State of the County discourse renounces State interference in county business

By JOYCELYNE FADOJUTIMI www.infinitieplusmag.com

Gregg County Judge Bill Stoudt did not mince words when he told a packed audience of business leaders at Pine Crest Country Club that 2023 is different. “This is not a typical State of the County,” he said. ”This is a one-on-one dialogue. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.” No one did. He assured his audience that the county is still on the right track and in strong financial position. “We have a lower tax rate, low or no debt, and we are working hard to keep it that way.”

Without further ado, he delved into the key reason for the gathering. “The Texas Legislature passes laws that that erodes local control,” he told his captive audience. “This concerns me, and it should concern you.” Stoudt explained that what is good for big cities such as Houston in Harris county is economically detrimental to small and rural counties like Gregg. He gave the example of Senate Bill 2 (SB2).

According to Texas Association of Counties, Senate Bill 2 (SB

2) by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (RHouston), the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act of 2019, made significant changes to the property tax system. The bill reduced the ability of local governments such as Gregg county to generate revenue and provide services by lowering the tax rate a county can adopt without a voterapproval election, formerly known as a rollback election. An election is now mandatory if the voter-approval rate is set above 3.5%. Furthermore, SB 2 made changes to the process a county uses to adopt a tax rate, the manner in which a county calculates the tax rate, and the tax appraisal process.

Stoudt decried the erosion of local control by the state. He narrated the county’s accomplishments such as: working together- collaboration between cities in the Gregg county: Longview, Kilgore, White Oak, and Gladewater city managers; facilitating transportation projects, and aggressively recruiting new companies including GAP and Dollar General. However, the county can no longer give tax rebates that makes it attractive for companies to come to Longview.

Furthermore, the four city managers dovetailed on Stoudt’s discourse. They gave examples of their previous successful collaborations. However, SB2 and HB 3 is hamstringing city business. Their overarching message was, “Austin is limiting us. We want to serve you, we don’t have the funds and we can’t help our citizens as much as we used to,” they warned.

House Bill 3 (HB 3) is a sweeping and historic school finance bill passed by the 86th Texas Legislature in 2019 and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. The bill *Focuses on learn- ing and student outcomes *Reduces and reforms property taxes *Support teachers and reward teacher excellence and *Increases funding and equity.

Longview City manager, Rollin McPhee said, “This is not a gripe session.” He simply wants to alert the citizens to what is going on. “The pendulum will swing back; we will not be able to fix these nice roads we have now. The parks that is our crown jewel will not be maintained.” He described Austin taking over local control as ‘death by a thousand cuts.’