Garcia: Property tax crisis needs immediate attention
at rates we haven’t seen before and it’s a frightening proposition for families in danger of getting taxed out of their homes.
It’s a nonstop source of frustration in this state that our fates rest in the hands of tax appraisers who never set foot in our homes, offer us no explanations for their decisions and base their valuations on market forces being driven, at least in part, by faceless house flippers who have no connection to our community.
Troy Elliott, the city’s deputy chief financial officer, alluded to these kinds of maddening scenarios during a Wednesday budget presentation to the City Council. This isn’t a problem, it’s a crisis. It’s a crisis created by out-of-control appraisals, not high tax rates. Therefore, it can’t really be solved by tinkering with tax rates, which is the province of lawmakers.At the same time that council members were getting briefed on the budget, four San Antonio state lawmakers appeared at a forum in the downtown campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio that was moderated by Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune.
Last year, Perry and his fellow North Side Councilman John Courage tried and failed to expand San Antonio’s $5,000 homestead exemption . On Wednesday, it seemed obvious that the idea now has strong support.West Side Councilwoman Teri Castillo thanked Perry and Courage “for beating the drum on property tax relief.” Castillo’s fellow council freshman, Mario Bravo, said, “I support going big on a homestead exemption.
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