It is long-standing precedent, dating back over a century-and-a-half.

"The city is the creature of the state."
East Hartford v. Hartford Bridge Co.
10 How. 511, 533, 534, 13 L. ed. 518, 528

Indeed, counties, school districts, and other local govrnment entities are similarly creations of the state, subject to being regulated by, or even abolished by, the state within which they exist. For the state to limit their powers, including their taxing and spending authority, is therefore beyond question and perfectly appropriate -- especially when that change is coming at the institgation of We, the People.

The Houston Chronicle, on the other hand, doesn't think the state should call these "creatures of the state" to heel.

A commission appointed by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to reform the property appraisal system has come out with a raft of proposals that provide little in the way of reform.

Instead, the panel chaired by Dallas businessman Tom Pauken is calling for mandatory rollback elections for any local government, excluding school districts, that spends more than 5 percent beyond what it spent the previous year.

For Texas communities struggling to pay for police, fire, public hospitals and other essential services that the state does not fund, this one-size-fits-all approach would undermine their autonomy to set budget priorities. It also would impose a burdensome rollback election system that would make it very difficult to get approval for necessary spending increases.

If the Houston Chronicle had ever been an honest broker in the debate on property tax relief, I might take the analysis that follows at face value. however, the editorial board has never met a tax increase they haven't liked, nor have they ever met a real tax relief proposal (especially for property taxes) that they have seriously supported. I don't know if they really believe that the government has first claim to the money in our paychecks, but it sure seems that way.

The reality in Texas is that under current law the assessed value of one's home can double every 7-8 years -- and with it, one's tax bill. Indeed, we have seen parts of the city of Houston and other local communities in which homeowners have been driven out of their homes by rising property tax assessments. It is a pattern seen around the state, and the taxpayers have demanded action. The currnt proposals are that action.

Now the Chronicle offers this conclusion.

The Texas Legislature has already addressed the issue of burdensome school property taxes, enacting new business taxes to pay for a one-third reduction in local school property taxes. It should now concern itself with state spending issues and leave local decisions to the elected officials best qualified to make them.

What the editorial fails to take into consideration is that the taxing and spending decisions of local governments are, in reality, state decisions due to the status of these local government entities as "creatures of the state".

That being the case, I've got a better idea -- the state legislature should set these limits upon local governments, which are, after all, creations of the state. Any local government entity finding itself unable to fund essential operations with the revenue available under the proposed 5% rate of growth should be abolished in the next legislative biennium.

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Posted by: Greg at 03:43 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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