, a lie, trying doing research before you spout of stupid racist things. I went and checked to see how many people that live in Sunny Side pay City taxes, a large percentage did.
Go post in Big Jolly your racist comments and stupidity find a large favor, don’t they Bill.
Manny,
We are talking about CITY OF HOUSTON property tax. Not your civic club donations, not your county taxes, the taxes you as a homeowner pay to the CoH.
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/houston/article/City-Council-OKs-more-senior-property-tax-relief-6320045.php
‘Houston City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved doubling a property tax exemption for seniors and disabled residents, pushing it from $80,000 to $160,000 and saving the average senior household an additional $252 annually.”
Under $ 160,000 taxable value pays ZERO in CoH tax!
Sunnyside:
Home Prices in Sunnyside
Average over the last month
$145K
Sale Price
+7.0%
since last year
$104
Sale $/Sq. Ft.
+10.1%
Acres Homes:
Median Home Sale Price $97,260
Fifth Ward
Nov 2018 Greater Fifth Ward $133K
And finally, Manny, here’s what YOU had to say about CoH property taxes:
“Bill, I pay my drainage fee, every month. Amazon collects my sales tax, I paid for those services for a long time in property taxes, but about half the people that live in Houston may not pay property taxes to the City. I live in Houston have done so since 1969.”
No where in that scribe do I see “yes, I CURRENTLY pay property taxes directly to the city of Houston.” If your house is on the tax rolls for $ 160K or less, you don’t pay any city property tax, regardless of how much your civic club donates, how much Sbarro you eat, or anything else.
I paid in the past /= I pay NOW
I mean, good for you. I wouldn’t pay if I didn’t have to either.
Sounds like a lot of begrudging to me.
Bill, you do realize, I hope, that not every property in the areas you mention is owned by someone over 65 or someone who is disabled.
Manny, I’ll play along in the spirit of Christmas. Let’s schedule a vote as soon as law allows for voters to amend the revenue cap, holding off any raises unless it passes. If it fails, we go to Plan B and lay off as many as are needed in the department to pay for the existing measure. Otherwise, I have advocated property tax reform, do not get to claim the taxes I pay off my income taxes, and I have laid the existing problem with property taxes & school finance at the feet of the GOP as it has been in charge for so long. If left up to me, the city would pay for Prop B and any future charter amendments via a special public petition tax with no exemptions so everyone would have some skin in the game.
Jules, there are a lot of wealthy people in the area who happen to be over 65 years old, even if most seniors don’t pay city or county property taxes. Why is a means test to offer whatever exemptions so offensive to you? Services cost money and like it or not, not all seniors are poor. As Manny said, seniors vote and you must know that the AARP is one of the biggest lobbying groups out there-much bigger than the infamous NRA…
Jose, your heroes offered 20% with no concessions so of course the Mayor said no.
Bill, well researched. Here’s another tidbit you linked: “Under the new exemption, which matches Harris County’s, most senior homeowners will pay no property taxes to the city. This is because the median senior homestead is appraised at less than $118,000 before any exemptions are applied.” But don’t forget that according to HCAD, in addition to the $160,000, both Houston and Harris County exempt another 20% of the market value for seniors. http://hcad.org/assets/uploads/pdf/GTA-IAD-006.pdf You are correct though, it’s always easier for someone to support a measure they benefit from but won’t have to pay for and that should change.
Merry Christmas!