September 29, 2017      4:51 PM

Houston Mayor Turner will not push tax hike after Gov. Abbott gives $50 million check for Harvey

Amid non-stop positioning by GOP leadership on property taxes, it's the Democratic Houston mayor who moves the needle using property taxes as the wedge issue

Via Houston Chronicle reporter Mike Morris:

Mayor Sylvester Turner on Friday said he would withdraw a proposed property tax rate hike after Gov. Greg Abbott handed him a check for $50 million to help fund the city's recovery from Hurricane Harvey.

The exchange came as the mayor and governor held a joint City Hall news conference, a sharp departure from the last several days when the pair had traded letters and criticism over each other's Harvey response.

Turner had tried to pin his proposed tax hike on the state's unwillingness to tap its $10 billion savings account, while state officials viewed the city as seeking a blank check rather than targeting specific emergency funds in the state budget.

Full story here.

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