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16 Editor:
Three years ago I moved my family to Bastrop from upstate New York. We chose Texas because it seemed like one of the last states in this great country to place a great value on liberty and less government. Coming from an over-regulated state like New York, we immediately noticed – and appreciated – freedoms Texans enjoy which no longer exist in New York. Two simple things like burn piles (illegal most places) and swimming “at your own risk” at state parks (illegal without lifeguards) affirmed we made the right choice in Texas.
We are part of a mass exodus leaving states like California and New York, seeking refuge from big government and high taxes. New York used to be a thriving industrial state. But most industries left long ago, no longer able to make a profit due to the regulations and high taxes imposed upon them. When industries leave, jobs leave and the middle class (thus, much of the tax base) follow the jobs. What is left are run-down, empty factories – those too poor to leave and those rich enough to stay.
As the state economy declines and the tax burden gets spread among fewer and fewer people, the one industry still growing is the public education system. Drive through any town in New York and the publically-funded brand-new school buildings stick out like a sore thumb next to the dilapidated, empty buildings of our past. Public education is a government agency: Once it starts growing, it never stops. Once it gets a taste of seemingly endless tax dollars, its appetite grows and grows. Though the towns around it are struggling and dying, they always want more money. They don’t seem to live in the same reality as the rest of us.
Therefore, I am vehemently opposed to ACC moving to Bastrop. They tout the benefits compared to the “small” tax increase, but I have seen the long-term effects of such marriages. Make no mistake: The taxes will continue to increase. ACC will continue to grow. BISD will continue to grow. The city will try to share the tax burden with businesses, but that will force the businesses to leave, followed by jobs, followed by the middle class. It is a never-ending cycle. The only way to stop the cycle is to vote “no” to the ACC campus.
Rob Anderssen
Bastrop
Kudos, Mr. Anderssen.
The true basis of the Austin CC tax annexation proposal is “expand or die” for Austin CC. Our property values have receded, along with the rest of the economy, so now ACC seeks to raise tax rates to compensate. Don’t hold your breath for a tax reduction when property values improve.
There are plenty of post-secondary education alternatives that do not require placing a permanent tax obligation on future generations, but those options have been ignored for some mysterious reason.
Good thought out comments coming from a person who has “lived” the devastation high taxes have cost. Metro New Yorkers have property tax, state income tax, federal income tax, city and state sales tax(s) and a few others I might have missed. We wonder why our manufacturing has left the USA and moved to Communist China.
I can’t decide whether this latest quest by the AUSTIN CC TAXING District to acquire more “suckers” into their clutches is a “Ponzi Scheme” or a “Pyramid Scam.” After looking up the definitions, I think it might be a little of both.
Since the district is drowning in nearly a half a billion dollars in debt, it needs to acquire more and more property tax. This behemoth can raise tax rates to .50 cent a hundred and the smaller communities of Bastrop and Hays County will have little say.
They will add another $100 million or more to this load. I have to ask, who loans AUSTIN CCD money when they have so much debt already. If you want the facts about the debt you ALREADY have, check out acctaxfacts.com
ACCTAXFACTS.COM Will soon be posting alternatives to the AUSTIN CC TAXING District. There are plenty out there and they don’t require any property tax. If any BA readers have suggestions, let me know. Transportation costs are rising and I suspect obtaining an education via Internet will be the wave of the future. info@acctaxfacts.com
Here is more interesting information. All of this info was gleamed from the most recent edition of the Bastrop Advertiser and the websites monitoring what federal taxes will be next year.
1. Tax Hike Proposed by ACC (page one) interesting to note that the CEO of ACC, stated that ACC had never had a tax–that is what he told the crowd at the Bastrop meeting.
2. Council to Discuss 2011 Budget
3. (inset of page two) 2010 Property Taxes Rates in Bastrop County last year’s effective rate 0.4907 per $100, this year’s rate 0.6331 per $100
4. (inset of page three) Bastrop County Emergency Services District No. 1 Last year’s rate 0.085 per $100. This year’s rate 0.0860 per $100
Yet to be decided:
1. City tax rate
2. BISD rate
3. (what have I forgetten in our county?)
