Dallas County Budget Draft Includes No Property Tax Increase
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – After months of scrutinizing the budget for the next fiscal year, Dallas County leaders presented a draft Tuesday that included no new property tax increases.
"No gimmicks, no raiding the emergency fund and no property tax increases," County Judge Clay Jenkins said after Tuesday's Commissioners Court Meeting.
The commissioners court spent much time budget scrubbing, and were told that no raises and a continued hiring freeze – coupled with earlier layoffs and cutbacks in the Sheriff's Department – equated to balanced budget success; for the time being, at least.
Dallas County employees will also see a six percent increase in health care costs and lose one personal day a year. But neither Dallas County nor the publicly funded Parkland Hospital will see a hike in their property tax rate.
"You won't see an increase at Parkland and you won't see an increase in your county taxes," Jenkins said. "So the effect of that will be that most peoples' property tax bill will actually go down."
Holding the line on property taxes means businesses can, in turn, hold the line on their own expenses.
"It's good news," said restaurant visionary Phil Cobb, who helped found the Black-Eyed Pea chain and still runs numerous restaurants throughout the region.
Cobb believes lower taxes trickle down into savings for the customer, since businesses won't have to increase prices to afford additional taxes.
"If a business is owned by a property owner, he's going to have to pass it on through his business," Cobb said. "In other words, that hamburger's going to have to go up 10 to 25 cents."
Cobb, while supporting the decision not to raise taxes, said it would be best for the county to keep the tax rate stable for the next five years. He said it would be easier for businesses to plot and anticipate costs for a longer period of time.
"It means we can plan, and that's what some would say is wrong with business now and that's why business isn't growing in America," he said. "We don't have a horizon of five to 10 years where we can plan what our costs are going to be for any business, and tax is certainly one of those elements."
Cobb's wish may not happen, though. Looking one fiscal year down the road, county leaders see a $28 million gap.
"Going 16 months out, we're probably looking at a 27.8 million shortfall," County Budget Director Ryan Brown told commissioners of the 2012-13 fiscal year budget during Tuesday's meeting.
Residents, though, said they're happy with the decision not to raise property taxes, even if that's only for the interim.
"I think that's fantastic if they can not raise taxes but still pay for all those services that we need," said Dallas homeowner Clayce Roadamer. "The reality is, if you get services, you've got to pay for them, so they've got to come from somewhere."
