06/26/07  Property Taxes -

		Response to State Rep. Fred Hill's response to 6/14/7 letter by Brandon Harris “I call for a tax revolt”.
David Tuthill

Dallas Morning News, Community Opinions, p. 8B, Sunday, June 24, 2007		I must take issue with State Rep. Fred Hill who constantly receives awards from local municipalities for his work in preventing tax reform.   He bemoans the special lobbying that killed the mandatory price disclosure of sales prices of properties while turning a blind eye to the municipalities lobbying, with tax payers money, against the 3% cap on yearly appraisal increases.  Hill has been on record and has worked diligently to thwart any attempt at lowing the property appraisal cap from 10%t (which seems to repeatedly be exceeded by my yearly property valuations) to the proposed 5% cap that has been touted by his party and was affirmed by Republican voters in the 2006 non-binding GOP primary referendum. I guess Hill is a Republican?  Perhaps he is not aware Republican leader Tom Pauken stated that this was one of the most important issues “Property Tax Reform” that should have been addressed by the 2007 regular session of the state legislature. This was also echoed by an editorial in the Wall Street Journal “Homeowners Rebellion” 5/1/7 that addressed the rising property taxes and said when California’s Prop 13 was passed:  “As usual, mayors, education lobbyists, public employee unions, and social service providers are threatening chaos in city services. These were the same fears invoked when California commenced the modern-day tax revolt in 1978 with proposition 13. But property taxes were cut by 30% and California went on a 12 year growth spurt nearly unprecedented in U.S. history.” But, Fred Hill has been behind the scenes to prevent any reform of the property appraisal cap in Texas. I am sure he thinks long-time homeowners should bear the tax cost of real estate speculation.  I hear in the news and  markets that we are in a housing decline.  Home sales and the building industry, with rising interest rates, record foreclosures due to questionable sub prime mortgage-lending debacle have resulted in substantial losses to that industry.  It sure did not effect my home values this year, up 35%!  Nor did it affect the home values of those in smaller homes in Hill's district.   Sunday, 5/22/7, Metro Section, Dallas Morning News: “Small homes receive large lift in values” Richardson:  As big house drive up appraisals not every one is pleased”.  From my past comments on property taxes, I have received calls from several taxpayers in Hill's district.  Rep. Hill seems to represent local municipalities and developers at the expense of the average homeowner in his district. Hill sings the same old song that municipalities fix the tax rate.

Your tax bill is a determined by three factors:  the tax rate, property valuation and homestead exemption.  Each and every time one of these three legs of your tax bill is addressed and offers potential tax savings to the homeowner, local municipalities jiggle with another leg.   When school tax rates went down, the school districts threatened to do away with the homestead exemption.  

Don’t like your appraisal?  Take time to compile meaningless data, take time off from work and try to do it yourself.  Oh, yes, moneyed property owners can afford to hire a professional (local reports indicate appraisal  personnel favor professionals these days over individual taxpayers).  The professional has the skill to navigate the ins and outs of the appraisal culture.  Be prepared to do this each and every year because they are never satisfied with the amount they get from you.  They will be back hitting on you next year and the year after.  They know that they can wear you down, as they have the staff and the time to do so.

I spend more time with property tax than doing my Federal Income Tax!

You should also take time to watch the Dallas City Council meetings on cable TV, or listen to it on WRR on Wednesdays.   Few meetings go by where they aren’t handing out tax abatements to well financed developers.  As a result, the tax burden is shifted from commercial real estate land owners to residential homeowners. The city council just can’t control themselves in spending money.  They resent any attempts at accountability to Dallas citizens.  This is common knowledge to anyone who has had to address the city council on an issue.

Whenever I have had an occasion to complain about some builder in the area to the city, the response is “Dallas is owned by developers”.  This response is from city workers whose salaries are paid with my tax dollars!  And, what about my complaint? I might as well be talking to a wall.

State Rep. Hill has stated he is concerned that any reform in the property tax system (such as reducing the cap from 10% to 5%) would transfer control of local matters to the state level.  Well, look at Dallas.  We have had years of scandal in the Dallas Independent School District:  yacht trips, 5 digit phone bills, limos for staff, overly generous salaries for administrative personnel, poorly negotiated contracts and credit card scandals all for the benefit of our children’s education.  The DISD is something to be proud of -- especially when it becomes evident that many DISD graduates can’t even print their own name, address or date of birth on a petition to their government!

I seem to remember that one proposed suggestion would allow citizens to petition for either a 5% cap vs a slight rise in the sales tax!  An almost insurmountable endeavor considering the man-hours and inability of the electorate grasp any concept other than the drivel they consume on TV. 

With the highest crime rate in the country, the city council has been irresponsible with tax monies by placing public safety at the bottom of their budgetary priories behind suspension bridges over the Trinity River and improvements in the Arts District iwhere performances will be out of the financial reach of most residents.  I remember when you could get into the Dallas Museum of Art general exhibits for free.

Several mayoral candidates suggested a “special tax” for crime fighting.  Let me tell you, many of us already pay a “special tax” in that, due to poor police protection, we are forced to hire private security services to provide monitoring and patrol for what our tax dollars should have provided.

Local governments are in denial and are enamored with themselves.  Rep. Hill is there patting them on the back. They never met a tax they did not like!

Yes, Rep. Hill, I am soooo pleased with how my area schools and city are run.  It is re assuring to know you are there helping make them accountable by enabling them to continue their wanton spending. 

Where is any meaningful accountability?

Where are my property tax savings that I was promised the special session would give me two years ago?

Any tax savings has been eaten up by valuation increases and proposed city and country rate increases!

Local governments don’t think we deserve a savings on our property taxes. 

No new taxes- they hear Mo new Taxes!

In their attempts to address the property tax problem, Fred Hill and the rest of the Legislature give the voters meaningless tools that sound good on paper but in practice are unusable and unmanageable.  It is like making bricks without straw. 

Fred Hill, et all are enablers of bad government.  They are more supportive of bad local politicians than the citizens they were elected to represent!

I am reminded of a state senator replying to one of my rants about the lack of property tax reform: “we work sooo long and hard.” Spare me. If it is so difficult then you should be in another line of work.

As to Brandon Harris's letter calling for a tax revolt, bring it on!

David W. Tuthill