Tomorrow, June 28, Travis County commissioners will decide whether to continue to offer property tax exemptions to historic properties. Right now, there is a proposal that will gut the exemption and offer a mere $350 annual property tax reduction for historic properties. This miniscule exemption will further work to discourage property owners from maintaining and restoring historic structures in Austin and Travis County. Already AISD has eliminated this and the city of Austin is still trying to decide what to do.
There is value in preserving historic structures. One of the things that especially makes Downtown Austin so attractive is that so far, it hasnt't been wholly dismantled and replaced with boring anywhere USA structures. The fabric and history of our city still lives in historic buildings all over town. We need to maintain incentives for developers and homeowners to preserve the past with tax exemptions. That preservation leads to desirable environments that people want to live and work in. That desirability drives property prices higher, ultimately increasing the tax base and bringing more cash to government. It is short sighted to kill this program for short term budget concerns.
Please tell Travis County commissioners you support historic tax exemptions.
Contact County commissioners:
Sarah.Eckhardt@co.travis.tx.us
commissioner.gomez@co.travis.tx.us
Preserve history in Travis County!
Jeff Harris, Broker
512-917-8142
Jeff Harris
Realtor/ Mortgage Broker
True Austin Properties
