EP City Manager Says No Increase In Tax Rate But You Still Might Pay Higher Taxes

The coronavirus outbreak has blown everyone's budget from local, state, and national governments to all of our home budgets. The pandemic is hitting the budget for the City of El Paso like a brick wall and because of the massive budget shortfall that is expected in the wake of handling the coronavirus outbreak in El Paso, City leaders have done things like announced a massive furlough of employees and a pay cut for other employees. They have also greatly reduced the number of Quality of Life services and facilities. Public swimming pools will not be open this summer but splash pads are open. They are only open at certain times, however. You can click here to find out the schedule for the City's splash pads.

Because of all the budget uncertainty, El Paso City Manager Tommy Gonzalez said citizens and businesses who pay property taxes will not see an increase in the tax rate. That all sounds well and good, but there are a number of other ways that you still might see a higher property tax bill next year:

1. UMC - The University Medical Center is a taxing entity and with all the money that is being spent on handling the coronavirus pandemic, you can be sure that they will be taking a closer look at their budget and possibly looking to taxpayers for more money.

2. EPCC - With the COVID-19 outbreak comes uncertainty about how students will be able to pay for school. The Community College might need to make up their budget shortfall with higher taxes.

3. School districts - Dealing with the pandemic has been a huge problem for school districts and because there is the threat of lower federal and state funding because of their budget constraints, district residents might see an increase in their school district taxes.

4. CAD - The Central Appraisal District is the entity that determines how high your property taxes are going to be because they determine what your property is worth. If they raise your property's value, your taxes will go up no matter if all the other taxing entities raise their tax rate or not.