NRH Senior Tax Freeze Hearing

NRH City Council to Hold Public Hearing on Senior Tax Freeze

While the majority of the council seems to want to reject the idea of a tax freeze for the Seniors and Disabled in our city, I believe that they are looking around at the happenings in other cities around us and are beginning to think. The agenda calls for a 45 minute discussion of the freeze in Pre-Council and three agenda items on the Council Session.

In prior pre-council meetings, the city attorney has advised the council that it could call a non-binding election and discussion would lead one to believe that unless there was a landslide, they still wouldn't pass it. I believe that the city cannot actually have such a vote without taking action on the item if passed by a majority of one.

Regardless of the outcome of the pre-council meeting, there will be a Public Hearing on the Freeze issue during the regular council session on Tuesday Evening - June 29th. The Council meeting begins at 7PM. The council will hear from any citizens wishing to speak - within a 20 to 30 minute total time frame. Each speaker is limited to two minutes.

Following the hearing, the council will then decide on whether to simply place the item on a meaningless ballot or will decide to pass or deny the freeze completely.

I plan to speak at the hearing to enter the following remarks into the record:

Mayor & Council Members:

I am speaking in support of a tax freeze for our Seniors.

Based on a review of the audited statements of NRH for the 2002-2003 fiscal year, I find the following statistics:

1) Property tax revenue to the city has increased 95% in the last 10 years. This does not include the revenues lost to cover general spending by the creation of the TIFs.

2) Population growth for our city was 19.6% for the same period of time.

3) The property tax rate is set by the City Council each year and could have been significantly reduced had the council seen fit to do so.

Every year for the past 10 years the City of NRH has published the effective increase of our tax rates in the Fort Worth Star Telegram as required by law. If the council continues to “hold the rate”, all of our taxes will double in the next 7 to 10 years as a result of valuation increases from TAD.

Further, in 1999 the City Council cut out 400+ or – acres of prime land in the city to create a TIF#2 whereby they could spend all of the tax money from new development on a $10 Million Library when we already have an award winning library. The council is also planning to spend $21 Million on a new Recreation Center with an exotic swimming pool and a rock climbing wall but we already have a Recreation Center that Hwy 820 WILL NOT destroy and we have NRH2O. Somewhere in the future is a new town hall to replace our recently constructed City Hall and as yet, I have not found the estimated cost of this boondoggle. In like manner our existing City Hall will not be destroyed by the 820 expansion.

As these brief facts indicate, the problem is not lack of taxes or a real need for future tax increases from our seniors – rather it is blatantly runaway spending. Freezing the taxes for Seniors will not create a hardship for any other tax payers. Runaway spending by the Council creates a problem for everyone.

I submit to you that the Seniors and Disabled in our City deserve a freeze of their taxes and over 80% of the voters in this area have already approved such a freeze. Thank You

This is a very important Council Meeting and an important issue for all citizens of NRH as it is a first step in reigning in the runaway spending of our council. This is a late posting but I hope to see you there.