Marble falls raising Taxes??

[Caretaker]

Well I see that its tax rate time once again here in good ole Marble Falls.. You wanna bet they Raise it again... I bet the citizens wont say a dang thing to stop it and if they try the council wont listen. Light up the email and phone lines and let them know. NO MORE TAXES.

[Immune]

Its hard to get people to "unplug" from what ever they are doing and get involved anymore and some never have a clue.

[KINGCHIP]

We don't need more taxes, we need more taxpayers.

[tamra30]

I will seriously think about moving out of the city limits! I have thought about it a lot since the last big hike, to pay for the hospital, and the waste the city has. but do expect it (higher taxes) I heard one council member (lawyer) say they (city) were on a tight budget, no money. Yeah, well do away with EDC, which has brought in nothing, but has spent tons (salary and new offices). Use the hotel tax in city 'needs'. To much government on the peoples 'backs'. ohhhh don't get me started! :)

[cougargirl78]

I totally agree with you Tamra. RIDICULOUS!!!

[butchkemper]

At the Marble Falls City Council meeting I attended last night, the proposed tax rate for 2011-2012 was the same as the current rate for 2010-2011.

Butch

[countryboy]

At the Marble Falls City Council meeting I attended last night, the proposed tax rate for 2011-2012 was the same as the current rate for 2010-2011.

Butch

The RATE maybe the same but taxes will go up. Cardenas said if you have a house valued at 150k you would pay an Extra 6.90.. IS that NOT a Tax increase??. Also what you dont mention is the fact that Some property values went up as well. So some folks would easily pay several times that amount.

And is this not a Proposed rate.. Proposed means they could essentially decide to raise it even more. And seeing as 3 members want something higher, all it would take is convincing one more council member to jump on board their band wagon and vote to raise it higher..

[Hacksaw]

This is why I move out of Marble Falls years ago because of Taxes.

[Reapp]

The RATE maybe the same but taxes will go up. Cardenas said if you have a house valued at 150k you would pay an Extra 6.90.. IS that NOT a Tax increase??. Also what you dont mention is the fact that Some property values went up as well. So some folks would easily pay several times that amount.

And is this not a Proposed rate.. Proposed means they could essentially decide to raise it even more. And seeing as 3 members want something higher, all it would take is convincing one more council member to jump on board their band wagon and vote to raise it higher..

How is it the city's fault that property values went up? You can blame that on the CAD.

[Feline]

The propsed tax rate that was agreed upon last night - is the same tax rate for 2010-2011. There is no increase to the rate to what we paid in 2010-2011.

[mdarling]

According to the Highlander newspaper, Donna Klaeger says Burnet county is considering a small property tax increase for 2012. Makes you want to leave the entire county, not just Marble Falls!

[countryboy]

How is it the city's fault that property values went up? You can blame that on the CAD.

Why Blame it on CAD?.Hmm lets see. Who puts the board of directors in place for CAD?. The taxing units of the county do. These are elected positions but not elected by the citizens of the county..Where is the incentive to keep taxes low if they can only be replaced by the taxing units they serve..And between the board of directors and the ARB there are at least 4 realtors who serve on these boards.Do realtors have any incentive to keep taxes low. Nope.because the lower the values the less properties sale for which means lower commissions.


If HB1717 or SB722 would have not been held up in The last session, they way these board of directors is elected would have been changed.

[countryboy]

According to the Highlander newspaper, Donna Klaeger says Burnet county is considering a small property tax increase for 2012. Makes you want to leave the entire county, not just Marble Falls!

You aint kidding. I have already been looking but next time it will be a less populated county where the people there just want to live a more slow paced life and not get caught up in all the Fluff.

[butchkemper]

The RATE maybe the same but taxes will go up. Cardenas said if you have a house valued at 150k you would pay an Extra 6.90.. IS that NOT a Tax increase??. Also what you dont mention is the fact that Some property values went up as well. So some folks would easily pay several times that amount.

