The chart attached to this email is especially for you, so that you have accurate information when you report on City tax rates.
I plot all the adopted tax rates and no-new-revenue tax rates since FY 2015.
The no-new-revenue rate (formerly known as the “effective” rate) is defined in the City budget books as the “tax rate that when applied to the current year taxable assessed valuation would produce the same total tax revenue as the previous year, after adjustments required by state law.”
As you can see, our City Council has voted to adopt a higher tax rate than the no-new-revenue rate every fiscal year since 2015, shortly after Tommy Gonzalez assumed office.
Stated in plain words, our City has increased our property tax for eight years in a row!
Ten years ago, the City of El Paso accounted for 25% of our total property tax bill. Now it accounts for 29%.
City Manager Tommy Gonzalez and his staff advocated for all eight tax hikes, and our City Council rubber-stamped them without fail.
Gonzalez has been a fiscal disaster for our community.
OUR INCUMBENT CITY REPS HAVE FAILED US
Incumbent Isabel Salcido of District 5 voted for property tax hikes in 2019, 2020 and 2021. She also voted for $389,000,000 in non-voter-approved debt.
Incumbent Claudia Rodriguez of District 6 was inexplicably absent during the budget vote in 2020 but voted for a tax increase in 2021. She has been lying about this repeatedly in her campaign materials, insisting against the facts that she never voted to raise our property tax. I wish you would correct the record!
Both Salcido and Rodriguez voted on May 23 to extend Gonzalez’ contract without imposing a salary cap.
El Pasoans now suffer one of the most oppressive property tax burdens in Texas. Rents have shot up as a result, hurting our most vulnerable residents.
We know exactly whose fault this is because we have records for every single vote cast, and the politicians cannot hide from the truth.