We request the Fairview Town Council call an election to re-allocate 1 cent of sales tax to the general fund and eliminate the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) and the Community Development Corporation (CDC). We request that a large portion of this sales taxes be used for property tax relief.

Mechanism: House Bill 157, passed in the 2015 legislative session, enables cities to reallocate the 2 percent local option sales tax. https://www.tml.org/legis_updates/local-sales-tax-...

History: Prior to HB 157, towns could only collect additional sales taxes via EDC, CDC, or mass transit allocations. With this change we can now send that 1 cent of sales tax to the general fund instead of allocating it for a narrow set of special interests. The town has used tax rate increases and the escalating property values to raise our effective tax rate by over 500% during the past 20 years. We need some property tax relief and this sales tax reallocation can accomplish that.

Justification: The EDC and CDC sends our tax money to a narrow set of special interests. This money should be in the general fund and allocated to the highest and best use along with property tax relief.

CDC/EDC use of property tax - these budget items were copied from the annual budget requests listed on the Town of Fairview website: http://fairviewtexas.org/departments/administratio...

This money could be in the general fund for property tax relief or the highest and best use that benefits our town such as roads, police, or fire.

EDC 2017
$55,000 Marketing - booths, sponsorships, brokers/consultants
$28,000 Travel & Training
$10,190 Dues & Subscriptions
$5,000 The Retail Couch
$4,000 Atlas hosting website
$15,000 Concept Plan for CPPD (1/2 shared with CDC)
$10,000 Consultant to Evaluate Programs for CPPD (1/2 shared with CDC)
$2,500 Retail Trade Area Update (1/2 shared with CDC)

CDC 2017
$55,000 Marketing - Chamber golf, Chamber banquet, . . .
$52,000 Lights along Stacy, Xmas decorations, Texas Health Little Black Dress event
$15,000 Concept Plan for CPPD (1/2 shared with EDC)
$10,000 Consultant to Evaluate Programs for CPPD (1/2 shared with EDC)
$2,500 Retail Trade Area Update (1/2 shared with EDC)

EDC 2016
$100,000 Economic Incentive - Lowen Hospitality
$65,600 DFW Economic Development Guide, Atlas opportunities, ICSC booth, and Brokers/Consultants
$25,700 Travel & Training
$20,000 Economic Incentive - Cana Roso
$10,000 Atlas hosting website
$800 Yoga laptop (shared with CDC)

CDC 2016
$52,500 Marketing – 2 half marathons, Texas/OU remotes, local ads in Chamber guide & map
$41,400 Community Relations – lights along Stacy Road, Christmas tree, golf and chamber events
$800 Yoga laptop (shared with EDC)