And is this not a Proposed rate.. Proposed means they could essentially decide to raise it even more. And seeing as 3 members want something higher, all it would take is convincing one more council member to jump on board their band wagon and vote to raise it higher..
The proposed tax rate for 2011-2012 is the same as the current tax rate. So unless your property values increased, there is no increase in taxes.

The proposed tax rate applied to the taxable property values for 2012 will generate approximately $27,000 more revenue than the same rate did when applied to the values for 2011.

You are confused and taking the $6.90 number out of context.

Butch

[countryboy]

The proposed tax rate for 2011-2012 is the same as the current tax rate. So unless your property values increased, there is no increase in taxes.

The proposed tax rate applied to the taxable property values for 2012 will generate approximately $27,000 more revenue than the same rate did when applied to the values for 2011.

You are confused and taking the $6.90 number out of context.

Butch

Not confused and not out of context.
Quote.If you have a house valued at 150k you,ll PAY an EXTRA 6.90.. That was from Cardenas.. How is that NOT an increase.NOTICE the word EXTRA..
Also for the effective rate to be at the same level as 2010-11 the rate would be 63.89 per 100. the proposed tax is .07 percent Above the effective rate.
Effective rate is whats needed to cover city expenses right? Anything above that is Extra money for the city which would go into the reserves or slush fund or the wish list money.

[Reapp]

Wow.

[Caretaker]

What i see here from the back and fourth is looking like Ma and Pa Kettle Mathematics.

[WhoIsJohnGalt]

This would be a great time for anybody interested to get copy of the preliminary Marble Falls city budget. Smoke that document over, then start asking questions. Should be available by calling the City offices.

I understand that at last City Council meeting, motion was made to maintain current tax rate--motion was passed 4-3. Some concern was raised that several wanted to raise the tax rate--watch the papers for writeup of the meeting.

Stay engaged folks!

[WhoIsJohnGalt]

Come to think of it--would be very interesting if folks on this thread would obtain copy of the City preliminary budget, then post herein about issues therein.

Could lead to good discussion!

[Caretaker]

The city has the NOTICE of Tax increase on the main web page. It clearly says that if the current rate is adopted it would be an increase.. If the EFFECTIVE rate were to be adopted you would pay less. If they adopt the effective rate they would still have money to operate. If they adopt the Current rate they will make extra money for the city coffers. Which is what part of the council if not all want so they can build up their reserves.
So by their own admission it IS a Tax Increase if the current rate is adopted.

[Caretaker]

I see the council discussed possibly making a NEW proposal to RAISE the TAX rate. All so they can INCREASE their Reserve funds.. And we all know thats just so they can Spend more.. They have a wish list a mile long and want the Property Owners to pay for them.. I have No doubt that the property tax rate WILL go up... I beleive they will put out a new proposal with a proposed additional rate of an extra 2.6 cents at a minimum..;)

[Feline]

The taxes you paid in 2010-2011 will be the same for 2011-2012.

[countryboy]

The taxes you paid in 2010-2011 will be the same for 2011-2012.

The RATE at this time May or may not stay the same.They have time to change it...Even if they keep it at the same rate I know MY taxes will be higher.They are NOT going to be the same.They tell you right on the citys website that you may see an increase or you may see a decrease.

[butchkemper]

The taxes due on January 1, 2012 is determined by the tax rate established by the City in 2011 multiplied by the appraisal value established by the Burnet County Appraisal District in 2011.

The Appraisal District has mailed out the valuations for 2011.

If you did not get an appraisal notice, then the appraisal value of your property did not change from last year. If you want to know for sure about the appraisal value, look on the Appraisal District web site:

http://www.burnet-cad.org/
Look under PROPERTY SEARCH

The City has established a proposed tax rate for 2011-2012 and held the first reading on the ordinance to adopt the proposed tax rate for 2011-2012. In order to change the proposed tax rate for 2011-2012, the City must:
Have a meeting and a public hearing to adopt a different proposed tax rate.
Have a meeting and a public hearing for the first reading of an ordinance to adopt a new proposed tax rate.

