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San Antonio Mayor promises property tax relief, bounceback from COVID in State of the City address

Mayor Ron Nirenberg says his city council colleagues will provide property tax relief among addressing other priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio’s mayor touched on various topics in his annual State of the City address given at the Tech Port Center and Arena on Tuesday.

After getting through the pandemic, the mayor touched on recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, while also looking ahead to the city’s future.

“We are on our way to rebuilding and recovering from an incredibly difficult time. Not only that, I think the prospects for San Antonio’s future have never been brighter,” Mayor Nirenberg told reporters after his speech.

After some applause, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg touched on several issues facing residents from the pandemic, to the city bond package being deliberated by voters, and housing.

“City council will consider proposals for moving forward with tax relief this fall,” Mayor Nirenberg said during his speech in front of hundreds of community leaders at the Tech Port Center and Arena at Port San Antonio.

After his speech, Mayor Nirenberg didn’t specifically say what that would look like.

“We’re going to look at all the options to target that relief and the reality is when we talk about the tax rate and exemptions, we’re looking at the city portion of the bill,” Mayor Nirenberg said.

Councilmember Clayton Perry agrees and says other taxing entities such as school districts should look into providing similar relief.

“That’s what we need to do to provide, people always say, meaningful tax relief. I say any dollar given back to homeowners is tax relief,” Councilman Perry said.

Another big item is the city bond project—which could assist in preserving the city’s oldest housing stock.

“We all want to see housing affordability here in San Antonio remain…that’s what this bond is all about,”

Mayor Nirenberg says the bonds will not raise taxes. But, Councilmember Perry is concerned with the city taking on additional debt that will have to be paid off.

“I’m leaving it up to each one of the voters out there, and I have stressed to everybody, go in there and look at these packages…and go out there and vote,” Councilmember Perry said.

That $1.2 billion bond package, broken down into six different propositions, covers issues from roads to drainage and housing.

Mayor Nirenberg is hopeful that it will pass in the May election. Early voting for the bond election is underway.

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