Posted on 09/26/2006 8:53:06 AM PDT by anymouse
Taxpayers in Friendswood will receive a 10 percent refund from their 2005 city property taxes after City Council voted 4-3 to return nearly $1.1 million in tax revenue Monday night.
City Council members Jim Hill, Jay Horecky, John LeCour and Chris Peden supported the controversial measure, which was opposed by City Council members Laura Ewing and Mel Measeles as well as Mayor David Smith.
When the $1,093,680 in rebates will be issued and what form it will come in has not yet been decided.
The process to issue the refunds is projected to take 30 days, according to a city document. The money will go to the property tax owner on the tax roll as of Jan. 1, 2005.
"The way to slow government down is to take their money," Peden said. Of the city's 12,955 tax accounts for 2005, 11,038 will receive a refund of $46.42 or more, according to a city document. The owner of an average home in Friendswood will get a refund of approximately $77, city spokesman Nick Haby said.
The money will come out of the city's $7.7 million reserve, Peden said. The city's required reserve this year is a little less than $3.7 million, he said.
Friendswood is believed to be the first greater Houston-area city to issue a refund to taxpayers, Haby said. It fulfills campaign promises of Hill and Horecky, both of whom were elected in May.
"This money that was there was not earmarked for anything," LeCour said. "I say give it to the people that it came from."
tax reformer ping.
LOL, scumbag politicians GIVING MONEY BACK to the people they confiscated it from!
Funny how the article doesn't mention any political parties, but I guess since this is a parasite nest (city) we're talking about, the City Council are all rats?
Mayor White should heed notice. I think he would find a way to spend the money on evacuees.
Its a quiet wooded Quaker town about halfway between Houston and Galveston - politically nothing like the filthy corrupt Mexican cesspool that is Houston.
Friendswood city leaders close in on tax refund plan (Sept. 18, 2006)
"It's something I've wrestled with," Peden said. "It hasn't been easy for me to do, because there are a lot projects. My fear is that we've got by even the most conservative estimates $3.7 million in excess reserves. That all at one time is easy for government to waste and spend on things that are unnecessary and I believe what Ronald Reagan said. If you want to limit government, take away their money."
Tax Refunds Given Tentative Approval (June 7, 2006
Councilwoman Laura Ewing, who, along with Smith and Councilman Mel Measeles, voted against the refund, said residents she had spoken with urged her not to support it.
“They told me the city could spend this money better than they could,” she told council.
But refund supporters scoffed at that, calling Smith’s concerns a “fear tactic.”
Horecky even offered that anyone who was worried the refund would bust the city budget was “more than welcome to send the money back as a donation to the city.”
I googled the place up and it does sound like Friendswood is a nice place to live.
One thing's for sure, they have elected some good councilpersons.
They ARE NOT scumbag politicians! I've been watching what's been happening in Friendswood for some time. The four new councilmembers who voted this in have only been on council for a short time and apparently none of them have ever held elected office before. One is an accountant, one is a NASA engineer, one is in construction and I'm not sure about the last one. I'm pretty sure that none of them were not on council when the money was "confiscated" as you put it.
The "Friendswood Four" who voted the refund in are all unpaid volunteers as are the rest of city council. They are not professional politicians! From what I hear for the first time in long time Friendswood is not run by the old guard Democrat political machine that had run Friendswood for many years. In the past what the previous mayors and the city manager (he "retired") wanted was basically rubber stamped by council. That has stopped.
Watch the guy who is Mayor pro-tem, Chris Peden. He appears to be a natural leader.
Thanks for your kind reply. I jumped the gun a little with the "scumbag politicians" comment.
(See post #7.) Congratulations to the good guys and to Friendswood for electing them.
We need to elect many more of these types at every level IMHO!
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