It happened during the public hearing discussion on establishing a countywide Transportation Reinvestment Zone in the meeting of the Cameron County Commissioners Court.
Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority Chief Financial Officer Adrian Rincones was asking the commissioners to authorize the creation of a countywide TRZ to make it easier for them to issue bonds for future road projects. There was also the issue of a Texas Attorney General's Opinion that said that separate TRZs in the county amounted to unequal taxation of residents in the county that would not survive a constitutional challenge.
A TRZ usually lasts a period of 50 years.
The CCRMA projects that it will raise $1,652,954,462 from the five existing TRZs in Cameron County (That's $1 billion.) over that period.
So far, up to 2015, the CCRMA has received $708,532 of that from incremental taxes on the five existing TRZs.
This is not all the CCRMA has received, however.
Ever since its inception, in 2007-2008, every motorist in Cameron County who has registered a car has paid an additional $10 per vehicle to fund its operations and road projects.
Below is an eye-opening view of the CCRMA's "take":
Lic. Tags:
2007-2008: $896,913
2008-2009: $2,189,945
2009-2010: $2,516,338
2010-2011: $2,725,570
2011-2012: $2,800,570
2012-2013: $2,828,020
2014-2015: $2,905,980
Total: $19,785,142
Add the take from the existing TRZs ($708,532) and county property owners and motorists have given the CCRMA a tidy $20, 493,674 in the last eight years.
Some commissioners (Pct. 3 David Garza and Pct. 4 commissioner – and county judge candidate – Dan Sanchez) were all for giving the CCRMA a cut (25 percent) of any future addition in all county property tax values to the CCRMA.
County values have gone up between 2.8 to 3.5 percent in the last three years. This has resulted in an increase of some $1,126,395 to the county's general fund per year.
From that, a 25 percent incremental county property tax would yield an additional $281,000 a year would be the CCRMA's cut in addition to the registration fees income.
That doesn't sound like much, does it?
But imagine if only three of the planned five LNG companies come in. That would mean an estimated $10 billion in value of which the county would get $39,929,100 in taxes toward its general fund and the CCRMA would rake in $9,982,275 every year at a 25 percent rate, not including the license tag money.
Under the deal reached by Dominguez and Rincones, the CCRMA would pledge in writing to forego any additional taxes on all county properties and new industries like the LNG and settle for the projected $1.6 billion they project will be coming to them from the existing TRZs.
"They will get only what they had coming from the existing TRZs and issue their bonds based on those projections," Dominguez said. "They also promised to bring it in writing for our approval."
Some commissioners (Pct. 3 David Garza and Pct. 4 commissioner – and county judge candidate – Dan Sanchez) were all for giving the CCRMA a cut (25 percent) of any future addition in all county property tax values to the CCRMA.
County values have gone up between 2.8 to 3.5 percent in the last three years. This has resulted in an increase of some $1,126,395 to the county's general fund per year.
From that, a 25 percent incremental county property tax would yield an additional $281,000 a year would be the CCRMA's cut in addition to the registration fees income.
That doesn't sound like much, does it?
But imagine if only three of the planned five LNG companies come in. That would mean an estimated $10 billion in value of which the county would get $39,929,100 in taxes toward its general fund and the CCRMA would rake in $9,982,275 every year at a 25 percent rate, not including the license tag money.
Under the deal reached by Dominguez and Rincones, the CCRMA would pledge in writing to forego any additional taxes on all county properties and new industries like the LNG and settle for the projected $1.6 billion they project will be coming to them from the existing TRZs.
"They will get only what they had coming from the existing TRZs and issue their bonds based on those projections," Dominguez said. "They also promised to bring it in writing for our approval."
4 comments:
click HERE if you wish to read the entire February 2015 AG opinion quoted in the post"
Then click on KP-0004 to download the opinion:
the opinion S U M M A R Y is on the last page:
Absent a constitutional amendment, it is likely a court would conclude that a county may not form and operate a county energy transportation reinvestment zone, a tax increment reinvestment zone, or a transportation reinvestment zone, to the extent that doing so utilizes a captured increment of ad valorem taxes to fund a county-created tax increment reinvestment zone.
The Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority (CCRMA) is trying to pull a fast one on the county Commissioners or they are not covering their bases very well.
We need more RESPONSIBILITY and ACCOUNTABILITY!
Good job Alex Dominguez, that is the commissioner I helped elect.
Let's not be too quick to sing his praises.....why didn't Alex stand his ground and call it like it is? Worthless Pete shouldn't be in the discussion , shouldn't come out in support of this! Pete is trying to benefit in his real job at the expense of the taxpayers and the corrupt,dumb-ass commissioners playing along.....makes you wonder what they were promised in return for their vote.All I want for Xmas is for the feds to bust these pathetic , small -time slugs.
We will not get any accountability . Too many hands have been Greased.
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