4. Federal Taxes set to move everyone up at least one tax bracket–minimum of 4% increase.
5. Mandated health insurance costs, and added taxes for anyone with a “cadillac” health plan.
As I have stated before, we are in for a significant raise in our taxes. The increase is potentially massive, considering BISD is struggling to balance its budget and the city of Bastrop is considering its budget.
I cannot see why we would opt to be taxed any additional amount in this economic climate.
I have seen the information published by ACC with its claims of the economic benefit ACC will have on Bastrop County. The information flyers have the same one size fits all offerings that were used in Williamson County and now show up on the materials distributed in Bastrop and Hays Counties. I have also researched extensive studies on the economic effects of community colleges on their host communities. The vast majority of what, I have read, were studies completed by the community college itself. There is, however, at least one study, published by the University of Virginia that states there is not a positive economic effect on the host community. Here is a link to that study.
http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/cdp-news-local/2010/feb/24/community_colleges_have_little_economic_impact_say-ar-79595/
Additionally, here is another link to another study showing the poor completion rate of community college students.
http://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/re/articles/?id=1317
Before you push that yes button in November, keep in mind the above information. And while you considering the upcoming proposition, keep in mind the federal government already will give you at least $4,000 in tax credits for your higher education.
Do we trust them, or not? After reading ACC’s presentation and being told what the effective tax rate would be for those entering the ACC taxing district, I had hte opportunity to read the August 14 edition of the Austin American Statesman. Correct me if I am wrong on, however did not the CEO of ACC state that ACC had never had a tax rate increase? We, at that time, were told that ACC’s rates was .0946, however, at about the same time the ACC board stated that the tax rate would be .0950. The difference between the two, we were told, was insignificant, mere pennies. However in today’s Austin American States,am, the published rate for ACC is .1009. This is not an insignificant difference.
Questions to ask ourselves:
1. Can we trust this organization? The simple answer is no. They have told us there has never been a rate increase–that assertion is false as noted above. They told us the rate would be .0950, but now we find out that the actual rate is .1009. Additionally, they can move the rate up to .1085 without a rollback election being called.
2. If we enter the ACC taxing district, what voice will we have? The simple answer is none. The only decision in the hands of the residents of Bastrop ISD will be to join, or not. Once we join, our voice will be muted by the overwhelming number of voters in Austin who will have their own best interests at heart.
I agree. The expansion of ACC into Bastrop is not motivated by education but by money. ACC needs additional tax revenue.
Art
I just wish our elected officials were at least half as intuned to the bills put forth by the senate and congress (state and federal) as we the public are at reading something that is as understandable as the ACC proposal…at least we know how much they are going rob from us once a year on those that own property.
I also wonder if those who oppose ACC tax, that have supported Obama Care, Cap and Trade and TARP have read those bills as thorough as they did with the ACC district tax. What makes one item wrong and the others so right?
If you say that you have read these bills and understand them completely, either you are smarter than all the polititions in office or you are lying to yourself and others.
Bastrop (the city and the county) is growing by leaps and bounds. Shouldn’t our ablity to attain a higher education at a lower rate be taken advantage of as well. Until Bastrop gets its own college and ACC (when it does, our taxes will skyrocket) being included in the ACC district is a cheaper solution considering the expense of TAMU and UT per hour (that is in district and out).
Right now ALL levels of government are in the red. And no one complains. Households are living at or above what they are bringing in. So I ask, why should a school be any different? Think about that when you driving down that road that has pot holes or is not paved, in that car that you did not pay cash for, to the house that you are late in making payments on because your credit cards are past due or other bills need to paid. At least someone in this economy is able to get a loan!
And remember, if and when ACC rolls into existance, jobs will come in and so will other businesses. Not all at once mind you, but, they will come and grow our economy. Just think, Austin is very expensive to live and more and more people are moving to our neck of the woods. Bastrop is becoming worth the drive into Austin just have a cheaper living experience. Why not have ACC here to keep people spending money here instead of Austin or Round Rock.
Ric,
I do not understand you.
Why, with so much debt in the government, would you want to add even more debt to our society?
RE: Ric and others -
There are two myths which need to be addressed that are being promoted by those wanting the AUSTIN Community College Taxing District.
