2008-046-RES ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE PETITION FILED MARCH 18, 2008 PROPOSING A LIMITATION ON THE AMOUNT OF AD VALOREM TAXES THAT MAY BE IMPOSED AGAINST A RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF A PERSON AGE 65 YEARS OR OLDER OR A DISABLED PERSON WAS NOT SIGNED BY 5% OR MOR

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RESOLUTION NO. 2008-046 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE PETITION FILED MARCH 18, 2008 PROPOSING A LIMITATION ON THE AMOUNT OF AD VALOREM TAXES THAT MAY BE IMPOSED AGAINST A RESIDENCE HOMESTEAD OF A PERSON AGE 65 YEARS OR OLDER OR A DISABLED PERSON WAS NOT SIGNED BY FIVE PERCENT (5%) OR MORE OF THE REGISTERED VOTERS OF THE CITY OF PARIS, TEXAS, AND, THEREFORE, DOES NOT SATISFY THE REQUIREMENTS OF ARTICLE 8, SECTION 1-b(h) OF THE TEXAS CONSTITUTION; MAKING OTHER FINDINGS AND PROVISIONS RELATED TO THE SUBJECT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, in November 2003, the voters of the State of Texas approved an amendment to the Texas Constitution to provide a local option for cities, counties and junior college districts desiring to establish a tax freeze on ad valorem taxes for owners of a residence homestead that are either disabled or are 65 years of age or older, the amendment being effective January 1, 2004; and WHEREAS, the constitutional amendment, set forth in Article 8, Section 1-b(h) Texas Constitution provides two ways in which this tax freeze legislation may be adopted by a municipality, one is by action of the governing body of the municipality enacting a city ordinance to adopt the tax freeze and the other is by special election requested by a petition signed by flve percent (5%) of the registered voters of the municipality; and WHEREAS, on March 18, 2008, a petition claiming to contain the signatures of qualified voters of the City of Paris equal in number to at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of votes cast in the cumulative seven districts in the last contested general election for each district and proposing a limit on ad valorem taxes for disabled persons and persons 65 years of age or older was filed with the City Clerk of the City of Paris, Texas; and WHEREAS, by Certificate dated March 28, 2008, the City Clerk certified that the Petition contained a total of 655 signatures, 80 of which were disqualified, leaving a total of 575 qualified registered voters signatures supporting the Petition and that this number represented in excess of twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of votes cast in the cumulative seven districts in the last contested general election for each district and, therefore, satisfied the requirements for an Initiative Petition as set out in Section 100 of the Paris City Charter; and WHEREAS, because the petition process for calling an election to consider a tax limitation on ad valorem taxes on residence homesteads owned by disabled persons or persons 65 years of age or older is established by the Texas Constitution and not by City Charter, the sufficiency of the Tax Freeze Petition must be decided in accordance with the requirements of Article 8, Section 1-b(h) of the Texas Constitution; and