Property Tax Reduction

By John Paul Jones

The state must be made to pay its fair share of educational costs in order for meaningful property tax relief to occur

I will push legislation to ensure that the state pays its fair share of education costs and dedicates the money to property tax reduction.

The state can be brought back up to the 50% contribution level through a combination of gaming funds, reducing health care costs, and streamlining state and local government budgets. At the state level, over $250 million was saved simply by engaging in smart buying techniques. There are other ways to make government more efficient and less costly. I will push for these to be adopted in the General Assembly and will also push for more efficiency and cost savings from local governments and school districts. I support the establishment of a state-wide health care trust for public school employees to reduce health care costs by as much as $500 million (see Health Care issue statement and the discussion of HB1841).