'Can't have it both ways': Houston city council to debate property taxes to address budget shortfall

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston city leaders have the same goal -- to address a budget shortfall, but how to do that is up for debate.

During Wednesday's city council meeting, leaders will debate two different property tax proposals -- one that keeps the rate around the same, and another that would raise the rate by just under 6%.

According to our partners at the Houston Chronicle, Mayor John Whitmire wants to focus on cutting government waste. His proposal keeps the current rate of just under $0.52 per $100 of a home's appraised value.

The second proposal, brought forward by multiple council members, would raise the rate to $0.55 per $100 of a home's appraised value for one year. The rate increase would cost the average family $144.

At risk, the city's finance director warns, is millions of dollars in cuts to address the budget shortfall.

"We can't have it both ways. We can't have great city services and the lowest tax rate," one councilmember said.

"We all know we have a shortfall. The city, essentially, has been funded by one-time federal funding for the last two financial budget cycles," Whitmire said.

Councilmembers say Houston is currently up against a $230 million deficit. The city is still on the hook to pay a $1.5 billion settlement to Houston's firefighters after a yearslong contract settlement. The city may also need to add $100 million a year to street and drainage projects if an appellate court rejects the city's appeal in a longstanding lawsuit.

In the past, Houston has been unable to raise its tax rate because of state and local revenue caps. However, disaster declarations for the May derecho and Hurricane Beryl unlocked a gap in those caps for disaster recovery purposes.

Wednesday's city council meeting begins at 9 a.m.

The deadline for city council to finalize the property tax rate is Oct. 28.

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