More than 60 jammed their way into the meeting room, leaving standing room only.
At issue is a proposed 17.77 cent (per hundred-dollar valuation) ad valorem tax and a proposed $945,570 budget of which roughly a third is earmarked for road maintenance and repair.
Since its incorporation eight years ago Salado property owners have not paid an ad valorem tax to the village. The bulk of its income is mainly from sales tax rebates and franchise fees. Salado pays 2.15 cents (per hundred-dollar valuation) to the county, its school district and a water district.
In the last year or more, village aldermen have looked to other means of income for mounting expenses as the village grows.
“Your aldermen are dedicated volunteers with the best interest of the government at heart,” Mayor Merle Stalcup said before beginning the hearing. “In the last several days there have been character assassinations (of board members) and a dead rat was even left on the front doorstep of one council member.”
“Even though we have disagreed on many things I anticipate this meeting will proceed with decorum.”
Some of the commentary during the hearing came delivered in testy tones, but Stalcup politely maintained order and the board held its cool under fire. Many speakers received ovations and cheers when they sat down again.
Jack Gallagher questioned whether Salado needed an ad valorem tax. He said the Bell County Appraisal District had sent out appraisal notices in the spring noting a 25-cent ad valorem tax on it. He said the 25 cents had not yet been levied.
“It’s only what could happen if they approve it,” Gallagher said. “It’s our duty to tell them what we want.”
Alderman Stephen Peters said, “The notice you received from the appraisal district was only a statement of value.”
Peters said the 25-cent tax on the notice was a place holder registered with the county by the board in the spring when the board followed a timeline procedure to get a tax on the books for the coming year. The actual tax will be the one voted by the aldermen in two weeks that is currently listed as 17.77 cents.
Johnny Watson, a retired teacher who said he has lived in Salado eight years, said he is not getting cost of living increases in his retirement pay.
‘It’s a tight situation,” said Watson. “You must understand, people like myself have to pay for this.”
Watson asked why there hadn’t been a tax referendum.
Attorney Alan Bojorquez of Austin, who represents Salado, said Texas only allows an election if there is a law on the books.
“There is nothing in the constitution about imposing a property tax or how much it will be,” Bojorquez said. “There is no legal basis to conduct a referendum even if the board of aldermen wanted to.”
Bojorquez said the law only provides for a rollback referendum if the proposed tax is higher than the rollback rate. But those are cases where the ad valorem tax has already been established by the actions of a municipal government.
H.T. Crow wasn’t daunted by legal facts.
“Why are we having this meeting if we can’t vote for it?” Crow asked. “Why not start a recall of the board?”
Bob Allison stood to defend the board and its proposed budget and, like his no-taxes counterparts, received an ovation of his own.
“It’s a tough situation,” Allison said. “You are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. These are tough choices to make and I appreciate you for what you do.”
Allison said Salado’s days of living off its sales taxes were over.
“I’m definitely against taxes, but I see no way around it.”
In response to numerous complaints about the cost of road repair - the largest line item - Alderman Michael Cooper said figures for the cost had not been put together lightly.
“It was done with the assistance of a road engineer who wrote a report that we gave to five contractors requesting bids,” Cooper said. “Only one of the five came back to us. The others did not want to do it or no longer did that type of repair.”
Cooper said he would work with two volunteers, Danny McCort and Gerald Reihsen, to get new numbers in the next few days.
The next hearing on the budget will be held Sept. 18.
