The disaster provision was included in the bill for a reason – to assist cities in mitigating the impact of a disaster.Why did this resolution receive City Council support? Again, the June 16 vote did not establish a new tax rate, but it does give the City Council more flexibility in determining the tax rate for Fiscal Year 2021.
This is a return to the historical threshold required for an election on property taxes. The resolution adopted on June 16 effectively changed the threshold for an election on the tax rate from an increase of 3.5 percent to an increase of 8 percent. If the City Council’s action on June 16 did not set the tax rate, what did it do? The vote simply gives the City Council more flexibility in adopting a tax rate for Fiscal Year 2021. The proposal to adopt a tax rate for Fiscal Year 2021 will be made on August 4, with Public Hearings on the proposed tax rate scheduled for August 18 and September 14. The City Council passed a resolution to direct the voter-approval tax rate be calculated at 8 percent due to the declarations of disaster because of COVID-19 by the Governor of Texas and the President of the United States.ĭid the City Council’s action on June 16 to trigger the disaster provision automatically increase property taxes by 8 percent?
The city council has the ability to designate any officer or employee to calculate the tax rate (Tax Code § 26.04(c)).ĭid the City Council vote to trigger the disaster provision of SB2 at the JCity Council Meeting?
* The term “designated officer or employee” is not a new one added by SB2. When an increased expenditure of money by a city is necessary to respond to a disaster, including a tornado, hurricane, flood, wildfire, or other calamity, but not including a drought, that impacted the city and the governor has declared any part of the city as a disaster area, an election (petitioned or automatic) is not required to approve the tax rate adopted by the governing body for the year following the year in which the disaster occurs (Id. The other SB2 provision pertaining to disasters gives cities the ability to avoid an automatic tax rate approval election following certain disasters.