The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) provides windstorm and hail coverage in the 14 coastal counties and a few other specially designated areas. All property insurers in Texas must participate in TWIA and must help pay losses. Although TWIA was intended to provide windstorm insurance coverage only to those who could not purchase insurance in the voluntary market, it is no longer an insurer of last resort.
Assessing Tax Trends in the City of Dallas
Does history suggest that property taxes are too high in the city of Dallas? And, if so, have local decision-makers actively helped or hurt the situation? To help answer these questions, let’s review the city’s 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and gather four types of data—i.e., tax levies, local population, total tax rates, and taxable values—over a 10-year time horizon. Using these audited estimates, we can gauge the growth of government (i.e., tax levy trends), assess its reasonability...