It’s a bad time for a tax increase, but city officials have made a convincing case that Santa Fe residents should invest in public buildings.
All three proposals deserve support. But if you are a Santa Fe voter and can’t bring yourself to support that much of a tax increase, the propositions reflect reasonable priorities.
The first proposition is the most pressing priority. Voters really should approve the $5 million for a new police station. The police department outgrew its building long ago. The crowding is notorious. In some cases, police have circled the station with passengers because there’s not enough room inside the building to interview both the victims of crimes and those accused of committing them.
The second proposition is the second priority — $3 million to expand the library. Members of the library staff have had to make changes in programs, such as story times for children, because there’s just no room. But they’re making do. Additional space is needed, but the need is not as pressing as the immediate need for more room at the police station.
The third proposition calls for $900,000 for a new public-works building. The new building would be nice, but it wouldn’t be a tragedy if voters held off for another year or two.
If voters say yes to all three propositions, taxes will increase roughly 50 percent. The three propositions combined would add about 15 cents to the tax rate of 31.14 cents per $100 of assessed value.
While that’s a shocking increase, there’s a reason for the shock. This is the city’s first bond election.
Most cities — except for the smallest — have a segment of the tax rate dedicated to retiring debt.
Most cities of any size eventually build police stations, fire stations, libraries or other public buildings that require some debt.
Santa Fe is by far the largest city in Galveston County that doesn’t have a segment of its tax rate dedicated to debt. The others are Bayou Vista, Clear Lake Shores, Jamaica Beach and Tiki Island. In some of the smaller cities, taking on debt is prohibited by law.
Santa Fe has outgrown some of its buildings, and it’s outgrown the days when it can do a good job of providing service without borrowing for capital projects.
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Election Day: Tuesday.
Proposition 1
$5 million for police station
Estimated tax rate increase: 8.33 cents*
Proposition 2
$3 million for library expansion
Estimated tax rate increase: 5.05 cents*
Proposition 3
$900,000 for public works building
Estimated tax rate increase: 1.5 cents*
Total: $8.9 million
Estimated tax rate increase: 14.88 cents*
* Tax rate increases are initial estimates and are expected to be lower, according to the city’s consultant.
