North Texas Homeowners Can Blame Higher Tax Bills on Region's Prosperity

North Texas homeowners will likely pay more in taxes next year, even as local government leaders vow to hold the line on property tax rates. City, county and school district levies are based on property values. In many locales, those property values continue to rise. And so will property assessments."These really are tax increases," said Bridgette Wallis who operates the McKinney Citizen to Citizen website and Facebook page. "Even if the tax rate stays the same, they're still getting a lot more of our money based on the appraisals."Only a few entities -- including Dallas, Collin and Rockwall counties, as well as the cities of Rockwall, Royse City and Wylie -- are talking about holding the line by not asking their residents to pay more taxes in the 2017-18 fiscal year.Local government staffers typically propose their budgets by mid-August, opening the window for elected officials and the public to weigh in on the spending plans. The budgets are passed in September and the fiscal year starts for all entities on Oct. 1."This is the time to pay attention to the county, cities, school district and any other taxing entity because this is when the rubber hits the road," said David Sweet, the current Rockwall county judge and former Rockwall mayor. "This is the appropriate time to get down to the county courthouse, get in to City Hall and to the school districts if you are concerned."  Continue reading...