Ken Lampton's Blog

There's a move afoot at the Texas Legislature to permit the creation of new taxing authorities called Transportation Funding Areas. If a group of counties create a Transportation Funding Area, the homeowners in those counties would pay higher property taxes in order to generate revenue to fund rail and supplemental roadway improvements.

This legislation is being supported by North Central Texas Council of Governments, but there is also plenty of opposition. Here's an opposing viewpoint from Judge Keith Self of Collin County:

The Transportation Funding Area would be a new taxing district that would impose a whole series of potential new taxes to fund transportation projects. This new taxing district would be in addition to your school district, city, county, and community college property taxes, in addition to the tolls that you pay on the 121 and George Bush tollways, and in addition to the transportation bonds that you approved in 2007. The TFA bill seems to be written so that it goes around the fiscally responsible Collin County Commissioners Court. First, the Regional Transportation Council selects projects for Collin County - Collin County has only 4 seats of 44 total seats on the council. Remember, the RTC is the organization that overcharged Collin County by $600 Million from the NTTA advance payment to the region on SH121. Second, the bill gives city councils that represent a total of 60% of county population the authority to force an election on the whole county.

Your fiscally responsible Commissioners Court will be delivering our views of this new taxing district across the county and in Austin.

The potential taxes add up to a hefty chunk. (Note: these are changing as the bill evolves.)

- A new county gas tax of up to 10 cents per gallon. This is in addition to any increased federal gas tax or increased state gas tax. And the legislature has not yet fully committed to stopping the diversions of the gas tax that you already pay to non-transportation expenditures.

- A parking fee up to $1 per hour.

- A "mobility improvement fee" up to $60.

- An annual emissions fee up to $15.

- A driver's license fee of up to $24.

- A roadway impact on initial vehicle registration fee up to $250.

This bill is structured with the belief that you, the voter, will vote for any tax that is put on a ballot with no discernment whether or not the added tax is absolutely necessary or not. Where is the review to make sure that every tax dollar is being spent as wisely as possible before we add yet another tax? Where is the prioritization to make sure that your tax dollars are being spent for the most important government functions? More taxes of every kind is always the answer from most government entities because that is what increases their power and authority, but limits the review of how they spend the tax dollars you already give them. Sometimes I think that elected officials confuse government with a commercial company - something to be grown as large as possible.

What you can do: Be aware. Watch the progress of this bill. Watch the language that is used; language that will mirror the language used for the federal stimulus package - something must be done or a catastrophe will happen. Call or write (do not email) your state representative. Call or write your city council.

Keith Self
Collin County Judge

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Ken Lampton, CRS
RE/MAX About Dallas
www.m-street-dallas.com