If you care about this issue either way, you must contact the members of the City Council and express your concerns and attend the Council Meetings.

At the 16 August City Council meeting, the issue was discussed and while there was not a formal vote, in the discussion, more Council members opposed changing the rate than supported a change.

Again, if you want to know what is happening, attend the meetings. Depending on this forum and the local newspapers for information will result in a partial understanding at best.

Butch

[anon]

What is the "magic number" that we could get our taxes down to that would keep our school taxes under the radar so the state doesn't steal from us every year?

We probably could/should lower our tax rate just for that reason!

[combatpilot]

I just read in one of the local newpapers about the City Council meeting on August 16th or 17th where Russell Buster, who just ran for mayor but was defeated, suggested ways to reduce city spending by reducing the numbr of police officers and firemen. I don't know if that is a good idea or not. The article said Buster suggested reducing the number of police officers from 24 to 12. That might be a little harsh, but there ought to be some state-wide statistics showing similar sized cities and a suggested levels of police and fire staffing such as 3 police officers for every 1000 population. I don't know what those numbers are, but our city councilmembers should be asking the staff these questions. Maybe we are over-staffed in police and fire in Marble Falls?

[countryboy]

I just read in one of the local newpapers about the City Council meeting on August 16th or 17th where Russell Buster, who just ran for mayor but was defeated, suggested ways to reduce city spending by reducing the numbr of police officers and firemen. I don't know if that is a good idea or not. The article said Buster suggested reducing the number of police officers from 24 to 12. That might be a little harsh, but there ought to be some state-wide statistics showing similar sized cities and a suggested levels of police and fire staffing such as 3 police officers for every 1000 population. I don't know what those numbers are, but our city councilmembers should be asking the staff these questions. Maybe we are over-staffed in police and fire in Marble Falls?


Buster did show some comparisons from other cities on what an acceptable amount could be. At least on the PD end of things.. IMO Suggested levels or stats generally would come from the PD on what they think their needs are.. These stats would also have to be determined by the amount of actual protection or services a city thinks they need..If all of thier police work is just solving true crimes then you should base the # on how many cases are the normal amount. If you were to look at how much Revenue making they do or are supposed to do then you should base the # on that as well.

[mdarling]

Do you really want to split 12 PD officers among seven days a week/24 hours a day. I wonder what Buster would say if his house was broken into and there were no police available to respond. Or, what about his house catching fire and there being no fire fighters available to respond. I can't imagine that 24 PD officers is too many for a town and area the size of Marble Falls!

[sdann03]

The average in Texas is 2.23 officers per 1000 residents. The City of Burnet is 2.13/1000; City of Llano is 2.43/1000. These stats can be found on city-data.com.

[Webmaster]

Marble Falls is not overstaffed on police officers. When looking at the numbers, you can't only take into account the resident population of Marble Falls. Marble Falls is a retail and commercial hub for a much much larger population. They have a call load that is much larger than the resident population would lead you to believe.

You want to see a massive increase in crime and a clear signal to the criminals that it's OK to come to Marble Falls and break the law? Cutting the police department in half would do just that. I think Buster's suggestion shows that he simply has an anti-police bias.

In the current economic environment, cutting police is a real bad idea. We are seeing increases in thefts, burglaries, copper theft, etc. I understand the need to balance budgets and keep taxes from going up. Risking the public's safety is not how to do it.

[Reapp]

Not to mention the 500-600 crashes and 1800+ offense/arrest reports taken a year.

[countryboy]

Not to mention the 500-600 crashes and 1800+ offense/arrest reports taken a year.

Where any of those 1800 offense/arrests for stuff like, Not wearing a seatbelt,no inspection sticker or car tags?. I ask that because the jail log listed in the papers show those offenses on occassion.

[Webmaster]

Where any of those 1800 offense/arrests for stuff like, Not wearing a seatbelt,no inspection sticker or car tags?. I ask that because the jail log listed in the papers show those offenses on occassion.
Those arrests are usually the result of warrants because the person did not take care of their citation they were issued.