Dallas City Council Goes Too Far with Tax Rate Increase

All summer, I've heard from Dallas city council members that in order to keep providing basic services to citizens and fix potholes, a tax increase was necessary. When these city council members asked for public input, many seemed willing to accept what they assumed would be a modest tax increase.

Given the state of the economy, city council members should be grateful so many seem to support paying more taxes. Those who support a tax increase believe the additional taxes are worth paying in order to keep basic city services going. Opponents argue that a recession is the worst time to raise taxes. Which group represents the true will of the citizens of Dallas remains unclear. Depending on which council member you ask, they will say their constituents support their stand.

When I spoke to Councilwoman Carolyn Davis about the possible tax hike for another article I was writing, she seemed genuinely concerned about raising taxes, but felt it needed to be done because so many cuts had already been made. By supporting a tax increase, she said she was following the will of the people.

I am sure even her supporters of a tax hike were surprised on September 13 when the city council gave preliminary approval to the largest property tax hike in over twenty years. Hardly the modest increase citizens expected, the raise in property taxes is one of the highest allowed by law. Citizens of Dallas gave the council an inch to raise taxes, and they took a mile.

Lost in the whole discussion is the fact that city manager Mary Suhm proposed a budget that raised no taxes, with some cuts in services. Many council members dismissed it. Both Mayor Tom Leppert pushed for a tax freeze for the sake of taxpayers and business development. Council member Dave Neumann proposed a tax rate that was only half of what is currently on the table. He was ignored.

At first glance, the rise of 4.91 cents per $100 in appraised value doesn't sound like much. However, for me, it represents about $40 more in property taxes, and I live in an average middle class home near downtown Dallas. $40 is a credit card payment, or pays a utility. To a lot of people, $40 means much more.

I'm not opposed to the idea of paying more in taxes if I thought they were warranted. However, I don't believe the city council has done enough to trim this budget of waste. With a total budget of over $2 billion dollars, there are cuts that can be made if someone is willing to study the details. After looking over the proposed city budget online, I found Dallas spends $459,000 a year to televise 3,460 hours of city council meetings and televised "talk shows" featuring the council members on basic cable. That is equal to over 144 straight days of city hall programming. Sounds a bit excessive, don't you think?

The money grab is not limited to property tax rates. There will be rises in fees for other city services. The council also recently approved a new fee for having a garage sale. Previously, there was no fee to hold a garage sale in Dallas, and a reasonable $5 fee was initially proposed. Council members Delia Jasso and Dwaine Caraway pushed to charge $25, but eventually settled on a $15 fee. They seem to forget that anyone holding a garage sale probably needs the money more than the city does, but that hardly seems to matter to them.

Dallas will now be home to one of the highest tax rates in the state. Do we really expect business development to happen here in such an economically restrictive climate? If the economy improves, will the council cut taxes once revenue goes back up? Not likely.

At a time when we all are watching every dollar spent and making cuts we don't like, it would be refreshing for the city council to at least act like they are trying to do the same thing.

Source: Dallas Morning News: Tax increase vote, City of Dallas Website: 2011 Budget, Carolyn Davis Interview, Dallas Morning News: $25 fee, Dallas Morning News City Hall blog,