{"id":1256,"date":"2016-05-03T13:16:59","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T18:16:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1256"},"modified":"2016-05-03T13:23:08","modified_gmt":"2016-05-03T18:23:08","slug":"this-council-raised-your-taxes-and-should-answer-for-it","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/truthinaddison.com\/?page_id=1256","title":{"rendered":"This Council Raised Your Taxes And Should Answer For It"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Council Raised Your Taxes
\n<\/strong>And Should Answer For It
\n<\/strong>By Susan M. Halpern
\n<\/strong>Former Addison Councilmember (1992-1999)<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The incumbents have run a shameful campaign. There\u2019s no other way to say it.\u00a0 They have attacked Addison and its history, and have unjustifiably disparaged its former staff and management, all for perceived political gain.\u00a0 They have caused harm to Addison.<\/p>\n

The strategy of continuing to misrepresent the facts is a disservice to Addison and an insult to Addison\u2019s voters. It amplifies the unwillingness of the incumbents to accept responsibility for the decisions they have made.\u00a0 They owe honesty and explanations to the electorate, not a parade of misinformation that deflects attention from their conduct.\u00a0 So let\u2019s talk about a couple of issues the incumbents and their supporters keep raising.<\/p>\n

Addison\u2019s Taxes are Higher, So What Good Is a Claimed \u201cExpanding Tax Base?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The facts-don\u2019t-matter folks are now touting an \u201cexpanding tax base.\u201d It\u2019s a faulty, half-a-balance-sheet analysis.\u00a0 Consider it this way: When was the last time you judged your asset \u201cbase\u201d without considering how you paid for it and how much it costs you to maintain it?\u00a0 Addison is no different.\u00a0 We keep hearing about an \u201cexpanding tax base,\u201d but the costs are never discussed.\u00a0 And, we know that the taxes Addison residents are paying continue to increase.\u00a0 Clearly, there\u2019s more to the story.<\/p>\n

You have to consider the whole picture. For one thing, an expanding tax base means higher service obligations, and that means higher expenses for Addison.\u00a0 Further, the reality is that the tax revenue generated by new taxable properties is not always enough to offset the higher expenses.\u00a0 Multi-family is an example of where that is typically the case.\u00a0 Second, sometimes an expanding tax base is essentially purchased<\/em> by a municipality, for example by providing financial incentives or tax abatements.\u00a0 You have to consider that price in order to analyze the real financial impact of a project.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the key piece that these folks keep omitting.<\/p>\n

The Sam\u2019s redevelopment makes the point. Prior to the vote, you heard lots about the value the project would add to Addison\u2019s tax rolls, i.e., the \u201cexpanding tax base\u201d theme.\u00a0 But they omitted several key facts.\u00a0 To start, you weren\u2019t told that the value assumed a full and successful build, which, if it ever happens, is many, many years away.\u00a0 Second, you weren\u2019t told that the total value they were touting will never be taxable in its entirety, because various exemptions (like homestead, for example) will reduce the taxable<\/em> value.\u00a0 In other words, not all of the cited value actually produces revenue.\u00a0 And finally, you weren\u2019t told that this council was intending to \u201cBUY\u201d this new value with $6.5 million of our tax money.\u00a0 Among other things, you never saw a cost\/benefit analysis of the project, and surely weren\u2019t told that it will be 23 years or more before Addison could hope to see a return on its $6.5 million investment.<\/p>\n

So you can easily see that an \u201cexpanding tax base\u201d just doesn\u2019t tell the whole story, and does not, standing alone, confirm financial health. And here in Addison, where taxes are HIGHER, i.e., trending upward, there is every indication that Meier and his captive incumbents are not responsibly balancing an expansion with other needs of the community.<\/p>\n

Addison\u2019s Council \u2013 not DCAD \u2013 Raised Your Taxes<\/strong><\/p>\n

For what feels like the hundredth time: DCAD DIDN\u2019T RAISE YOUR TAXES. And, DCAD\u2019s valuations<\/em> didn\u2019t raise your taxes.\u00a0 ADDISON\u2019S COUNCIL RAISED YOUR TAXES.<\/p>\n

Higher Addison taxes are 100% the responsibility of Addison\u2019s council. The fact is that the incumbents who claim to be fiscal conservatives raised your taxes the last two years by more than 7%.\u00a0 Then, they overspent the budget BOTH years by almost $2 million.\u00a0 This is all on Meier and his incumbents.\u00a0 The efforts to blame DCAD are absurd.<\/p>\n

This is simple: Addison\u2019s council is the entity that approves Addison\u2019s budget, which includes the total revenue needed for all the expenditures included in every line item in that budget. The Council\u2019s decisions on how much money Addison should or will spend determines how much in taxes Addison needs to collect from its citizens in the form of property taxes.\u00a0 Once that is decided, it\u2019s just math.\u00a0 Given DCAD\u2019s valuation, what tax rate will yield the desired level of income?\u00a0 The formula is simple:<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a><\/p>\n

In other words, the DCAD values are set, the total tax revenue is determined, and math gives you the tax rate that yields the total tax revenue needed given the DCAD values that are provided.<\/p>\n

This is fact: DCAD doesn\u2019t tell Addison how much money it should spend. DCAD doesn\u2019t tell Addison how much total tax revenue Addison must get from the imposition of property taxes (what you pay).\u00a0 DCAD doesn\u2019t tell Addison how it should spend the money.\u00a0 DCAD doesn\u2019t set the tax rate that results in the needed, calculated total tax revenue.<\/p>\n

This is also fact: DCAD values could go up<\/em>, and the council could set a tax rate that lowers taxes<\/em>.\u00a0 DCAD values could go down<\/em>, and the council could set a tax rate that raises taxes<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s a math formula with a variable \u2013 the tax rate \u2013 that is wholly within the discretion of Addison\u2019s council.\u00a0 The decisions to raise taxes or to lower taxes are 100% made by Addison\u2019s council.<\/p>\n

This does not happen: The council does not set a tax rate in a vacuum. The council does not set the tax rate without considering the DCAD values it doesn\u2019t control or the total tax revenue figures it does control.\u00a0 The council does not set a tax rate and then hope for the best, or any other silly thing these incumbents and their supporters are suggesting.<\/p>\n

This is fact: Your taxes are higher because Meier and his captive, tax-and-spend council raised your taxes. Period.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we can learn from the incumbents\u2019 efforts to blame higher taxes on DCAD: these incumbents refuse to own their decisions, and certainly decline to accept responsibility for their tax-and-spend policies. And that\u2019s worth knowing.<\/p>\n

When I was on the council, I owned my decisions and explained my votes openly and honestly to anyone who asked. That\u2019s what true transparency means.<\/p>\n

We sorely need to restore true transparency in Addison, but it will NEVER happen as long as Meier owns and controls the council, as he does now.<\/p>\n

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