Austin property tax lawsuit triggers a backlash

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Watchdog.org:

Austin Mayor Steve Adler says he’s suing for fair property appraisals. A tea party skeptic calls the legal gambit an “ill-conceived publicity stunt.”

 

“The mayor’s plan won’t save people money — they’re being played as saps. It’s a total gimmick,” says Mark Pulliam, a retired attorney and local political activist.

 

Adler argues that commercial and vacant lands are being systemically undervalued in violation of the state constitution, and at the expense of residential property owners.

 

Adler’s allies point to a study asserting commercial parcels are under-appraised by as much as 50 percent.

 

The nonpartisan Texas Taxpayers and Research Association counters that property tax rates are a bigger factor than any perceived variation in property values.

 

“All available information — be it from the appraisal districts themselves on the disputes they handle, or from the Comptroller’s review of local values — does not offer evidence of the widespread undervaluation of commercial property,” TTARA states.

 

No other cities or counties have joined Texas’ Democratic Party bastion in challenging the appraisal system.

 

Pulliam calls Travis County “a cash cow that’s getting fatter.”