No Property Tax Rate Impact
The Port of Houston Authority, working with Harris County
Commissioners Court, has crafted their bond requests
so that even when taken together, these bonds will not
impact the overall Harris County tax rate.
Both agencies scaled back their original
plans in order to help eliminate any impact on the county’s
overall tax rate.
The port authority’s capital
request for $250 million is listed just after the county’s
$630 million capital program on the November 6 ballot.
Current Tax Rate
The Port of Houston Authority’s current tax rate
is 1.3 cents per $100 valuation and is part of Harris
County’s overall tax rate of 64 cents per $100
valuation. Unlike some other major ports around the
nation, the PHA’s tax rate is used only to pay
for general obligation bonds. Many of the PHA’s
competitors receive direct tax revenue for operational
costs, state subsidies for infrastructure, or other
local or state tax revenue.
Current Median Property Tax
The Harris County median home price is $155,000 (updated
July 2007). As a result, the PHA’s current 1.3
cents per $100 valuation tax rate equals approximately
$20.15 annually for the median home, before exemptions
and other deductions. This median $20.15 investment
in the PHA helps support an annual economic value of
$118 billion, 785,000 jobs generating more than $39
billion in personal income, and $3.7 billion in state
and local taxes.
Economic Development and Job
Opportunities
The PHA’s current cash flow fully supports its
day-to-day operating needs, as well as many capital
improvements. However, these improvements alone do not
sustain the pace of market-driven port infrastructure
the PHA needs to maintain the flow of cargo, generation
of jobs and positive economic impact for the region.
.
Keeping pace with rapidly changing
patterns of international trade is not an easy task.
By running Barbours Cut beyond its capacity until Bayport
could come online, we were able to capture the new trade
with China and bring that economic development boost
to our local community and region.
Continued Bayport Construction,
Security Improvements and Environmental Stewardship
A portion of the bond funds, leveraged with PHA’s
operating revenue, will continue the construction of
the Bayport Container and Cruise Terminal, a $1.4 billion
development that will include seven container ship berths,
have a total 2.3 million twenty-foot equivalent unit
throughput at buildout in approximately 15 years and
include up to three cruise ship terminals with the first
one opening in 2008. In addition, the bond funds will
be used to improve port security infrastructure and
assist in environmental projects to further enhance
the port’s leadership role of environmental stewardship
for Galveston Bay and elsewhere.
Revised: 09/24/07
Port
of Houston Authority
111 East Loop North • Houston, Texas 77029
P.O. Box 2562 • Houston, Texas 77252-2562
Phone: 713-670-2400
Copyright 2006 Port of
Houston Authority • All Rights Reserved
For questions and comments, send an e-mail.
Please include company name and phone number, when appropriate,
so we may better respond to your inquiry.
