‘Cause I’m the Taxman
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five percent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman
Yeah, I'm the taxman
So sang the Beatles in their '60s hit that called out one of the certainties of life: Taxes. Every August, Harris County ESD 47 grapples with the subject of taxation. While it is a fact that the taxes ESD 47 collects allows for the Westlake Fire Department to roll fire trucks and ambulances in times of need by the community, we are very mindful that we are asking the residents of the District to "give up" some of the hard earned fruits of their labors. Over the next few weeks, your elected commissioners will be setting the ad valorem tax rate for the next tax cycle. There is good news, though. While the Beatles sang about a 5% tax levy, all ESD's in Texas are, by law, capped at $0.10 per every $100 of property valuation. A 5% levy would be $5 per every $100 of valuation.
Your local Emergency Service District has been over the last several years extremely prudent with the funds that it has brought in via taxation. Here is a run down of recent ad valorem property tax rates:
2016 $0.0945
2017 0.0925
2018 0.0900
2019 0.0850
2020 0.0840
As you can see, every year has been lower than the previous one. Before we can start to discuss taxes, however, we must set our Year 2022 budget. Final touches are being put on it as I write this. ESD 47 budget and required tax postings will appear elsewhere on this website shortly after becoming available.
There is no way to predict how this year's numbers will turn out to be. All I can tell you is that we commissioners at ESD 47 will scrutinize all of the information provided to us by the Harris County Appraisal District and the Harris County Tax Office before coming to a decision. Certainly a much more involved process than the Beatles' taxman who allegedly set rates without much regard for facts. My fellow commissioners and I feel whole heartedly that we are working for you -- a complete reversal of the Beatles' taxman.
More on this in the weeks ahead.
Until then, stay safe.
Brian Havran