The County Line--Big Mac Tax Cut

Dear Friends,

Just wanted to report that by a vote of 3-2 the commissioners' court lowered your tax rate by ¼ of a cent.  As I reported last night, this will save the typical homeowner approximately $5.50 a year but cut into our future road bonding capacity by $25 million.

This is the equivalent of the county saying that instead of addressing a project of the magnitude of expanding the intersection of US 75 and US 380 we have decided instead to give each homeowner enough money for a Big Mac for their family.

You will hear the argument that growth will more than make up for this.  Do not fall for that fallacy.  By reducing the tax rate ¼ of a cent, we will effectively take a $25 million hit when it comes to investing in infrastructure.  The shortsightedness of this approach yields a small gain now, but creates a funding deficit for future road construction. The bottom line is that you cannot bond what you cannot pay for.

Collin County is still over 50% undeveloped and, in the long run, we have approximately $12 billion in infrastructure needs.  While today was a step backward, I will continue to work to see that this unfunded infrastructure liability is addressed in the most efficient way possible and not be passed down to your children and grandchildren.

Thank you for the many, many emails received in support of keeping your county moving ahead.

Best,

Joe

jaynespct3@sbcglobal.net