There’s a story told around the office that an elected official once said that they’d rather run naked across a stage in front of their constituents than hold a truth-in-taxation hearing. If that doesn’t already clue you in and how good the system is, I don’t know what will. Because of the law, some city council members, school board officials, and county commissioners are more willing to bare all to their constituents than raise your taxes. I think it is safe to say that the system is working as was envisioned nearly 40 years ago when it was put in place.
Some elected officials will argue and will continue to argue that the law does not keep up with inflation and forces government to hold painful meetings to increase taxes. My response back to that is that is exactly what the law is meant to do. From my perspective anytime a governmental entity wants to use more taxpayer dollars than it already has, it is entirely appropriate for the government to have to call a meeting to make its case to taxpayers as to why more money is needed.
Others will argue that the current law causes governments to wait too long to raise taxes, that it is too hard to hold the truth-in-taxation meeting and then we end up with some governments waiting 10-20 years until they raise taxes again. Again I would argue that this is again showing that the law works. Taxpayers want government to stretch the dollar as far as possible. Having a limited amount of resources causes creativity and thoughtfulness when crafting a budget and helps curb overspending. With that said, we do understand that governments may need to look at holding a truth-in-taxation hearing every five to seven years in order to keep their budgets on par with current costs.
Despite what our friend said about running naked across the stage instead of holding the meeting, I hope more elected officials see the meeting as an opportunity and not a hindrance or annoyance.
The meeting is the proper way for the elected officials and staff of the entity to make their case to the public. It is a chance to explain the reasons for why additional money is needed. If that case can’t be made in a public meeting and done so with confidence, then the tax shouldn’t be increased and the elected officials in that government should focus more on how the dollars in their budget are being spent and less on the their own agendas and pet projects.
I recently was asked to do a podcast discussing our truth-in-taxation system. The discussion was fascinating as the out of state host for the program caught on quickly that the goal of the law is to include the taxpayer. It is to ensure they are fully informed that more of their hard enarned money is being asked for and that the government wants to have a meeting to discuss why. He observed that the process is designed to increase citizen engagement. It is hard to say anything that improves the relationship between the residents and their government is a bad thing and that is our hope, is that the taxpayers are more involved with their government so they can see how taxpayer dollars are being spent.
What I’m trying to say is: the system works. It is something that other states are looking at and wanting to copy. It is saving taxpayers money and helping keep government budgets stable. Like many laws, it certainly has its quirks and challenges but those are not reason for wholesale changes but rather reasons for productive conversations to ensure our property tax system remains strong for future generations.