HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-05-07 Euless Articles i
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McDONNALD COLLINS C. BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARYADMIN LIBRARY REF HARTSELL
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CHEERS AND JEERS
LCheers:To Jennifer Jackson and Mark
Weaver at D/FW Airport for going the
extra mile to help me find a lost
L -iPhone.Their courtesy and persever-
ance turned a fluke occurrence into a
really great story!
L -Betsy Deck,Euless
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McDONALD COLLINS C. BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF H,IRTSELL ill
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PROPERTY TAXES
Tax for elderly,freezes
disabled costing cities
Tarrant County local governments lost State Rep. Fred Brown, R-Bryan, pro- Area tax freezes
nearly$6.6 million in revenue last year, posed a constitutional amendment in Entity 2009 revenue lost
records show. 2003 allowing cities and counties to Arlington $524,085.18
choose also to freeze their property taxes
By AMAN BATHEJA abatheja@star-telegram.com for elderly and disabled homeowners. Bedford $221,162.41
As Tarrant County cities try to deal with bud- Rising property values were raising con- Benbrook $74,952.61
get shortfalls,the impact of generous proper- cerns that older Texans were going to he Blue Mound $1,772.22
ty tax freezes adopted several years ago for el- priced out of their homes. Crowley $25,345.99
derly and disabled homeowners is starting to "I think it was good legislation and for Dalworthington $18,306.65
be felt. seniors who are on fixed incomes who Gardens
Government entities in Tarrant County— had trouble making ends meet," Brown Euless $25,455.07
said.
19 cities along with the county government Fort Worth $1,585,314.12
and the community college lost nearly- The Legislative Budget Board predict Haltom City $98,597.18
$6.6 million in tax revenue last year because; ed that the yearly loss to cities and coun
ties would grow to $20.3 million by Haslet $2,023.73
wou
of the freezes,according to county records. Hurst $143,591.24
In Texas,reliable data on the impact of the, 2008.
Last year,Tarrant County's coffers lost Keller $163,132.17
local option caps isn't available,but it's clear;
that billions of dollars in taxable values have; $1.7 million because of the tax freeze. Of Mansfield $134,070.08
been kept off the tax rolls since voters ap local cities that adopted it, Fort Worth North Richland Hills $113,100.47
proved a constitutional amendment in 2003 missed out on the most:$1.6 million. Richland Hills $42,964.76
The percentage of elderly or disabled
to allowing them. River Oaks $22,926.46
homeowners who took advantage of a tax
And that amount is certain to grow freeze last year ranged from roughly 7 to Sansom Park $16,658.38
higher in the coming years as a wave of 25 percent per city, according to Tarrant Southlake $160,397.63'
baby boomers reaches retirement age. Appraisal District records.The different- Watauga $22,820.29 7
"As the city's population continues to es depend largely on a city's demograph- Tarrant County $1,743,678.37
age, and it will, more people will qualify ics,various city officials said. Tarrant County $1,456,764.43
for that benefit, which challenges how Benbrook had one of the highest par- College
much the city can raise in revenue," said ticipation rates, 25 percent, costing the x,,., - tv,a,,,:' e
Horatio Porter, a Fort Worth budget offi- city$74,953 in revenue last year. Comp-
cer. troller David Ragsdale said the city has Unintended consequences
Property tax appraisal notices will be- .adjusted better than expected since The Texas Silver-Haired Legislature,
gin reaching mailboxes this week, and adopting the measure in 2004. which advances legislation for senior citi-
thousands of homeowners under the "When the council voted for the tax
freeze could learn that the value of their ;freeze, we said, 'Gus, our percentage of Pens, m Oscarbied fot the bill in Fort2W.Speaker
property has changed but that their tax over 65 is one of the highest n the countyProeTem Garcia,a n Worth ith-
dent,said cities need to learn to live with-
bill is staying the same. and if you enact this,you will have to find in their means.
Fixed incomes other sources of revenue,' " Ragsdale "The taxes do not continue to grow ev-
said. eryyear,but[seniors]are still paying each
Senor citizens in Tesxasfo havecof districtsyed fro The Barnett Shale boom and the arriv- time," Garcia said. "It's not a problem
Sen property taxes for school
since 1993. The thinking among many al of new businesses made up for the with revenue.It's a problem with expens-
es."
shortfall but will likelyjust be a tempo-
proponents is that most senior citizens
fix, Ragsdale said. But Dick Lavine,a senior fiscal analyst i
don't have school-age children and there- rary Rg
fore deserve a break on helping cover the "This year, revenues are probably with the Austin based Center for Public
going to be less than expenses for the first Policy Priorities, a think tank focused on
costs of public education. time in a long time for us,"Ragsdale said. issues affecting low-income Texans, said 7
"I see that happening again next year." proponents of the freeze ignore the effect j
of inflation in the long run.
