EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — El Paso city leaders have proposed reducing the city’s property tax rate to its lowest level in a decade. The proposed rate would decrease from 76.5 cents to 75.9 cents per $100 of valuation. However, with property values rising over 5 percent, residents are likely to see a higher tax bill despite the lower rate.
Enrique Ortiz, a local resident, expressed skepticism about the changes.
“It’s the same thing, they come out with the same money,” Ortiz said. “At the end, it’s all about them wanting more money so they can fund more projects that they want to fund.”
Micaela Merchant, another resident, acknowledged the city’s efforts to provide tax relief.
“I think they do enough, with the discount you get when you’re 65, and when you do your homestead, they do help veterans,” Merchant said.
The city’s Chief Financial Officer noted that better-than-expected property appraisals allowed for the tax rate reduction and the partial restoration of previously cut items.
“Fortunately for us, property appraisals came a little bit better than we expected, provided us the opportunity to not only reduce the property tax rate for next year, but also partially restore some of the other items that we had taken reductions on in the prior year,” the CFO said.
City Representative Art Fierro explained that the decrease would lower the bill by $7 a month per household compared to if the rate had remained the same.
Fierro emphasized the necessity of an overall tax bill increase to fund essential services.
“Everybody wishes that we would have a third year of no new revenue, taxes. The unfortunate thing about no new revenue is doesn’t allow us to invest in street striping in additional for the park, in additional money for law enforcement, it doesn’t allow us to lower the debt,” Fierro said.
The final tax rate will be set by the City Council on August 19.
In the meantime, public sessions will be held for residents to express their opinions on the proposed rate.
RELATED: City of El Paso proposes to lower tax rate, but rising home values may offset savings
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