1. If we get ACC jobs will come to Bastrop because of an educated work force.
A February 2010 article in the Daily Progress states:
“Contrary to conventional wisdom, a survey by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia shows that community colleges may provide little economic stimulus to their regions in terms of attracting employers or promoting industry.”
http://www2.dailyprogress.com/news/cdp-news-local/2010/feb/24/community_colleges_have_little_economic_impact_say-ar-79595/
2. Encouraging development and business to move to Bastrop will lower our taxes. From http://costofgrowth.com/
“Growth has been attributed to such undesirable side effects of industrialization as traffic congestion, the increasing pollution of air and water, the despoiling of the landscape and a general decline in man’s ability to enjoy the real amenities of life. Growth is said to be unstoppable. But who’s paying for it?”
Here is MY email address info@railroadingbastrop.com – Perhaps just one Bastrop County Taxpayer will scan and send me his or her property tax bill from the last 5 years and show me how their tax has decreased due to growth. With the growth comes the need to grow government – Unfortunately the new comers don’t fully pick up the tab for the increased services and that is why taxes keep rising.
So please folks come up with some better info and bring the facts to back it up. You can’t afford not to.
“Tuition is Temporary, a Tax is Forever” Don’t ya just love that saying.
Ric–I cannot speak for others, however in my case, I did oppose “Cap and Trade”, the current form of the “Health Care Bill” and manner in which the economic stimulus was handed out. I also spent time reading most of the thousands of pages of each bill that were made available to the public.
I have written our representatives, both Republican and Democratic to voice my concerns. Interestingly enough, the Democratic representatives have never responded and the Republican representative have always responded.
Yes, most forms of government are in the red and yes, we should all voice concerns over that. However, it would be good to remember that when you address government spending it is a bottomless pit filled with special interests and pet projects that are sucking the lifeblood out of the public and the economy. I do not know many who are not outraged over what has been going on in Washington the past 4- 8 years. However, I know many feel powerless to deal with Washington. We do, at this time, have the ability to control our local governments and this is where people who oppose ACC feel they can make a stand and voice an opinion that will be heard. Starting at the local level with this kind of movement will eventually effect Washington as the administration will see its power base erode in the face of rising political activism at the local level.
To continue with my point. ACC is not higher education. They do some things well, however, the low completion rate and low transfer to four year institutions of higher education says a great deal about the education at ACC.
Will jobs roll in? Not according to many studies. I guess if you consider the jobs that ACC, itself will bring in, you may have a point. However those jobs are not jobs that add to a positive economy. That is one that creates income and economic opportunity from the services and products in offers to the public. The choice to purchase these goods and services is voluntary and as such these business will live, or die based on the value the consumer places on these items. Government jobs do not necessary generate positive income, rather they redistribute income involuntarily and generally weaken a local economy, or at best break even. This is what we are being asked to allow happen with ACC.
UT and TAMU, as well as other public universities offer in state and out of state tuition, not in district and out of district tuition. These universities also support large research and development departments. This is what brings in jobs to a community. ACC does not have the resources to do this.
Finally, whose responsibility is it to obtain higher education? We provide tax dollars for our public schools and according to what I have read, we pay one of the highest tax rates in central Texas for our public schools. Don’t you think we have done enough? As I open my tax bill and write my check for approximately $3,000 for school taxes and then more for county taxes and numerous other special taxes and fees, I would have to say enough is enough. We need to stop reaching into the pockets of our neighbors and figure out how to do things that will not add additional financial burdens to the public. You can only put some much straw on a camel’s back, before that back breaks.
To Pat and Vic,
You both sound very intelligent. And both of you should remember the days before the “bypass” as my mother called it. Instead of hitting all two of those lights people now just “bypass” Bastrop. Did the great Citizens of Bastrop welcome this with open arms? Did they foot part or all of bill for this? Did they go to TXDOT and say “hell no we don’t want this”! The only true way to complain is the power of voting!
As for me my college is paid for. I don’t care if it is in or out of district. I do go to ACC and when I have to drive to Austin and to Fredericksburg for classes it irritates me to think I have to drive that 4 days a week to improve my chances at getting a better job. When the farthest I should drive is maybe Austin.
While you are complaining about paying too much in taxes, Try going to the tax office in Bastop and tell them you don’t want to school district taxes because you don’t have a kid going to that district. And Vic mabe you should too go back about 5 years and see how often your taxes have gone up due to the district you live in! Then go and look at the schools in your district and ask the all important question “WHY?”.
