The good news is that businesses are moving in to Austin, which will create new jobs and improve our Texas economy. Austin’s population has exploded over the last ten years, bringing in people of all kinds to this city of cultural attractions. But there is a flip side to that coin and it looks like it’s going to fall into the laps of longtime Austinites to pay the bill.

Property taxes in Austin have gone up significantly over the past ten years at the rate of 38 percent.  People living near the trendiest parts of Austin are looking at paying exceptionally high taxes on their homes and are almost at the point of being forced to sell their homes because they can’t afford to pay.

During City Council campaigns earlier this spring, the voice of the people seemed to get louder. Their chief complaint is that the growth that their city is in the midst of isn’t exactly paying for itself. There are several theories about what factors are driving the cost of taxes up, but the main concern is that all of the jurisdictions share the tax burden rather than it falling on the few who live in the areas neighboring the action.

Former tax-assessor collector and county judge is now taking on the voice of the people. It is his voice that rings loudest against local government spending. “There is no taxpayer advocacy group monitoring the (overall) cost of our government, inside or outside the government,”  Aleshire. “That said, voters also do it to themselves. I don’t know that voters really understand the cumulative impact of the things that they approve.”

See full article here.