Residents petition city for rollback election

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GONZALES — Tuesday night during the regularly-scheduled meeting of Gonzales City Council, City Secretary Kristina Vega was presented with a folder containing a petition with more than 600 signatures on it. The petition is calling for a rollback of the city's recently increased ad valorem tax rate.

According to Texas Municipal League, currently, if a Texas city increases property tax collections by more than eight percent over the previous year, voters can petition for a rollback election to roll back the increase.

Prior to October, the city's effective tax rate was $.1769, or $176.90 per $100,000. The average across Texas is more than three times this amount.

The city's new current ad valorem tax rate is $.2750, or $275.50 per $100,000 valuation. This represents a 55.46 percent increase in the rate and still falls almost twice as low as the state average.

Gonzales resident Steve Hendershot presented the council with the rollback petition. He came forward at the Hearing of the Citizens and thanked Gonzales Main Street for putting on a successful Winterfest last weekend; inquired about the business of a prior council meeting: and then stated his piece about the city's tax rate.

"The third Item that I want to speak on started back in September – September the 19, I think – and it was the night that the city council had a meeting and they set the tax rate at .275 for our ad valorem taxes," Hendershot said. "We have a group of people, roughly plus or minus 600 registered voters here in town who would like the opportunity to vote on the issue of how much taxes go up, so tonight I will present to the city secretary a petition to recall... [roll back] the tax rate."

Gonzales mayor Connie Kacir answered Hendershot's prior questions to council, then spoke on the tax rate.

"In regards to your petition may I ask you a question," she asked. "Do you know the amount of revenue increase that the increased tax rate will provide?"

Hendershot told Kacir he had seen the rate increase advertised at 55.45 percent all the way up to 59.05 percent.

"It is calculated at 55.46 percent," Kacir said.

Kacir, referencing a public advertisement placed by a private citizen, asked if Hendershot recalled the amount of revenue the city would supposedly receive by way of tax increase.

According to Kacir, the advertisement wrongly stated that the city would benefit from a tax increase to the tune of $2 million in surplus. She went on to clarify that the city council had simply identified $2 million in capital improvements that could begin to be addressed with appropriate tax increases.

"That's fine, but you have exceeded the increase that state statute allows for," Hendershot said. "It is our right to petition y'all for an election on it and that's what we're doing tonight."

Kacir again clarified the city's position following the tax increase.

"You said you were not aware of the amount of revenue generated by the increase," she said. "That amount was not $2 million; it was $372,652.36."

Hendershot said he would like to see that amount decreased.

"We look forward to the opportunity to vote on that," he said.

According to the Texas Comptroller's office, the rollback process starts after a taxing unit formally adopts a tax rate.

If a taxing unit – other than a school district – adopts a tax rate that exceeds the rollback tax rate, voters in the taxing unit may petition for an election on the tax increase.

A successful election limits the taxing unit's current tax rate to the rollback tax rate.

Upon receiving the petition City Secretary Kristina Vega is charged with verifying each and every signature.

The city may choose to roll back the rate or have a rollback election.

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