Dallas City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn is leading a charge to lower the tax rate in the recently proposed City budget to a “no-new-revenue” level.
“As the former chair of the Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, please allow me to share with you my deep concerns regarding the ever-increasing city budget, the effects on residents, and the sustainability of these increases for the future of Dallas,” Mendelsohn wrote in a memo to Mayor Eric Johnson.
While “the FY23-24 proposed budget provides for a slight tax rate reduction,” she explained, it “still increases the tax burden on residents and businesses.”
“The residents and businesses are limited on how much they can pay as a reasonable portion of their income and will pay, given the proximity to other cities in which to live and conduct business with substantially lower tax rates,” the council member continued.
Pointing to a report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Mendelsohn outlined how Dallas’ tax levy has consistently increased despite a stagnant or shrinking population and skyrocketing inflation.
“This budget cycle, I am especially alarmed by the very small tax rate reduction of .65 cents [per $100 valuation],” she added. “While a lower tax rate makes for a nice soundbite, this rate reduction still results in a big tax increase for property owners.”
Pointing to City Manager T.C. Broadnax’s warning of a pending “financial cliff” due to a “structural deficit” in the City’s finances, Mendelsohn urged, “We have a strong need for fiscal restraint to prepare ourselves for our financial future, not a budget that proposes additional new spending.”
To that end, she recommended that the City adopt a “no-new-revenue” tax rate to reduce the burden on taxpayers. “Ghost” positions that are full-time and have not been filled should be eliminated, the council member suggested.
She also urged budget reduction for City departments that have “experienced a prolonged and pronounced level of spending increase” and ending any City funding for initiatives that are more properly the responsibility of other entities.
In an email shared by Mendelsohn, Mayor Eric Johnson replied, “I’ve read your memo letter, and it is truly excellent.”
“Thank you for all of the work you’ve clearly put into this,” he continued. “I am happy to meet with you next week to discuss next steps, but I plan to inform the city manager asap that I agree with you and that he needs to produce a NNR-based budget using your suggested methods for the full council to consider.”
The mayor later announced on social media: “Today, I requested that the City Manager develop a revised FY 2023–24 Budget based upon a no-new-revenue tax rate. The residents of Dallas deserve, and can have, a city that taxes them less, spends less, and delivers essential services more efficiently and cost-effectively!”
Along with the announcement, Johnson posted a copy of his letter to Broadnax.
Mayor Johnson has made reducing the tax burden on citizens a key policy item for his second term in office, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Dallas has already reduced the tax rate by the largest amount in years and increased the senior homestead exemption to record levels. This will combine with the tax relief package passed by the Texas Legislature to increase exemptions across the board and buy down local property taxes.
However, actual tax bills are expected to rise due to skyrocketing appraisals of property values.
“Lowering the tax rate is not enough. I want to actually deliver actual property relief on the city portion of your tax bill by having your city tax bill lower — have you pay less money in taxes than you paid last year,” Johnson has explained.
“We have one of the higher tax rates in the region, and in some ways, we’re lagging in the region,” he added. “So, I’d like to see Dallas have the lowest rate in the region, and so that’s our goal.”
As the City Council considers Broadnax’s proposal, Dallas taxpayers are evaluating how City leaders plan to spend their money in the coming fiscal year.
