降低房地产税和合理的预算增长并不矛盾

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翻译：会平

原作：Mark Reid

在8月13日星期一的Plano市议会的会议上，Plano市长聒噪了一个多小时，期间充满了各种为了增税的荒诞的借口和令人困惑的理由。市议员Grady竟然一度威胁取消住宅豁免（homestead exemptions）和老人豁免的优惠政策。令人啼笑皆非的是，留给Plano纳税人表达他们对城市预算的看法的却只有几分钟，珍贵的几分钟。

目睹Plano市居民们要求市政府采用有效税率（Effective Tax Rate）的呼声越来越高，市长觉得形势不妙，就又欲故伎重演，故意扰乱正常的会议秩序，恃强霸凌两位持不同意见的议员Ricciardelli和Smith就范。市长迫不及待地要在8月18日星期六的市预算会议前就把下年度的税率给定下来，这样也可成功绕开8月27日的第一次预算公开听证会。

以市政经理（City Manager）为首的在场的市府雇员一致支持市长，预言如果对所建议的预算有任何削减，后果不堪设想。

事实上，如果我们将最近三年（2015，2016，2017）的预算和实际财政支出做个比较，平均每年实际财政支出要比市议会通过的财政预算低$18.2M。换句话说，Plano市政府的运作根本不需要每年预算所号称需要的那么多钱。听起来不错吧。

假设过去三年的趋势有代表性，我们完全有理由相信，如果将2018-2019的预算中过度准备的资金部分去除，我们可以轻而易举地把年度预算砍掉$12M，实现有效税率，同时依然保证现有项目不受任何影响，政府运作一切照常。

举一个很简单的例子。General Government budget有两个分项账目：Nondepart-6199 Adj Personnel Serv 和 Nondepart-6132 Contracts Prof Serv。这两项在过去几年里，实际上每一年都比预算平均少花$12.3M。也就是说，城市通过的预算大约是$11M-$13M，但是这两项的实际支出哪一年都从未超过$1M。在2017年，这两项只花了$600K，而预算却是$12.2M！！！

如果这个趋势是有代表性，仅仅通过精确地预算这两个分项账目，我们就可以实现有效税率！

市政经理对削减建议的财政预算会造成可怕后果的危言，其实就是用“恐吓战术”来达到继续增加预算的目的，是一场充满欺骗性的政治游戏。

下面表格里有更多事实：

• Plano市在2014年实际财政开支是$226M。2019年建议的预算是$320M，增长率为41.7%。

• 2014到2018年期间，Plano市人口增长和物价上涨综合起来，也只有10.7%。2014到2019年期间，Plano市人口增长估计只有7.4%。

• 在同一时间段，财政预算却要增长41.7%。公众安全的预算支出却只增长31%。

• 但是在同一时期，政府普通开支和非部门开支（General Government and Non-Departmental Spending）的预算却要增加69.5%！！我们就是在政府普通开支这个类别里找到“注水”$12M的那两个账目。

在最近五年或更久，Plano市的房地产税的增长总体上是物价上涨的三倍。我们可以制止这个高税收和高开支的政策，无需削减任何项目。

只要市议会要求市政经理，根据去年的预算来运作Plano市，而且市政经理还会从Plano市的新建物业那里拿到的几百万美元的税收。这不会导致城市服务的削减，也不会加重市府员工的工作负担。

我们需要的仅仅是一个准确的市财政预算。如果现任的Plano市议员们不能胜任，那我们需要一个新的市议会。

英文原文如下：

Lowering Property Tax Rate Still Allows Budget to Grow

By Mark Reid

In Monday’s Plano City Council meeting, Plano tax payers got a precious few minutes to express their views on the city budget while Plano’s mayor orchestrated over an hour of excuses, absurd comparisons, obfuscation and even a threat by Councilman Grady to take away the homestead and senior exemptions from Plano homeowners.

Seeing a push from Plano citizens for the adoption of the Effective Tax Rate, the mayor continued his long standing pattern of forgoing the regular order of business in an effort to bully dissenting city council members Ricciardelli and Smith in to setting a tax rate prior to the budget workshop this coming Saturday and even prior to the 1st Public Hearing on the tax rate scheduled for Monday August 27th.

City staff supported the mayor with dire predictions about the consequences of any reduction in the proposed budget.

But the fact is that for the three most recent years in which we have actual expenditures to compare to the budget, 2015, 2016, and 2017, actual expenditures overall average $18.2 million less than what was budgeted by council. In other words, the city didn’t need as much money as they claimed they needed when the budget was passed. On the surface this is good.

However, if this three year trend is representative, then it is reasonable to believe that if the padding and other fat is taken out of the 2018-2019 budget, we could easily reduce the proposed budget by $12 million to get to the Effective Tax Rate without making a single cut to a single existing program.

Here is an easy example. Two line items in the General Government budget – Nondepart-6199 Adj Personnel Serv and Nondepart-6132 Contracts Prof Serv – actually spent an average of $12.3 million less than was budgeted in each of the past several years.  In other words, the city has budgeted between $11-$13 million for these two line items alone, but has never spent more than $1 million in any given year. In 2017, while $12.2 million was budgeted, the city only spent $600,000.

If this trend is representative, the Effective Tax Rate can be achieved by doing nothing more than accurately budgeting for these two line items!

The city manager’s dire consequences are nothing more than fear tactics to facilitate a continuation of the budget shell games used to justify a bloated budget and higher city taxes. Below are more facts about the city’s proposed spending trends, and a chart:

-The city actually spent $226 million in 2014. The proposed 2019 budget is $320 million, a 41.7% increase.

-Between 2014 and 2018, the combined rate of population and inflation was only 10.7%. Between 2014 and 2019, the estimated population growth of Plano is only 7.4%.

-During the same time period, while total spending is budgeted to increase 41.7%, public safety spending is budgeted to increase by only 31%.

-During the same period, General Government and Non-Departmental spending are budgeted to increase 69.5%, compared to 41.7% overall, and 31% for public safety.

-The General Government budget category is where we found the two line items with $12 million in budget padding. In 2019, while $13.1 million is budgeted, less than $1 million will likely be spent.

I don’t know if this tax and spend effort is led by Harry or Bruce, but tax paying citizens of Plano have faced City of Plano property taxes that have increased at three times the rate of inflation over the last 5 years, and longer.

This tax and spend policy can be stopped this year without cuts to anything.

All the city council has to do is tell the city manager to live with the budget he had last year, plus several million dollars in new tax revenue that he will receive from new property in Plano.  This will not cut services.  This will not force city staff to work harder.

All this requires is an accurate budget.  If this city council can’t do this then we need a new city council.

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达拉斯华政会（Dallas Fort Worth Political Action Committee，简称DFWPAC）成立于2016年11月18日，宗旨是促进DFW地区亚裔参政议政，发现并支持致力于传统的家庭价值观、优秀的学区、友好的创业环境、有限而有效的政府、以及包容的多元文化的领导者。DFWPAC的三大工作重点是促进领导力教育、倡导社区参与和推选公共事务代表。

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