One of the great benefits and joys of living in a small community, like JV, is having a voice in the decisions of that city. For many years, it has been the same people getting involved and making decisions. JVCCC wants to change that. Jersey Village Concerned Citizens Committee is a group formed to be a growing voice for the residents that currently have no say in the city government. We believe that any government must represent all citizens and must be held accountable to the voters. We need help to get more people involved with this effort and to increase the number of households holding the city council accountable, especially when tax dollars are being used. In the past years, the city council has spent tax dollars without citizens’ votes.
- 8+ million on the city-owned golf course that has never made a profit and has been subsidized by higher property taxes.
- There was a plan to spend 11+ million to build a new city hall across 290 along Jones Road on land that the city council was forced to purchase to settle a lawsuit.
- 8+ million to settle the lawsuit listed above.
More examples of taxpayers excluded from participation exist; however, current actions underway by the city council must be addressed before the huge debt is incurred by the city. That debt will surely produce much higher property taxes for the homeowners in Jersey Village. During the Tax Rate discussions last year when the city council discussed setting the tax rate for 2022 and 2023, there was a concern that much of the city debt would soon be paid off, and that could require the city to reduce the city tax rate. Then if the city needed or wanted more money for projects, the city would be required by state laws to put a tax rate increase on the ballot for voter approval.
For several years, the property owners in Jersey Village have been paying much higher property taxes than should have been required. Now in June 2023, the city council is pushing a project for annexing over 600 acres of the land in the ETJ (Extraterritorial Jurisdiction) across 290. They have already begun spending money and plan to hire consultants to provide a report that shows that the millions of dollars spent on roads, water, and sewer services for that area would be recouped when all the owners of that land connect to water and sewer services even though there is not a legal way to force the property owners to connect to those services. They plan to use that report to use Certificates of Obligation Debt issued by the Jersey Village Government rather than putting the issue on the ballot for voter approval.
When citizens do not work together to form a voice in a small community like JV, the same people in charge will continue to make decisions without voters getting a chance to vote on any project. It is a dangerous situation when no questions are allowed, and no other options considered.