ANNUAL
PROPERTY TAX CHANGES Should the final financial model indicate the need to raise property taxes, the township has estimated how the increase would affect the current rate.
1 PENNY = $43.24 ADDED to annual property tax bill* 1 PENNY = $2M in tax revenue for the township
*ASSUMINGAVERAGEHOMEVALUATIONOF$477,000
are much more likely to cast ballots in local elections. In 2016, 69.2 percent of registered voters cast ballots in The Woodlands Township elections. In 2007, when residents were asked to cast ballots on the creation of The Woodlands Township, only 28.3 percent voted, according to the VAC. Leakey said regardless of when or if a measure to incorporate is placed on a ballot, residents should still be proactive about learning the details of the study and how it may affect them. “The whole theme with this has got to be, ‘Wake up, Woodlands,’” Leakey said. “We’re talking about potential incorporation that will impact every taxpayer in The Woodlands.”
CALLINGFORAVOTE While township officials could call for a measure on incorporation before August to be placed on the November ballot this year following the conclusion of the study, Bunch said the board has not yet decided when or if that would occur. “That [decision] depends onwhen the study is actually completed, overall tax impact, pub- lic feedback, pros, cons and ability to execute the transition should a vote to incorporate be approved,” he said. Before the study ends Bunch said another community forumwill be scheduledafter finan- cial models and transition contracts—including agreements with Montgomery and Harris coun- ties—are complete. The group will also compile a survey to gather community feedback. “We had historic standing room-only turnout for the September forum,” Bunch said. “The feedback from the forumwas good, andwe hope to build on that forum’s success as we continue with the study process.” However, local election experts said should incor- poration move forward, township officials may want to wait to hold off on placing it on a ballot in 2019. Steve Leakey, president of the nonpartisan Voter Awareness Council, said holding a local election in 2019 could lead to low voter participation, based on voting patterns over the last 10 years. “If you were to guess what it would be like in [20]19, it would be very low, probably less than 10 percent,” he said. “That just doesn’t make sense if you want to put something on the ballot where the highest per- centage turnout could possibly be achieved.” Leakey said in presidential election years, voters
Bunch said Novak will also create an online financial calculator, in which residents can enter their addresses and cal- culate how much their property taxes may change before a vote is called. However, some residents have expressed concern about the study, especially the speed at which it has been conducted. While township officials have repeatedly said there is no deadline to place the mea- sure on a ballot, former township Director Mike Bass, who served on the township board during its previ- ous study in 2011-12, said he is worried the spring 2019 deadline for the study seems too soon. “My objective is not to oppose incorporation just for the sake of opposing it,” Bass said. “I just want incor- poration to be done ... without wasting tax dollars.”
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The Woodlands edition • January 2019
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