As required by State law, specifically Section 26.06 of the State Tax Code as amended by the 79th Texas Legislature, the City of Houston publishes the following notice:
Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Increase
The City of Houston will hold three public hearings on a proposal to increase total tax revenues from properties on the tax roll in the preceding tax year by 6.84 percent (percentage by which proposed tax rate exceeds lower of rollback tax rate or effective tax calculated under Chapter 26, Tax Code). Your individual taxes may increase at a greater or lesser rate, or even decrease, depending on the change in the taxable value of your property in relation to the change in taxable value of all other property and the tax rate that is adopted.
The public hearings will be held on October 9, 2007 at 6:00 PM and October 16, 2007 at 6:00 PM and October 24, 2007 at 9:00 AM at City of Houston, City Hall, Council Chambers, 901 Bagby, Houston, Texas 77002.
The members of the governing body voted on the proposal to consider the tax increase as follows:
FOR:
Mayor Bill White, Toni Lawrence, Jarvis Johnson, Anne Clutterbuck, Ada Edwards, M.J. Khan, P.E., Pam Holm, Adrian Garcia, Carol Alvarado, Peter Brown, Sue Lovell, Michael Berry, Melissa Noriega, Ronald C. Green
AGAINST:
Addie Wiseman
ABSENT:
None
Comparison of Proposed Budget with Last Year's Budget
The applicable percentage increase or decrease (or difference) in the amount budgeted in the preceding fiscal year and the amount budgeted for the fiscal year that begins during the current tax year is indicated for each of the following expenditure categories:
Ad Valorem Taxes
Total General Fund
Maintenance and operations
5.00 % increase
4.63 % increase
Debt service
9.86 % increase
9.86 % increase
Total expenditures
6.35 % increase
5.28 % increase
Total Appraised Value and Total Taxable Value
as calculated under section 26.04, Tax Code
Preceding Tax Year
Current Tax Year
Total appraised value* of all property
$154,477,044,234
$173,645,703,755
Total appraised value* of new property**
$2,224,603,219
$3,294,944,902
Total taxable value*** of all property
$120,451,615,329
$134,601,956,193
Total taxable value*** of new property**
$2,224,603,219
$3,294,944,902
Bonded Indebtedness
Total amount of outstanding and unpaid bonded indebtedness
$2,358,373,000
Tax Rates
Adopted tax rate for the preceding tax year
$0.64500 per $100 in value
Proposed tax rate for the current tax year
$0.64375 per $100 in value
Difference in the proposed tax rate and the adopted tax rate for the preceding tax year
$(0.00125) per $100 in value
Percentage increase or decrease in the proposed tax rate and the adopted tax rate for the preceding tax year
(0.19)% (Decrease)
These tax rate figures are not adjusted for changes in the taxable value of property.
Comparison of Residence Homestead Values
Average appraised and taxable values on residence homesteads are compared from the preceding tax year and the current tax year.
Preceding Tax Year
Current Tax Year
Average residence homestead appraised value
$162,692
$173,370
Homestead exemption amount for the taxing unit (excluding special exemptions for persons 65 years of age or older or disabled)
$32,538
$34,674
Average taxable value of a residence homestead (excluding special exemptions for persons 65 years of age or older or disabled)
$130,154
$138,696
Comparison of Residence Homestead Taxes
The taxes that would have been imposed in the preceding tax year on a residence homestead at the average appraised value (excluding special exemptions for persons 65 years of age or older or disabled) are estimated to be $839.49. The taxes that would be imposed in the current tax year on a residence homestead appraised at the average appraised value in the current tax year (excluding special exemptions for persons 65 years of age or older or disabled), if the proposed tax rate is adopted, are estimated to be $892.85. The difference between the amount of taxes on the average residence homestead in the current tax year, if the proposed tax rate is adopted, and the preceding tax year would be an increase of $53.36 in taxes.
Special Provision
Houston Code of Ordinances, Section 44-27, requires the City of Houston to publish an analysis of anticipated increased revenues when the ad valorem tax rate proposed is expected to increase the City's ad valorem property tax revenues for the current fiscal year in an amount greater than five percent more than the ad valorem property tax revenues collected during the immediately preceding fiscal year.
Preceding Fiscal Year
Current Fiscal Year
Increase
Ad Valorem Property Tax Revenues
$748,792,018
$821,467,000
9.71%
* "Appraised value" is the amount shown on the appraisal roll and defined by Section 1.04(8), Tax Code.
** "New property" is defined by Section 26.012(17), Tax Code.
*** "Taxable value" is defined by Section 1.04(10), Tax Code.