"The costs go up every year, whereas
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homes that are frozen will pay the same
amount year after year even as each dol-
- • lar buys less and less,"Lavine said.
Some other states with freezes include
limits so that seniors earning over a cer-
ium
r i0 ;:mount of income don't qualify for
the tax break. Such an argument never
got much support in Texas, though La-
vine said it would have made sense.
�• Brown said he regrets not putting a
provision in the constitutional amend-
ment excluding homes worth more than
a certain value,perhaps$250,000.But he
doesn't expect to try to change the law
how,he said.
LBaby boomers
As baby boomers age, the tax burden is
expected to shift further to younger Tex-
ans. State demographers have projected
that more than one-fifth of Texans will be
older than 65 by 2030.
Economists have debated the value of
L providing tax breaks to the elderly to keep
them in their homes.
In 2008, Hui Shan of the Federal Re-
L serve published a paper on how property
taxes affect the elderly. She found that
higher property taxes increase the likeli
hood of seniors moving out of a commu-
nity.
"They tend to move to less expensive
houses and lower property tax areas,"
Shan said.
L The data is less clear on the overall im-
pact elderly people have on the economy.
While they tend to not maintain their
homes as well as nonelderly homeown-
L ers,which could depress property values,
they also tend to use fewer local public
services until they get sick,Shan said.
L "What I think the studies show is that
state and local governments want to re-
tain elderly homeowners as long as they
are not too old,"Shan said."They pay tax-
L es and they don't consume much public
services."
In Colorado, Gov. Bill Ritter has pro-
posed suspending a property tax break
L for senior citizens to save nearly$200 mil-
lion.
New Jersey officials have suggested
ending new enrollments in a senior tax
freeze program.
The Texas senior tax freezes are likely
to stay put. The constitutional amend-
ment includes a provision barring local
L governments from ever rescinding freez-
es.
AMAN BATHEJA,817-390-7695
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McDONALD COLLINS C. BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF HARTSELL
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Opinion
LETTERLD
Re-elect Stinneford
I am writing in support of the re-election of Eu-
less City Councilman for Place 1, Tim Stinne-
ford. Tim does more than just serve on the
council;he spends countless hours volunteer-
ing for the city in many areas.He is part of the
Citizens on Patrol,the Citizens'Police and Fire
Academy Alumni,the Community Emergency
Response Team and the Child Abduction Re-
sponse Team. He has earned the President's
Volunteer Service Award bronze medal for the
past four years. 7
In the three years that Tim has been on the
council, the property tax rate has stayed level
and the services residents receive have never
been better. Euless is the best-run city in the
area, and we should keep the current leader-
ship intact with people who truly care about
our city and are willing to put in the extra time
and effort to make sure Euless stays the best. 1
—Leah Bennett,Euless
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McDONALD COLLINS C. BARKER GETCHELL LIBRARY ADMIN LIBRARY REF H,4RTSELL
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Opinion
LETTERS
Stinneford in Euless
Regarding George Moore's.April 19
letter against Tim Stinneford: Stin-
neford is a decent family man with
experienced leadership, skills, in-
tegrity and proven ability to listen
to both critics and supporters. I
have worked beside him as a volun-
teer for the city of Euless,where he
earned Presidential Bronze Awards
for his volunteer hours and as a
L member of both Citizen's Fire and
Citizen's Police Associations. He
also helps with the city's CERT and
C.A.R.T. organizations. As a busi-
ness owner, I have never felt he
showed partiality.His agenda is fis-
cal responsibility and devotion to
our community.
Please join me in supporting
Tim Stinneford.He will continue to
represent the residents of Euless
L with fairness and honesty.
—Helen Voss,Euless
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OBITUARIES
111,
Julia S. Petrovich
EULESS — Julia S. Petrovich,
96,passed away Saturday, May 1,
2010.
FUNERAL 9:30 a.m. Thursday Julia was a twenty–year
in Mount Olivet Chapel.Interment:
Mount Olivet Cemetery. Visita- employee of the City of
tion: 6 to 8
p.m. Wednesday at Euless, who did not begin
Mount Olivet Funeral Home. working here until she
Julia was born Aug.24,1913,to
Josephine and Adolph Schmidt in was 71 years old!
Galveston.
She was preceded in death by
her husband, George J. Petrovich,
and daughter,Nancy A. Ratliff.
SURVIVORS:Son,George J.Pe-
trovich Jr.; grandsons, Michael J.
Petrovich Sr.and Donald W.Ratliff
granddaughters, Colleen Moore,
Laurie Ratliff and Kelly Alvarez;
and nieces, Lynn Etheridge and
Gail Tanner.
Mount Olivet Funeral Home
2301 N.Sylvania Ave.,817-831.0511
View and sign guestbook at
www.star-telegram.can/obituaries