Early voting begins Monday and continues through May 3 for city and school elections, with Election Day set May 7.
Voters will see a variety of propositions on the ballot, including two statewide props that would affect property taxes for homeowners.
Longview residents will decide whether to approve a $45.6 million bond to help secure the Longview Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund. If the bond proposal is not approved, officials have said the city will consider other alternatives, with the most likely options increasing funding to the pension by either incrementally bumping up the property tax rate, finding other revenue sources or by reducing funding for other city services.
Residents who the city’s Spring Hill area will elect a new representative on the council, after Longview District 5 Councilman David Wright chose not to seek his third and final three-year term.
And Longview ISD stakeholders will vote on four bond propositions totaling $230 million. The measures fund everything from a new Early Learning Center, high school renovations, a new event center and indoor practice facility, Lobo Coliseum and Lobo Stadium renovations and more. Officials have said the bond package will not increase taxes.
Gregg County
Both state propositions are related to homestead exemptions, which currently are state-mandated at $25,000:
For or against:
Proposition 1: “The constitutional amendment authorizing the legislature to provide for the reduction of the amount of a limitation on the total amount of ad valorem taxes that may be imposed for general elementary and secondary public school purposes on the residence homestead of a person who is elderly or disabled to reflect any statutory reduction from the preceding tax year in the maximum compressed rate of the maintenance and operations taxes imposed for those purposes on the homestead.”
The proposition would increase the homestead exemption to elderly and disabled homeowners whose school taxes are frozen under state law to $40,000.
For or against:
Proposition 2: “The constitutional amendment increasing the amount of the residence homestead exemption from ad valorem taxation for public school purposes from $25,000 to $40,000.”
City of Longview
CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 5
Three candidates are vying for his seat:
Bernd “Dutch” Deblouw: Deblouw, 37, is a native of Holland and came to the United States when he was 26. He previously was a Longview firefighter and now owns and operates Longview I.T., an information technology business.
Michelle Gamboa: Gamboa 27, was born in Mexico and grew up in the states after her family emigrated here when she was 7. She is a Spring Hill High School graduate and is the operations director at her family’s business in Longview, Roof Care.
Jose Sanchez:
PROPOSITION A
Longview voters will consider authorizing the city to take on $45.6 million in new debt to help secure the Longview Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund. A consultant who studied the fund estimated it would run out of money in 20 years if action isn’t taken to add funding to the plan, and state guidelines have set new requirements that require pension funds in similar situations across the state to establish a plan within a certain time frame for shoring up the funds.
For or against:
“The issuance of $45,600,000 million of bonds by the City of Longview for the purpose of funding all or a portion of the city’s unfunded, accrued liability to the Longview Firemen’s Relief and Retirement Fund, and levying a tax sufficient to make the payments of principal and interest thereon.”
City of Gladewater
CITY COUNCIL PLACE 4 (UNEXPIRED TERM)
Jacob Jed Garland
Teddy W. Sorrells, Jr.
Longview ISD
Longview ISD is proposing a $230 million bond package to fund a variety of campus improvements and new facilities.
District officials have said the package would not increase property taxes, despite state-mandated language on the ballot stating otherwise.
“Everything we talked about here today can be done with no tax rate increase,” Longview ISD Superintendent James Wilcox said during a February meeting.
Wilcox also said during in February that the district has adopted reduced property tax rates for each of the past three years, with a current tax rate of $1.4147 per $100 valuation. That’s down from $1.513 per $100 valuation in the 2018-19 budget year.
In paying for bond, the district is employing the same approach it says it took with the $266 million bond package approved in 2008: It’s not projecting an increase in the district’s net taxable value. Instead, it’s projecting its net taxable value will remain at its current total of more than $4.9 billion for the foreseeable future, although historical tax value information shows the district’s tax base has been growing overall.
PROPOSITION A
For or against:
“The issuance of $178,185,000 of bonds by Longview ISD for school facilities and school sites and levying taxes in payment thereof. This is a property tax increase.”
PROPOSITION B
For or against:
“The issuance of $40,795,000 of bonds by Longview ISD for extracurricular facilities: A multipurpose indoor facility for general use, sports and band and baseball and soccer facilities and levying taxes in payment thereof. This is a property tax increase.”
PROPOSITION C
For or against:
“The issuance of $8,565,000 of bonds by Longview ISD for renovating and equipping Lobo Stadium and Lobo Coliseum and levying taxes in payment thereof. This is a property tax increase.”
PROPOSITION D
For or against:
“The issuance of $2,440,000 of bonds by Longview ISD for renovating and equipping the district’s swimming pool and levying taxes in payment thereof. This is a property tax increase.”
Pine Tree ISD
TRUSTEE PLACE 4
Frank T. Richards
Rob Woods
TRUSTEE PLACE 5
Tony Hawkins, Sr.
Cindy Gabehart
White Oak ISD
TRUSTEE PLACE 1
David Carr
Shelly Smith
Jackson Howard
TRUSTEE PLACE 2
Jessica Hughes
Sean Butler
Kilgore ISD
TRUSTEE PLACE 6
Rachel Harrington
Joe Parker
Times and locations
Early voting is set 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 25 to 29 and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. May 2 and May 3.
Gregg County early voting locations are:
Gregg County Courthouse, 101 E Methvin St, first floor, Longview
Pine Tree Community Center, 1701 Pine Tree Road, Longview
White Oak ISD main office, 200 S. White Oak Road, White Oak
Longview ISD Education Support Center, 1301 E. Young St, Longview
Meadowbrook Country Club, 1306 Houston St., Kilgore