Proposition A is Commissioner Andy Sommerman’s unaffordable and reckless 22% property-tax hike. The Dallas Morning News has recommended that Dallas County voters support it. The measure would raise the county rate to 24.865 cents per $100 of value and send about $102.9 million a year to one nonprofit, Housing Forward, for homeless programs. The county’s own notice says that adopted rate is 22.02% above the no-new-revenue rate of 20.3785 cents.
Let me ask you this: Did you receive a 22% pay increase this year? I didn’t. I will not vote as if you did.
As the Republican nominee for Dallas County Commissioners Court District 2, I oppose Prop A. And I can tell you the voters I talk with during block walking and candidate events don’t want Prop A either once they learn about its heavier tax burden.
They tell me with costs rising for housing, food, and energy, household budgets are stretched. The last thing they need is a tax hike on homes and businesses, especially since District 2 already carries about 40% of the county property-tax burden by a tally of taxable value in District 2 precincts.
On the median homestead, taxable value $268,056, Prop A would set the county bill at $666.52. That is $107.55 more than last year’s bill of $558.97, and $120.26 more than the bill at this year’s no-new-revenue rate. If Prop A fails, the rate does not fall back to last year. It stops at the voter-approval rate, 22.465 cents, still 10.2% over no-new-revenue. Homes in the upper half of values would pay more than that median increase.
Opposition is bipartisan. John Wiley Price and Elba Garcia, both Democrats, voted against putting Prop A on the ballot. Price said the county should not be the sole payer for a regional problem, and that renters would pay too, because landlords pass the tax on. Garcia said a $100 million pass-through to one nonprofit that has not been vetted, with the details promised later, is not acceptable. I agree with them.
The editorial treats Housing Forward’s downtown work as a reason to lock in $100 million a year. Downtown had pandemic money and a city partnership. That is not a reason to put a permanent county tax on the house.
The City Auditor’s report of June 18, 2025, is the diligence the Court skipped. The audit covered October 1, 2022, through February 29, 2024. Spending was measured as of November 7, 2024. Two Housing Forward contracts were separate from the Real-Time Rehousing contract, and both were barely used. Master leasing: $52,326 spent of $3 million. RTR outreach: $1,707 spent of $2,354,314. Together, about 1% of more than $5.3 million, and about $5.3 million left unspent. The Dallas Housing Authority’s separate Real-Time Rehousing contract, $31.4 million, was not evaluated. The same audit found the Point-in-Time count met 18 of 23 HUD requirements and only partly met the other five. Veteran status was not a required question. Auditors could not verify that the 2024 count happened in the required window. That is the record. And now Housing Forward deserves $100 million plus a year with no specified checks and balances included in Prop A?
Dedicated homeless taxes have not delivered. Portland-area voters passed a 1% homeless tax on businesses and high-income households in 2020. Five years and $1.4 billion later, homelessness was higher than when the tax started. Just last year, Austin voters killed a similar homeless property-tax increase by about 63.5% to 36.5%. Liberal Austin!
My opponent, Democrat Andy Sommerman, is the lead supporter for Prop A. He cites the homeless costs on the county jail and health care.
But look at the numbers. Dallas County Health and Human Services put the 2023 cost of homelessness in Dallas and Collin Counties at about $194 million. Incarceration was about $17 million, roughly 9%. Hospitals and medical care were the heavy dollars.
A pragmatic homeless plan attacks the hospital door with measured contracts. It moves paper-ready inmates to TDCJ (state prison) within the 45-day window in idle vans already sitting in the lot. It enforces encampments and squatters. It does not invent a dedicated tax.
As a mediation attorney who finds common ground, I agree with Commissioners Price and Garcia. A compassionate, effective, and affordable plan must include Dallas and Collin counties, the City of Dallas, the suburban cities, and the State of Texas.
Prop A is a reckless tax. Voters should reject it. We can do better and work together on a plan that’s compassionate to both the homeless and taxpayers.
Barry Wernick is an attorney, a TMCA Credentialed Distinguished Mediator, and an arbitrator. He is the Republican nominee for Dallas County Commissioner, District 2, running against incumbent Commissioner Andy Sommerman. His vision for District 2 — The Land of Milk and Honey — is at wernickfortexas.com/land-of-milk-and-honey.
The views and opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of The Dallas Express. Publication does not constitute an endorsement of any candidate or ballot measure.
