Dallas County

Commissioners Court Administration

Property Tax Reform and Dallas County

The Dallas County Commissioners Court consistently provides State mandated services while
maintaining one of the lowest tax rates, tax burdens, and the lowest debt-per-capita in the State of Texas.
This has been accomplished through a combination of management, responding to constituents needs, and
statesmanship. Because of this, we feel we are uniquely qualified to make recommendations to the
Legislature on how to lower the property tax burden in Dallas County and in the State of Texas. Below
are the best actions the State should take to address rising property taxes.

1. The State of Texas should reform school finance. School districts make up at least half of a
homeowners property tax bill. The States continued reliance on school property taxes to fund
schools instead of appropriating State revenues has systematically created the property tax
problem. This is most evident in the State budget for the 85th Legislative Session which will
increase local school property taxes by nearly 14%. Page III-5 of the State budget reads,
Property values, and the estimates of local tax collections on which they are based, shall be
increased by 7.04 percent for tax year 2017 and 6.77 percent for tax year 2018. The average
homeowner in the DISD will see a property tax increase over the next two years of $280.

2. The State of Texas should stop raising school property taxes. Over the last ten years, the State
of Texas has increased school property taxes by 44%, or $684 per year for average homeowners
in Dallas Independent School District. This has been achieved by systematically shifting public
school funding away from State aid and to local property taxes. In 2008, Texas schools were
funded 44.8% through local property taxes, 44.9% through State aid, and 10.3% through federal
aid. In 2017, Texas schools are funded 51.5% through local property taxes, 38.4% State aid, and
10% through federal aid. To put that into perspective, the State of Texas has raised school
property taxes from $18.2 billion to $26.2 billion in ten years.

3. The State of Texas should stop shifting costs to local governments. If the State of Texas
simply paid its own bills, Dallas County homeowners would save 17% or $103 per year in
lowered property taxes. In Dallas County alone, we spend $145 million per year on services the
State is supposed to provide such as criminal indigent defense, state prisoners in our jail, and
appointment of counsel in CPS cases. These are all state responsibilities that counties are
mandated to pay for without adequate or any reimbursement.

4. The State of Texas should leave the decision point of taxation at the local level and out of
Austin. Taxpayers have decided, and should continue to decide, what level of taxation is best
through the election of our local officials. There is no need to move away from the traditional and
conservative Texas model of governance, which empowers local officials, to a state centralized
model, like California, where Austin decides how local jurisdictions raise and lower taxes.

charles.reed@dallascounty.org - (214) 653 - 6655

411 Elm Street - 3rd Floor - Dallas, Texas 75202-3340