New Citizens Group Seeks Tax Rollback in Laredo, TX

Laredo, TX, Morning Times ^ | 06-02-04 | Cortez, Tricia

[Theodore R.]

New citizens group seeks tax rollback

BY TRICIA CORTEZ Times staff writer

Close to 100 angry taxpayers created a new organization Tuesday to launch a "multiple front strategy" to protest the increase in appraised values set on commercial and residential properties this year.

The goal of Citizens United Toward Fair Assessments & Taxes, or CUT FAT, is to get elected officials at the city, county and school district levels to lower their respective tax rates during budget hearings this summer.

This would offset the "over 100 percent increase in appraised values that some of us experienced this year," event organizer Dr. Javier Cantu said.

He was referring to the more than 69,000 appraisal notices mailed out mid-May by the Webb County Appraisal District.

Realtor Jaque Frank Geissler, said there was no uniformity in how the appraisal district increased property values.

"Some were hit much harder than others," she said.

If elected officials do not agree to lower the tax rate, the group is already looking forward to Plan B: organize a petition drive among eligible voters to force a referendum that would reduce the tax rate.

If necessary, group members said they are even ready to begin the process at the state level for abolishing the Webb County Appraisal District.

The Tuesday evening meeting, held inside a sweltering second floor office of Del Mar Medical Center, reflected a diverse group of people that included realtors, doctors, lawyers, ranchers, student activists and homeowners.

Incoming Laredo Community College trustee Mercurio Martinez Jr. and former city councilman Joe Guerra shared some words with the crowd.

Dr. Cantu and other organizers opened the floor for people to air their concerns and discuss ideas for getting their organization off the ground.

Audience members expressed concern over several looming deadlines.

The first is getting enough people to attend the June 7 city council meeting, and the second is meeting the June 14 deadline for protesting the 2004 values at the appraisal district.

Audience members also agreed to seek legal representation to possibly file a class action lawsuit or an injunction regarding the increased values.

With the help of Jose Botello, Kike de la Garza and John Castro, the group will form a nonprofit organization, create a Website and get a petition drive underway.

People in the audience recalled a similar incident in 1996, in which protest over significant increases in appraised values led to the resignation of the chief appraiser.

"All entities appoint someone to that board, but apparently they are not getting the message," one audience member said.

Cesar Cantu said the group needs to build strong momentum quickly because "people are still asleep. They will not know until next year when their banks tell them that their escrow accounts are not enough to pay their taxes."

His brother, Dr. Cantu, commented further.

"This is a tremendous problem that will affect this community as a whole, so it needs to be addressed by the community. The only way we can do that is in large numbers," he said.

"We need to have our elected officials know that what they are doing with our appraisals will adversely affect our welfare. If not, we will end up with the destruction of local businesses in favor of major corporations that receive tax breaks," he added.

Frank Geissler added that some people are already being hit hard with the rise in gasoline prices and health insurance.

"And all of a sudden, we now have to pay much higher taxes?" she asked.

The next CUT FAT meeting is set for Tuesday, June 8 at 7 p.m. at United Baptist Church, 811 International Blvd.

For more information, call Dr. Cantu at 727-0444.

06/02/04

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[Theodore R.]

Tax revolts are rare in this populous county nestled on the Mexican border. People generally just grin and pay here.