HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-12-17 Euless Articles Before you curse city, county for high
property taxes, hear what Tarrant leader says
BY RYAN J. RUSAK DECEMBER 05, 2019 12:56 PM
Judge Glen Whitley: "the 800-pound gorilla in the room is school property tax".
The Tarrant County Judge repeated his position, to the North East Tarrant
Chamber of Commerce, on how the state, especially the senate, plays a large role in how local tax rates are determined. Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley
really wants you to know that he and other county officials are not the reason your property tax bill is high — no matter what state leaders say.
In response to a sustained assault from Austin, Whitley has honed a presentation
about local governments’ taxes and spending. He argues that counties in particular
are in a bad spot: The state allows them to raise money in only a few ways, but
they’ve been taking much of the blame for homeowners’ ever-escalating bills.
“We’re not overtaxed, we’re over property-taxed,” Whitley, a Hurst Republican, told
the Star-Telegram Editorial Board this week.
His perspective is important, because this issue is not going away. If anything, it feels like we’re nearing a breaking point over property taxes and how Texas pays for public education. Like the accountant he is, Whitley lays out a numbers-heavy argument. Here’s the crux of it: Texas is a low-tax state overall, ranking 37th in government revenue as a share of overall personal income, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. But it’s heavily reliant on property taxes, particularly
to fund schools, and other streams of income have lagged. Consider the gasoline
tax, which hasn’t been raised in 20 years.
The state’s share of school funding declined over decades. Lawmakers have tried
to address that in recent years, but the burden of funding schools remains heavily
on local property owners. As property taxes have gone up and up and up, political
pressure has intensified, especially from small-government conservative groups
such as Empower Texans.
It’s been obvious for a while that state leaders have seen local governments as a
relief valve for that pressure. But it was laid bare when House Speaker Dennis
Bonnen was caught on tape, in a conversation with Empower Texans chief Michael Quinn Sullivan, using a vulgarity to mock city and county officials. “They want to concentrate power in Austin to make it much easier to choke down local government,” Whitley said. “They’re more libertarian than Republican.” BUT NOT ATTACKING SCHOOLS
There’s one more political consideration: Lawmakers don’t generally pick fights
with their school districts. Voters like their schools, and school activities, particularly
sports, are a focal point for many Texas communities. But cities and counties? A
typical taxpayer’s interaction with those governments is often frustrating and expensive. And politicians know how to pick a target. Whitley’s preferred agenda to fix all this is intriguing, if fuzzy. Most of all, he wants flexibility, pointing to legislation this year that would have let counties levy a small sales tax to reduce property tax bills. With a one-cent sales tax, the judge said, the county could eliminate property taxes used to fund regular operations. He’s also on the warpath about property tax exemptions, which chip away at the base of overall revenue. Some, like those for elderly homeowners, may be worthwhile public policy, but Whitley would like lawmakers to weigh eliminating them all, or
at least setting them to expire and be reconsidered. Texas isn’t headed for an income tax anytime soon, and Whitley notes that the lack of one has been a competitive advantage that has fueled our growth. But, he argues, “if we don’t do something about property taxes, it will be as big a deterrent” to growth as an income tax would.
APPRAISALS ARE A MESS
And he recognizes that the property appraisal system needs serious work,
including perhaps real estate sales-price disclosure that would remove some of the mystery of what homes are really worth on the market. It’s more dire than that: No
real relief is possible when property values in urban areas increase so dramatically every year. That points to the inconvenient truth about property taxes: Appraisal growth has let policymakers at every level off the hook. Governments have boosted spending
while crowing about keeping tax rates in check, leaving homeowners frustrated at
sharply rising property-tax bills. It can’t go on like this. Next time there’s a recession
and sales tax collections dip, the state will be hard-pressed to keep up the
commitment lawmakers made to school funding this year. Whitley’s proposals are
among a long list of things that will have to be on the table to make sense of the
property tax burden.
Ultimately, the public wants two things most: Low taxes and strong schools. In
boom times, it can have both, at least for a while. But when that’s no longer
feasible, the finger-pointing that has Whitley and other local leaders so agitated
may only increase.
New shops and restaurants coming to
Colleyville along Glade Road
BY CARLA JIMENEZ DECEMBER 02, 2019 12:31 PM
If you thought there was already enough retail and restaurants on Glade Road
running through Colleyville and Euless, get ready for more. Commercial real estate
firm SHOP Companies is developing a retail property, Glade & Heritage Retail, in
Colleyville, at the corner of Glade Road and Heritage Avenue, behind the Target
Superstore.
According to the plans, there will be two buildings in the development: One
building will have 8,000 square feet of divisible space, and the second, L-shaped
building will have 19,600 square feet. Construction is currently underway.
Retail development along Glade Road has been booming in recent years, with the
Shops at Glade Parks in Euless entering the final phase of construction.
New retail and restaurant space is under construction in Colleyville, at Glade Road and Heritage Avenue.
9 nearly new Dairy Queen restaurants go
dark, closing half the DQs in Fort Worth area
BY BUD KENNEDY DECEMBER 10, 2019 07:45 AM FORT WORTH Nine of the newer area Dairy Queens closed Monday, leaving 9 locations in Tarrant
County for the Minnesota-based chain known for burgers and Blizzards. Three Fort
Worth locations, all opened between 2013 and 2016, closed along with suburban
locations in Euless, Grand Prairie, Hurst, Keller and Roanoke. Southlake-based
franchisee Lickety Split Food left a message on the door: “Closed Until Further Notice — “It is with deep regret that we have discontinued operating our Dairy Queen restaurants. Nothing gave us greater joy than to serve you DQ’s amazing treats and eats.” Texas DQ’s are owned by several different companies. Lickety Split Food entered
the market in 2013, opening a location at 700 N. Industrial Blvd. in Euless and
following with eight more locations in three years.
The company also closed locations at 8620 N. Beach St. in Fort Worth (2013); 2640
Interstate 20 West in Grand Prairie (2014); 1500 U.S. 377 North in Roanoke (2014);
455 Keller Parkway in Keller (2014); 728 AIrport Freeway in Hurst (2015); 7150 North
Freeway in Fort Worth (2015); 2155 Texas 360 North, Grand Prairie (2016) and 6700
Bridge St., Fort Worth (2016). Lickety Split had heavily promoted its new stores with
fast-casual service, earthtone decor in the dining rooms and freezer cases filled
with ice cream cakes.
The International Dairy Queen brand is owned by Nebraska-based Berkshire Hathaway Inc., but local operators own the stores across Texas. Last year, more than 30 locations closed across Texas. A landmark location near Dickies Arena closed this year because the owner sold the property.
BUD KENNEDY’S EATS BEAT 817-390-7538 Columnist Bud Kennedy is a Fort Worth guy who covered high school football at 16 and has moved on to two Super Bowls, seven political conventions and 15 Texas Legislature sessions. Since 1985, he has also written more than 2,000 “Eats Beat” columns about Texas dining, restaurants and food.