Two Travis County property owners filed suit Wednesday against members of the Travis County Commissioners Court, saying the group exceeded their authority when they voted to set the county tax rate in excess of the amount needed to address the July 4 flooding disaster.
According to the lawsuit, the county incurred $20 million in increased expenditures for the flood, but commissioners voted unanimously to raise property taxes by $42 million as a dedicated disaster tax. Commissioners cited the Disaster Tax Law in voting to raise taxes as they did.
Shane Saum, newly elected mayor of Lago Vista, is suing in his personal capacity as a taxpayer. He said, “Travis County used a disaster declaration meant to help flood victims as an excuse to raise taxes beyond what was necessary. We’re standing up for taxpayers who expect their leaders to act within the law, not around it.”
The second plaintiff in the case, Jeffrey Bowen, who in 2024 ran for mayor of Austin and has previously sued the city over ballot language, said in a news release accompanying the lawsuit, “The voters sent a strong message on November 4th to the Austin City Council that the Travis County Commissioners Court needs to hear as well: Stop over-taxing us.” He was referring to the overwhelming vote against Proposition Q to raise city taxes…