"In an expensive city like Austin, it's a tough time to raise property taxes - especially on top of rising gas bills and a county tax hike to fund disaster relief for the July floods. Yet that is what the City is asking the voters to approve this November in order to help make up for the state's inaction in the face of the federal government's millions in cuts to grants that fund city services."
"But not everyone thinks a tax rate election, or TRE, is necessary. Shortly after City Council's vote to set an election, former Austin mayoral candidate Jeff Bowen filed a lawsuit contesting the ballot language. Bill Aleshire, his attorney, argued that the ballot language doesn't cover the full scope of how the tax increase will affect bills even after the 2025-26 fiscal year, and that it doesn't specify exactly how much funding the city will allocate to each project."
Voters in Austin face Proposition Q, a tax increase proposed to offset federal grant cuts and lower sales tax revenue while complying with a 2019 state law that limits annual tax increases above 3.5 percent without voter approval. If approved, the measure would raise property taxes so that the average $500,000 home pays about $300 more per year; even without the rate increase, residents face roughly $100 higher bills for services like trash and water. Legal challenges contested the ballot language's scope and funding specifics, but courts dismissed the suit. Opponents and supporters have formed coalitions, including Care Not Cuts and over 30 organizations such as first responders and homeless advocates.
Read at Austin Monitor
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