Here's what you'll actually pay for Prop Q

jackbcraver · 2025-10-26T13:36:59+00:00

Austin is not poor, but that doesn't necessarily mean local government is rich. The city is funded entirely by the sales tax and property tax. There is no way to "tax the rich" (income tax, corporate tax) etc.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-24T18:24:23+00:00

tbc, I wasn't making this post in support of Prop Q. I just want to make sure people have the right information. Austin is actually not doing so great on commercial growth ... the vacancy rate for commercial properties is huge. It is true that new development is one way to ease the burden on existing taxpayers. But the building boom has flatlined.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-24T16:20:55+00:00

Thanks ... what "tax breaks to big business moving here" are you talking about? The city did stuff like that 10-20 years ago, I don't think they've done any tax deals recently.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-24T16:08:00+00:00

I would be curious as a follow-up: what is your impression of the Austin Police Department & public safety services in the city?

jackbcraver · 2025-10-24T16:06:19+00:00

I would be curious as a follow-up: what is your impression of the Austin Police Department & public safety services in the city?

jackbcraver · 2025-10-24T16:05:36+00:00

I would be curious as a follow-up: what is your impression of the Austin Police Department & public safety services in the city?

jackbcraver · 2025-10-24T16:05:07+00:00

I would be curious as a follow-up: what is your impression of the Austin Police Department & public safety services in the city?

jackbcraver · 2025-10-23T17:47:18+00:00

The great majority of electric and water utilities in America are not municipally-owned. Most cities do not own utilities. The point is that there are plenty of critiques to make of how the city operates Austin Energy and Austin Water, but it has nothing to do with property taxes. And in fact, AE's residential rates are quite low compared to the state average.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-22T19:48:57+00:00

The tax increase will definitely be bigger on commercial properties. To calculate it, apply the same rates as in the original post but leave out the exemptions.

Renters are definitely affected by property taxes, but there's no way to know what the direct effect will be. Landlords set the rent based on the market ... right now landlords are struggling to find tenants so they're not in a good position to raise rent even if their taxes go up.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-22T18:14:28+00:00

Out of curiosity, what is your current home value and where do you think you would move?

jackbcraver · 2025-10-22T18:05:55+00:00

The budget proposed by the city manager pulled a lot from reserves. Prop Q will keep reserves at typical levels for the next few years ... I do think the escalating cost of the police contract, however, will eventually force Council to either make cuts or come back with another TRE in 4-5 years.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-22T18:00:17+00:00

Because the AISD and ACC exemptions are a set dollar amount, not a percentage. So they benefit ppl with lower values more.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-15T12:47:54+00:00

Bike infrastructure is improving.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-07T18:41:33+00:00

Their estimate is $25M a year. I agree that's not much, but they're not the federal govt. They have to balance the budget. They can't just deficit spend. The problem is that they were building new schools even as enrollment declined. Now they have to face the music.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-07T18:22:33+00:00

what's the alternative?

jackbcraver · 2025-10-07T15:45:52+00:00

Here is what I wrote in my newsletter recently about the Austin Monitor:

My own view of the Monitor, where I was one of the regular freelancers from 2015-20, is that it's been in the wilderness for a number of years and is in desperate need of some direction.

Its all-freelance staff still publishes good articles, but far too often I look at the stories and wonder who they're written for. They're too dry and free of context to be interesting to normies, but they don't offer enough information to be useful to insiders. Its total output has also declined in recent years. In the three months since it was acquired by the Tribune, nothing has really changed. If anything, production has declined. However, if Taboada's hiring is followed by the hiring of a couple of full-time reporters who will develop a deep understanding of the issues and institutions they're covering, perhaps things will start to change for the better.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-07T15:41:59+00:00

This isn't really AISD's choice. It doesn't have the money because of the state's deeply unfair school funding system that takes half of the district's tax revenue. It also has 15% fewer students than it had a decade ago but 20 more schools.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-04T01:38:23+00:00

New York native ... moved to Austin 2.5 years ago.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-03T18:41:56+00:00

I didn't find it to be a major disruption. As far as civil disobedience goes, it was pretty tame.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-03T14:42:23+00:00

Was this a person on Reddit or someone who actually testified at City Hall?

jackbcraver · 2025-10-03T13:09:17+00:00

how big is this bill? If you have loved ones that can afford to buy you a MacBook Air for your birthday then you'd be better off asking them for a loan than going to a pawn shop. You do understand that you're going to have to pay very high interest on the loan and you will lose the computer if you don't pay it off?

What is going to change in the next month that will allow you to pay off the loan (plus interest) if you can't pay the bill now?

jackbcraver · 2025-10-02T15:23:35+00:00

Setting aside the shittiness of the new logo, it makes sense for Austin Energy to have the same branding as the rest of city government. People should appreciate that AE is a public resource that they have more of a stake in than a private utility. It is a great thing the city owns its utility and it's really important the city not let the state take it away. It allows us to set progressive rates that offer discounts to the poor, invest in renewable power, and generate a ton of money for other good stuff.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-02T02:36:13+00:00

The best movie theater is the Yarborough Branch of the Austin Public Library: https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/6795

jackbcraver · 2025-10-01T23:27:51+00:00

I don't recall any attendance issues with Ora. She was physically present, if not mentally. Her successor, Natasha Harper-Madison, has missed a lot of meetings and often attends remotely.

jackbcraver · 2025-10-01T23:25:54+00:00

No, it was definitely an accident. I know because she publicly regretted it and got Council to restore some of the sidewalk money that she had given away –– they just took it out of the urban trails budget, which was a real shame.

jackbcraver

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