Priorities

Seniors MUST be a priority for our community

Housing options and property tax burden for our seniors is a big concern for me. During the 2040 visioning process, the population study that was done showed that families that moved here in the 90’s during the big population boom are heading into the latter stages of their life. They want to stay in Coppell but are getting priced out due to rising property values and availability of appropriate housing stock.

Many seniors that I speak to have concerns about their property taxes. I want to increase the senior/disabled exemption from $75,000 to $100,000 and I will fight for this day one if elected. This is an easy way to show our seniors that we take their concerns seriously. According to the Coppell City Manager’s office, we could provide this relief and it would only cost the city about $340,000. This is a drop in the bucket ad compared to the overall budget. I also look forward to working with our F.O.A.R.D. board to look at creative housing solutions for our seniors. Click Here to learn about the FOARD Board.

Sales Tax Issue

Due to the Texas Comptroller’s rule 3.334 to change how sales tax is sourced and distributed, Coppell is set to lose millions of dollars in sales tax revenue. The rule is set to begin in October of 2021. The difficult thing about the situation is that we don’t know 100% how much sales tax revenue will drop so it’s difficult to plan. This will negatively affect all areas of the city and will directly impact a large revenue stream. Click Here for more information about the issue!

I want to protect the unique “community oasis” experience that differentiates Coppell from the other communities in the metroplex. The current council has done a good job preparing for the sales tax issues that the city is facing. For the current budget, the council reduced the budget to about $116.5 million dollars. This represents about a 13% reduction in the budget from the previous year. As stated above, the 13% reduction is the city’s best guess as to how much revenue we will ACTUALLY lose. We don’t know the final number until rule begins. I support keeping our incoming budget similar to the current, reduced budget until we see start seeing the real numbers from the Texas Comptrollers office. At that time we can start amending our budget to reflect the real sales tax numbers. Our city has shown that we can still operate at a high level even with our reduced budget. I want to continue that financial discipline to make sure that we are offering high quality services and amenities while keeping our tax rate as low as possible. * I do NOT support defunding the police* Our public safety services are some of the best in the state and promise to always make them a priority.

Support our Business Community

Due to Covid, Coppell businesses have taken a big hit. Even before Covid, Coppell small businesses have a reputation for struggling with many closing due to choices in other cities. Coppell should be a haven for business and I want to help make it better/easier for business to thrive in town.

I want to make it easier to open a business here in Coppell. Due to our high property values, real estate in Coppell is already expensive. If you couple that with the typical red tape of opening a business Coppell can become unattractive to potential business owners. We need to cut through the red tape and make it easier to get a business open. I want to create a task force that will evaluate the process to get a business open from the first permit to the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy. Let’s streamline the application process and our planning and zoning approval processes. I’d also like to see improvements and better communication in our inspections department to help get new businesses open faster. I’d also like to investigate the feasibility of a property tax abatement for our small business community. I’d also like to find a way to verify that those savings are passed along to the business owner and not kept by the landlord. Lastly, I’d like to revisit our sign ordinances to make sure we are giving business the visibility it needs while keeping Coppell the beautiful city that we all love.