El Paso City Manager ‘Property Taxes Need To Go Up’

Stop me if you've heard this before - your property taxes might be going up.

El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez's proposed 2017-2018 fiscal year budget includes a possible property tax hike. The $895 million proposal includes hiring 72 new full-time city employees, including 30 new police officers, and pay raises for city employees.

Newly elected Mayor Dee Margo told NewsChannel 9 that a pay raise in is order. He said 76 percent of the City's budget is human resources and they need to be paid appropriately. That translated to a proposed tax rate hike of 4 cents per $100 valuation of El Paso homes, or about $60 per year more on property taxes on a $150,000 home.

The tax hike is necessary, Margo said, because previous administrations have been kicking the can down the road and mismanaging money that was needed to pay for projects that have been promised to citizens. He said the tax hike would fix that situation and put projects that have been approved by voters on firm footing.

Budget hearings will continue through the week and Council should pass the final budget with the property tax rate by August.