Sugar Land mayoral candidates, from left to right, Harish Jajoo, Joe Zimmerman, Myatt Hancock, Kyle Stanley and Sarwar Khan, attend a debate at Harmony School of Science—High.[/caption]
Taxes, transparency and ballot Proposition 7 were front and center at a debate for Sugar Land’s mayoral candidates held March 29.
Students at Harmony School of Science—High wrote questions and moderated the debate between candidates Harish Jajoo, Joe Zimmerman, Myatt Hancock, Kyle Stanley and Sarwar Khan.
Of the eight propositions on the ballot candidates singled out Proposition 7, which asks voters whether the city’s charter should be amended to require the percentage of signatures on a petition for initiatives and referendums be at least 15 percent of the registered voters in the city as of the initial petition date.
The current minimum is equal or greater than 30 percent of those voting in the last city election.
“I don’t think City Council is looking after you or me, watching our backs,” Hancock said. “I think a good question for them is ‘Why did they do that and why is that in the best interest of our citizens?’”
He said he wanted to see more transparency from City Council, a stance shared by Stanley.
“There’s a lot of people in Sugar Land who think ‘My voice has been silenced,’” Stanley said. He pledged to enhance public comment opportunities at city meetings if elected.
Students described Stanley, Hancock and Khan as outsiders to city politics. Khan said his first priority if elected would be education, including bringing a flagship university to Sugar Land for the city to call its own.
Students from Harmony School of Science—High moderated the debate.[/caption]
“If you bring the university [to] Sugar Land, [students] don’t have to go that [far away] and the parents can save a lot of money,” he said.
On the issue of taxes, Jajoo said he would aim to lower rates to help city residents, particularly seniors and those on fixed incomes.
“If we can help them by lowering the taxes, not sacrificing the quality of life, not sacrificing our projects, not sacrificing our needs … I think we can be doing that as well,” he said.
Zimmerman argued the 31.595-cent residential tax rate needed to maintain the city’s bottom line, which was affected by an increased homestead tax exemption in 2015. The increase was done to offset rising residential property appraisals set by the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, which the city does not control.
“That tax rate actually funds the growth rate,” Zimmerman said. “Lowering taxes really sounds good but what I ask is if we’re going to lower taxes, then what services are we going to lower in order to bring that into balance?”
Sugar Land mayoral candidates, from left to right, Harish Jajoo, Joe Zimmerman, Myatt Hancock, Kyle Stanley and Sarwar Khan, attend a debate at Harmony School of Science—High.[/caption]
Taxes, transparency and ballot Proposition 7 were front and center at a debate for Sugar Land’s mayoral candidates held March 29.
Students at Harmony School of Science—High wrote questions and moderated the debate between candidates Harish Jajoo, Joe Zimmerman, Myatt Hancock, Kyle Stanley and Sarwar Khan.
Of the eight propositions on the ballot candidates singled out Proposition 7, which asks voters whether the city’s charter should be amended to require the percentage of signatures on a petition for initiatives and referendums be at least 15 percent of the registered voters in the city as of the initial petition date.
The current minimum is equal or greater than 30 percent of those voting in the last city election.
“I don’t think City Council is looking after you or me, watching our backs,” Hancock said. “I think a good question for them is ‘Why did they do that and why is that in the best interest of our citizens?’”
He said he wanted to see more transparency from City Council, a stance shared by Stanley.
“There’s a lot of people in Sugar Land who think ‘My voice has been silenced,’” Stanley said. He pledged to enhance public comment opportunities at city meetings if elected.
Students described Stanley, Hancock and Khan as outsiders to city politics. Khan said his first priority if elected would be education, including bringing a flagship university to Sugar Land for the city to call its own.
Students from Harmony School of Science—High moderated the debate.[/caption]
“If you bring the university [to] Sugar Land, [students] don’t have to go that [far away] and the parents can save a lot of money,” he said.
On the issue of taxes, Jajoo said he would aim to lower rates to help city residents, particularly seniors and those on fixed incomes.
“If we can help them by lowering the taxes, not sacrificing the quality of life, not sacrificing our projects, not sacrificing our needs … I think we can be doing that as well,” he said.
Zimmerman argued the 31.595-cent residential tax rate needed to maintain the city’s bottom line, which was affected by an increased homestead tax exemption in 2015. The increase was done to offset rising residential property appraisals set by the Fort Bend Central Appraisal District, which the city does not control.
“That tax rate actually funds the growth rate,” Zimmerman said. “Lowering taxes really sounds good but what I ask is if we’re going to lower taxes, then what services are we going to lower in order to bring that into balance?”
