Clayton Perry, For the Express-News
Council member Clayton Perry says now is the time to increase the homestead exemption.
Darren Abate /San Antonio Express-NewsHomeowners dread going to the mailbox in the first quarter of the year and seeing that letter from the Bexar Appraisal District because that means it’s property tax season.
Every year we are shocked at how much our property taxes have increased. Property taxes are the largest tax assessed in Texas. They are critical to help pay for police, firefighters, EMS and other municipal needs, but we must strike a balance that does not further burden homeowners.
In 2017, I spearheaded the first-ever city homestead tax exemption, and in 2019 it became reality. The exemption was for the state’s minimum allowed $5,000. While this was a milestone to provide property tax relief to San Antonio homeowners, more should be done. Bexar County just followed the city’s lead and passed a $5,000 homestead exemption, and I challenge other taxing authorities to enact or increase a homestead exemption to provide real relief to homeowners.
City Council will debate raising our homestead exemption as we begin our annual budget discussions. During last year’s budget discussions, Councilman John Courage and I proposed an increase but were not supported by our colleagues. While council members agreed we need to provide relief to homeowners, they ultimately were concerned with the potential impact on the city’s operating budget. One of the arguments against increasing the homestead exemption was that the savings a homeowner would receive were not worth the revenue the city would forgo.
Opponents are quick to state that this loss in revenue would impact our emergency services budget, but that is not the case. Every year our budget increases by approximately $15 million due to increasing property taxes. To move to a 5 percent exemption would only cost an additional $8.6 million, which is well within the total property tax increase for the city.
The goal is to eventually reach the state’s maximum allowed amount of 20 percent, similar to what other Texas cities provide. City Council recently passed a CPS Energy rate increase with the justification that it was “only a few dollars extra to the ratepayer.” Why is it when we speak about saving homeowners a few dollars, it is dismissed?
New census data shows that San Antonio is among the poorest cities in the nation. We cannot allow San Antonians to be priced out of their homes. A recent letter from the Texas Association of Appraisal Districts stated that “regions around the state have seen increases in values between 20-50 percent since last year.” Based on the repeat home sale index in the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan area, housing prices have risen 18.37 percent. With such astronomical increases, we cannot solely rely on the Legislature to provide relief. We must do our part. Our community continues to suffer and needs tax relief now.
Council will continue this conversation during the budget goal-setting session April 13. If you think the city and other taxing authorities should do more to help our residents, I urge you to contact your council member to express concerns over rising taxes and encourage increasing the homestead exemption. Then call all the other taxing entities — such as school districts, Alamo Colleges District and the San Antonio River Authority — and tell them the same. This is a community effort.
The homestead exemption is not the only solution; however, it is a tool we have available to keep our neighbors in their houses. Now is the time to make this happen.
City Councilman Clayton Perry represents District 10.
