SAN ANTONIO – As property taxes rise, heads of state want to ease the burden on the homeowner.

Gov. Greg Abbott announced this week that he has added property tax relief as a priority for this special legislative session.

New homes are sprouting up across San Antonio. Local leaders like San Antonio City Council member Clayton Perry say the number of homes is increasing, and so are taxes.

“This has grown dramatically over the past five years, and I don’t see any change coming anytime soon with the influx of people entering San Antonio development,” said board member Perry.

Tax rates haven’t changed much, but rising property values ​​have raised taxes.

According to the Bexar County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office, the average value of a home in the Northside ISD is $ 250,808. Taxes paid for services such as roads and floods, hospitals, and county and city taxes total more than $ 6,500.

About 50% of these taxes go to the school district.

“It’s really a state responsibility, but it’s slowly shifted to landowners here in Bexar County and across the state. So more and more landowners are starting to bear the burden. of our children’s education, ”Albert Uresti, Bexar said the county tax assessor-collector.

The state is trying to shift this burden.

Senate Bill 1, introduced in this special session, could transfer $ 2 billion in funds to school districts across the state. The bill says all property owners in Texas would see a reduction in their ISD tax rate of at least 6.6 cents.

A homeowner with a home valued at $ 300,000 would save $ 200 on their tax bill.

The Bexar County Appraisal District says it expects real estate appraisals to continue to rise. They say the state’s biennial budget could anticipate a six to seven percent increase in property values, over which they have no control.

“We can’t define the market. We’re just trying to reflect what the market is doing,” said Michael Amezquita, chief appraiser of the Bexar Appraisal District.

Amezquita says part of their goal is to educate homeowners on the tax exemptions to which they are entitled. He says this year has seen record numbers in the number of property appraisal calls.

“Holding these hearings like the 135,000 we had last year with a 94% success rate, can help most of these taxpayers,” Amezquita said.

Council member Perry tried to push for a further increase in the homestead exemption during Thursday’s city budget hearing, but that did not gain support from his colleagues.

An increase in the homestead exemption could be discussed in February 2022 with the city of San Antonio, according to council member Perry’s office.

“It comes straight out of your wallet to pay those higher taxes year after year. And if you want property tax relief, call your city councilor,” suggests Perry.

To learn more about the exemptions you can claim, visit the County Tax Assessor-Collector’s website.