Fearful that a pro-taxpayer agenda will undermine their aspiring microscopic tyrannies, one city is urging employees as well as other municipalities to testify against bills this special session aimed at protecting the property rights of Texans.
Earlier this week, Round Rock City Council unanimously passed a resolution encouraging local officials and employees to testify against a myriad of bills aimed at strengthening property rights and local government accountability, including property tax rollback rate reductions, preemption of city tree ordinances, spending caps, annexation reform, or any new laws that would preempt city ordinances.
Like a petulant child throwing a tantrum when a parent corrects their behavior, cities such as Round Rock are writhing at the notion of having their overreach corrected by the state. What these bureaucrats tend to forget is that cities are a creation of the state, and when they infringe on individual liberty, it is the legislature’s elected responsibility to step in and protect the rights of individuals – not local governments.
Additionally, publicly stated agendas such as these underscore the necessity for the abolition of tax-funded lobbying – where municipalities actually use tax dollars to hire lobbyists to advocate against pro-taxpayer reforms in the legislature. Cities across the state spend millions of coercively taken tax dollars on purely political purposes – such as the anti-taxpayer positions articulated by Round Rock’s city council.
The fact that taxpayers are unwittingly funding legislative agendas diametrically opposed to their own financial interests should offend every freedom-loving Texan – which is part of the reason why pro-taxpayer reforms are dominating the dialogue during this special session. As such, tax-funded lobbying groups such as Texas Municipal League and the Texas Association of Counties are maneuvering in lock-step with cities such as Round Rock to defeat pro-taxpayer reforms during this special session.
It’s up to everyday taxpayers to make their voices heard so these reforms don’t go quietly into the night.
