Texas Rep. Matt Krause listened to the concerns of campground owners and industry officials Sunday about rocketing property taxes, early school start dates and the harmful reduction in state tourism marketing as the Texas Association of Campground Owners (TACO) kicked off its annual Spring Meeting and Tradeshow.
The three-day meeting, which began Sunday afternoon at the Lake Conroe/Houston North KOA in Montgomery, Texas, included remarks by Rep. Krause, who serves on legislative committees for culture, recreation and tourism as well as land and resource management, as well as Ron Hinkle, TACO’s legislative consultant.
While Texas has made national headlines in recent years for its low taxes and business friendly government, local property taxes are spiraling out of control, with some park owners telling TACO attendees they have seen their property taxes increase by more than 300 to 400 percent, according to TACO.
Some park operators said they have had to file lawsuits against their counties to force them to reassess their parks and reduce their property taxes.
Brian Schaeffer, TACO’s executive director and CEO, said it behooves park operators to hire firms that specialize in fighting excessive property tax assessments to represent them, but he said the state also needs to address the problem by putting limitations on commercial property tax assessments.
“We’re hoping to institute a cap on the commercial side like there is on the residential side,” said Schaeffer.
But while Texas counties have been moving aggressively to rake in more property tax revenue, Schaeffer said growing numbers of Texas schools have been moving up their school start dates, significantly shortening the duration of the summer camping and travel season.
Hinkle and Schaeffer, for their part, said Texas needs to step up its spending to market the state as a tourism destination. They noted that Texas is the third most visited state, after California and Florida, but that tourism spending has been cut to levels on par with tiny states like Arkansas.
“It’s not a good place to be,” Schaeffer said, adding that tourism promotion is needed to encourage out-of-state travelers to visit Texas again after Hurricane Harvey.
Rep. Krause was scheduled to join TACO members again this morning to provide a breakfast recap of legislative issues. TACO’s annual awards presentations will also take place during the breakfast session. Toby O’Rourke, the recently appointed president of Billings, Mont.-based Kampgrounds of America (KOA), will deliver the morning keynote address focusing on the latest camping trends as well as the importance and value of transient guests.