I do not support nor do I condemn ACC coming to Bastrop…compared to all the other “evil taxation” that we are enduring, (federal and state) we should look at both sides, seek the positive and weed out the negative.
Look on the bright side…we don’t live in Williamson or Travis county!
vhenry-What a wonderfully worded answer. I am sure that many readers,including myself, will agree with what you have written here.
Thanks for the compliment Ric.
We still MUST fight unfair taxes on the local level as well as the state and national levels. Otherwise, once we get this additional tax we will never get rid of it.
Tuition is Temporary, a Tax is forever!!!
The local community college is a great thing. Community College provides the accessible way for our community youth to get started on a higher education at an affordable price. I benefited from a community college in the Buffalo NY (run by the county and supervised by the state SUNY) area and my son started his higher education at San Jacinto Community College in Houston. I have had a great engineering career and my son graduated from UTSA in May. The young women and men of Bastop County need an affordable opportunity to pursue a higher education.
I am willing to pay more tax for a university system that is dedicated to fundemental education which is local Bastrop County governed. I am suspicious of forced fed university system that is part of a big political establishment. The state can mandate the curriculum, but the county will control the tax collection and expenditures (dedicated to the college) I want my tax dollars to fund campus construction and operation in the Bastrop area not elsewhere.
Mr Comfort: In the first place the ACC initiative only affects BISD, not the entire Bastrop County. In the second place the county only has the responsibility to collect the taxes and forward to ACC. ACC, not BISD will establish the initial tax rate and all follow-on tax rates. Regardless if its ACC or a university sytem, Bastrop County would have little or no control with the possible exception of building codes. You indicate you are suspicious of a forced-fed university system that is part of a big political establishment. In my opinion a four year university or college system that would serve the entire county would be far better than a junior college like ACC. If you are not aware that ACC is part of a big political establishment, then it would be best for you to investigate. You might start by checking out how ACCs petition drives are promulgated and promoted. They are assisted in this matter by utilizing a quirk in the law that requires only 5% of registered voters to place the initiative in front of the voters. As we have seen so often in Bastrop County and elsewhere it is not difficult to obtain that number. In the case of the ACC initiative petition, no mention was made that ACC would have taxing authority if the initiative were approved. Again, not required by law, but awfully unfair to the petition signers. When the voting takes place as so often has happened, only a small minority of voters can sway the election and have the initiative approved. The initiative that affected Delvalle ISD is a classic example. Investigate the political aspects of ACC– you should have a field day. After you find out how petition drives are promoted you might check as to which groups have the most to gain if the ACC initiative is approved. Could it be potential contractors, architects, lawyers and certain businesses not to mention some members of the political and educational establisments who relish gaining power in this manner at the expense of the taxpayers?
All rhetoric aside, the bottom line is that all private property in BISD/Elgin ISD will be taxed, in perpetuity. A family could save some money, in the very short term, provided their child CHOSE to attend ACC. Most students don’t. However, the couple of hundreds of dollars that family saves for a few years pales in comparison to the THOUSANDS they will pay over the term of home ownership. Now, for the families that don’t have ACC students, this is a complete waste of money. Money that, likely, could be spent in our local economy.
Secondly, any building or property that ACC claims will “benefit the community” will never, ever be on the tax rolls. That tax money will disappear.
This is about money. Money, money, money……follow the money! Where will your tax dollar go? AUSTIN Community College. That’s right. It will, mostly, stay in Austin, Round Rock, etc. Now, someone tell me how this is right?
Who LEADS ACC? When we discuss our tax money going to Austin, take a look at the Board of Trustees:
Board President- Dr. Barbara Mink- Austin- UT lecturer
Allen Kaplan- Leander- Austin Marketing specialist
JM Cortez- Austin- Cap Metro
Tim Maloney- Austin- Attorney
Nam McRaven- Austin- Consultant
Jeffrey Richard- Austin- Minister
Victor Villareal- Leander- Leander ISD
Guadalupe Sosa- Austin- Retired accountant
James McGruffey- Austin- St Ed’s Faculty
Who do you think will have our ear? Who will represent those of us east of I35? Tom Scott?