BETTENCOURT: HISD Trustees Should Schedule May Recapture Vote

Says voter approval of HISD recapture would avoid the lose-lose-lose situation that exists today Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas   During yesterdays Senate Finance Committee hearing Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston) called for the Houston Independent School Districts Board of Trustees to schedule another HISD recapture vote for May and avoid the lose-lose situation that exists today. I called upon the Houston Independent School Districts Board of Trustees to schedule another vote on recapture credits for HISD voters in May in yesterdays Senate Finance Committee hearing Senator Bettencourt said. This is a lose-lose-lose situation otherwise. He called for HISD trustees to let people vote on the inevitable tax hike that will come with the Education Commissioners detachment of high-value business properties in HISD both for the detached properties and the properties that remain in HISD since those properties will have to make up the shortfall to pay debt from HISD losing nearly $18 billion of its tax base.

The first lose is that de-annexed taxpayers will see their Maintenance and Operations (M&O) property tax rates rise by 15 centsSenator Bettencourt said. That means commercial taxpayers will pay their new school districts millions of dollars more in taxes per year.  The second lose is that the existing HISD taxpayers have to make up their Interest and Sinking (I&S) property tax debt rate goes up 2 cents to make up for the departed de-annexed commercial taxpayers he continued. That is both homeowners and business owners paying 2 pennies in tax rate more.  The final lose is that HISD permanently loses $17.4 billion dollars of their tax roll that cant be replaced easily per the TEA Commissioner if at all Senator Bettencourt noted. The way to fix this is obvious: HISD trustees need to schedule another HISD recapture vote in May and avoid the lose-lose-lose situation that exists today he concluded.