Houston mayor wants tax increase to help with Harvey costs

HOUSTON (AP) - Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner wants Houston property owners to chip in with higher taxes to help the city recover from Hurricane Harvey.

The mayor says the 8.9 percent boost in the property tax rate he's proposing to Houston City Council would raise about $113 million.

The tax jump would be in effect for a year and would be permitted under emergency provisions of a voter-imposed tax revenue cap approved by Houston voters 13 years ago.

Turner says the extra money would cover expenses not reimbursed by federal programs and help pay for debris removal, the loss of 334 city vehicles, repairs to City Hall and a courts building and two sewage treatment plants.

The mayor tells the Houston Chronicle if this isn't an emergency, "I don't know what is."

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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com