I NEED A YARD SIGN!

This is the tax rate that enables you, the public to see the relationship between your taxes last year and for the current year, based on a tax rate that would produce the same amount of taxes if applied to both years.

I promise to work hard towards a budget that allows me to vote a No New Revenue (NNR) budget each year.  I also agree to be forthcoming with what is really causing our taxes to go up.  (P.S., it's NOT the value of your home).

The formula for your tax bill is simple math.  It's <value x rate = tax bill>.  Values come out in April of each year and are set by the market.  The rate is set by the politicians every August.  So, when you hear that someone "lowered" your tax rate, but that your tax bill went up because of "valuations", you know that they either do not understand the math or are lying.  Either one is bad.  Elected people can easily vote a rate each August that takes the same amount of money from you each year.

Depending on small factors like if you added an addition to your house, or added a swimming pool, added value like that may increase your taxes with NNR.  Also, if you have capped value carrying over from a previous year (your home went up 20% in a year, but your assessed value by law can only go up 10% in a year), you may find your tax bill going up some.

I will NOT say that I will never vote to increase your taxes.  Hutto has many needs.  IF, and it's a big if, I find that the budget does not have a bunch of wasteful and unnecessary spending, AND, we need to bond out money for some infrastructure projects, I can see myself voting for a tax increase of no more than 5%.  BUT, it has to be a "need" and not a "want".  Or, if the voters vote on a measure that requires bonds to be sold and thus the tax rate to go up, I will vote according to the people's wishes, (i.e. we want a $10,000,000 swimming pool).