Montrose Management District plans to vote on tax assessment that will fund 'safer & cleaner' area

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The Montrose Management District, which has been dormant for nearly half a decade, is working on a plan to impose a tax assessment on commercial property owners in the Montrose area to fund millions of dollars in improvements for the area.

The tax is part of the Service and Assessment Plan (SAP), set to impose a maximum of nine cents, down from the previous rate of 12 cents, per $100 in property value as determined by the Harris County Appraisal District.

The tax will only be imposed on the owner of the commercial land, who can then decide whether to split the increased taxes between tenants in the building or take on the tax burden themselves.

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The estimated tax revenue is about $2.2 million, and 60% of the funds are expected to fund public safety projects.

Some community members feel there should be more input on what the funds are spent on before agreeing on and finalizing the budget.

"I'm not against having the Montrose Management District. I'm not against the businesses paying their taxes. However, they shouldn't just decide they're going to do it. There should be a lot of community engagement," Ethan Michelle Ganz said.

Currently, there are only four sitting board members out of 10, and a majority of three would need to agree on imposing this tax.

The Montrose Management District Executive Director Andrea Duhon said the plan has yet to be finalized.

The management district website explains that mid-rise and high-rise buildings pay assessments based on the value of only four levels of each structure.

Multi-family residential complexes of 25 units or less are exempt from assessments, and mixed-use properties (commercial/residential) will pay assessments only if the business portion of the property is more than 40% of the total valuation.

Alan Bernstein, a spokesman for the management district, said the board accepted dozens of petitions from property owners who would be subject to the assessment to implement the new SAP at the mid-December meeting, more than the 25 required by state law.

Bernstein said there are just under 1,000 properties that would fall under the criteria in which the tax would be imposed.

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Owners of residential property are exempt from these taxes.

Other monies collected from the tax revenue will fund maintenance and beautification, economic development, and project administration initiatives.

The next scheduled meeting is on March 14. However, Bernstein said the management district may call a special meeting before this date.

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