Property Taxes Rising In Amarillo

Governor Perry made a big deal out of cutting property taxes during the past legislative session, even though most of the savings disappeared almost immediately through rising property values. Now it looks like the citizens of Amarillo are fixing to be hit with a couple of raises in the property tax rate.

First is the Amarillo City Commission. They just sold $25 million in certificates of obligation to fund capital improvement projects in the city. Now they must figure out how to pay for the certificates, and it looks like they will be doing it by raising the property tax rate by .02 cents per $100 of property value. This means a person owning a $100,000 home would pay an extra $20 in property taxes.

Then we have Amarillo College. The college's regents are considering the issuance of $68 million in bonds for campus improvements. They would repay these bonds by raising the property tax by .025 cents per $100 of property value. This would raise the tax on a $100,000 home by $25.

There is one entity that is lowering their tax rate this year -- the Amarillo Independent School District . They are lowering their tax rate from $1.48 to $1.17 per $100 of property value. But before you get too excited, you need to know why they are lowering the rate. It's not because they need less money. It's because the property valuations have risen significantly, so the chance is real good that even though they lowered the rate, you will be paying about the same amount in taxes.

The chances are also good that because of rising property values, the city and college taxes will rise more than just the rise in the tax rate.

Now, I'm not saying that the capital improvements are not needed for the city and the college. I believe that they probably are needed. In fact, if given a chance, I would probably vote in favor of both.

I just want people to understand that in this extremely red part of Texas, these TAX RAISES were brought to you by REPUBLICANS! So next year, when the Republicans are screaming about how they cut taxes and Democrats raise them, just remember it's not true.