After confusion, Houston City Council pulls property tax ordinance, lets voters decide on exemptions.

During the recent Houston City Council meeting, on the docket was a public hearing for a proposed ordinance which would amend the current city code to raise the property tax exemption for qualified residents to match the Matanuska Susitna Borough (MSB) property tax exemption.

Specifically, it would grant the same real property tax exemptions as available to qualified persons, including seniors aged 65 and older, disabled veterans, and widowed people 60 and older who meet the previous exemption qualifications.

There was confusion as to why the proposed ordinance was in front of the council since it is already on the ballot as Proposition H-2 for the upcoming elections in Houston.

During the public hearing, no one from the public spoke in opposition to the ordinance, but rather spoke of the implication of having an ordinance before the council, when the voters would begin voting on it in a matter of days.

“Why do we even need this?” asked longtime Houston resident Rosemary Burnett, who told the council that she had received numerous phone calls regarding the proposed ordinance.

“Older people are sensitive, they want to vote, and they want their vote to count. They don’t want to pass this ordinance. Their vote won’t count if you pass this ordinance.”

When asked about it by Burnett, Mayor Carter Cole said that if the ordinance were to pass that no, the votes would not have the impact.

Resident Jim Johansen pointed out that the ballot initiative, which had collected the necessary votes needed, was certified by the city’s clerk at the end of July, while the proposed ordinance was brought before the council in August, causing him to ask if any of the city council had been aware of the ballot item before the ordinance was introduced.

“The right to vote is one of the most fundamental rights in democracy. It is the right to say who governs you and how the government is run,” he told the council. “Proposition H-2 is on the ballot and there is no time to change it. Are you prepared to tell the city that the 7 of you know more about what the community wants than the voters?” He warned that if the ordinance passed, it could disenfranchise the voters and send a message that their vote does not count.

When it came time for the council to approve the measure, councilmember Sandy McDonald raised an objection to the consideration of the measure, stating

“I believe it is already on the ballot, so what we would be doing as a council would be circumventing the legal right of people to vote,” she said, adding that until the ordinance had been introduced at the previous meeting, she was unaware that a separate petition filed.

“I did not have the opportunity to read anything about H-2 until I actually saw it on the ballot, already printed, and so what I feel like the way we’re going about this is all wrong. We are undermining the people once again, the opportunity to vote,” she said.

Outgoing City Clerk Rebecca Rein stated that not only was the ordinance brought before the city attorney before being added to the agenda, but that a tax exemption could be brought before council as an ordinance.

“Under Alaska statutes, because the Mat-Su Borough has already adopted these (exemptions), and the council being a political subdivision of the Mat-Su Borough, this can be done by ordinance.”

“There’s been so much misinformation about this,” said Mayor Cole, who told the council that he spent days researching and getting the history the how’s and why’s the ordinance came about, telling the council that the first time the proposed legislation was initially discussed back in March of this year, and that after discussion about the budget from the previous administration, discussion began again in earnest in June.

“There had been communication from the public for the property tax exemption during the budget process, but we couldn’t at the time because of a revenue issue at the time.” He was referring to the city’s revenue, which was only able to balance the budget, leaving no room for other items at the time.

“It was considered all through the month of June, long before there was a ballot measure drawn up by other people,” said the mayor. “As soon as the city found a way to responsibly promote a possible property tax exemption, we started the implementation of it.”

“Council member Brasel’s ordinance was done with conversations with the administration and the facts we could provide. He made an informative decision going forward. I supported his efforts in getting this to the city council for the vote based upon the facts that could be presented to the public.”

The mayor was referring to Councilman Jeff Brasel, who drafted the ordinance. Councilman Brasel told fellow council members that the day he had it drafted was the Thursday afternoon before the Friday deadline for the petition to be filed.

“My concern was that the petition would not get certified by the end of the day on Friday. I drafted this resolution for us. The intention was not to take away anybody’s vote. The intention was to have a ‘Plan B’ if the petition did not get certified in time to make it on the ballot. That we could still come here tonight and put this into law.”

“I’m of the opinion that folks’ perception of this is that it’s taking away their voice. The petition has made it onto the ballot, so I don’t see this as necessary anymore. I don’t see that there’s any reason for us to vote on this tonight,” he said before stating that he should have pulled the ordinance and suggesting the ordinance be tabled indefinitely.

“I would like to see our senior citizens, our military veterans, all be taken better care of, if it’s in my power. That’s what this council wants to see,” said Councilman David Duren, who said that any chance he has to put decisions to a vote, it should be taken, with consideration for the city’s budget. “I don’t see any reason why this shouldn’t go to vote.”

Mayor Cole said the last time tax exemptions were presented to the city council was in 2015, at which time it failed, and now that it appears the city is able to afford the exemptions, he moved on it.

“Do I think the people have a chance to vote for it? They certainly do. I need to reinforce if we chose to vote on it tonight, they (public) have a chance to override it. I see no harm in that whatsoever. But if we do vote for it tonight, it will solidify that we are able to do it.”

Councilmember McDonald warned that if the council moved to vote before the voters had the opportunity to decide, it could bring forth legal actions.

“We would have the vote of the public in contention with the vote of the council, and that would cost thousands of dollars in lawyer fees. At this point, it is on the ballot. Let’s let the people vote. I believe that the people will make a wise choice of what they, and we want. They all get to vote. This is a democracy.”

Meanwhile, City Clerk Rein told the council that as clerk, she does lead citizens through the petition and ballot initiative process, and also writes up ordinances brought forward by the council, but in doing so, did served both in this matter.

“I did not speak to the rest of the council while this petition was in process because that is not what we do. It is my job to serve the citizens of the city first and foremost. That means if the citizens bring forward an initiative petition, I go through that process with them, without informing the rest of you (the city council) until that process is complete, and it’s either certified or not. If a councilmember comes to me and wants an ordinance written, and it’s an ordinance that can be written, it is also my job to do that. So I protected the rights of the citizens moving forward with their petition, and I also served my council in this.”

She told the council that if they choose to vote the ordinance down, and if the proposal goes before the people and fails, the measure could not be brought back before the council for later consideration for two years, and advised that they think on that before moving.

Mayor Cole said he saw no reason to table the ordinance.

“Given the history, the timeline, and everything that I know to be factual, there’s no reason why this council cannot vote on this tonight,” he stated, adding that he would much rather have the exemptions pass for the elderly and disabled people that need it.

The ordinance was ultimately tabled indefinitely by the council while the community will be able to vote on the measure during the upcoming elections, to be held on Tuesday, October 3.