The residents of Whitesboro, Texas recently reminded everyone that speaking up matters.

Last month, the Whitesboro city government caused quite the stir when it first proposed an eye-popping tax increase that would have meant a 30% tax rate hike, a 45% jump in homeowner taxes, and a 39% growth in the tax levy. Here’s more from the city’s Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Increase:

As one might imagine, Whitesboro taxpayers were outraged. One resident protested: “We already see tax increases in property taxes through the appraisal. It seems to me that the city council is exploiting the citizens in the wake of last year’s lowering of property taxes by state.” Another said: “You are disconnected from the pain that this is causing the hard-working people of Whitesboro, Texas.”

In response to growing public outcry and following a budget workshop, council members adjusted the proposed tax increase down slightly, to a 25% tax rate hike, but that token gesture proved too little. And at a special called meeting on Friday, September 27, 2024, angry residents let their city officials know what a bad idea it still was.

The heavy backlash ultimately prompted city council to vote 4-0 unanimously adopt the no-new-revenue tax rate, which is “‘the tax rate that, if adopted, would produce the same amount of taxes if applied to the same properties from one year to the next.’ By holding tax revenue constant, officials give property owners a chance to breathe a sigh of relief and either maintain their prior year’s tax burden or see it minimally reduced.” Thus, in the final account, “The city had proposed a tax rate of 51.97 cents per $100 valuation…but ended up adopting the no-new-revenue rate of 38.76 cents.”

Whitesboro is an example of what happens when citizens stay informed and care enough to let their voice be heard. Often, people think that their voice has no sway of what goes on in government, or that staying informed is just going to make them feel worse about their current situation. But this simply is not the case—your voice matters.

So let Whitesboro serve as an inspiration of what’s possible and the difference that getting involved makes.