Ft. Worth (WBAP/KLIF News) – Property taxes jumped an average of 14 percent this year in Tarrant County. Judge Glen Whitley says some land owners saw their taxes increase by more than 100 percent.
“I was telling people before those notices came out, when you get those things, you really want to be sitting down when you open them,” Whitley says.
Whitley says the state comptroller’s office advised Tarrant County to increase appraised values closer to the real value of each piece of land. Originally, he says the state allowed the change to take place over two years.
“He said, ‘You’ve got two years to get those values up to where they really are,’” Whitley says. “At a recent meeting, he said, ‘Well, we just decided to do it all in one year.’”
Whitley showed a chart that listed the five most populous counties in Texas. Of those five counties, Tarrant spends the least per person.
“We have reserves built up, we’re triple-a bond rated,” Whitley says. “We’re going to get the money back to the taxpayers. That’s the most important thing.”
Whitley delivered his “state of the county” address Wednesday. He also urged voters in Arlington to support plans to help finance a new ballpark for the Rangers.
Whitley said a ballpark with a retractable roof would bring in more events that would benefit the entire county. He described South by Southwest in Austin, saying a festival in Tarrant County could use a ballpark with climate control, AT&T Stadium, Billy Bob’s in the stockyards and the Ft. Worth Convention Center.
“Let’s say you’re a convention and you’re looking for a place to come,” he says. “From a Ft. Worth standpoint, you’ve got museums, you’ve got the Stockyards, you’ve got the plaza Downtown. Then you go to Arlington, you’ve got Hurricane Harbor, you’ve got Six Flags, you’ve got the ballpark.”
Whitley says Tarrant County is making billions of dollars in transportation improvements to bring different attractions and commerce centers together.
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