The Texas Legislature’s latest bright idea, Senate Bill 10, aims to slash property taxes by lowering the voter-approved rate from 3.5% to 2.5%. Sounds great until you realize those taxes also fund little luxuries like fire trucks and cops. The Lubbock Professional Firefighter’s Association is calling it what it is: a slow bleed of public safety.
Union president Joseph Wallace spelled it out — if SB10 passes, city leaders will eventually have to choose between funding firefighters or keeping the lights on. He warned that Lubbock’s prized ISO 1 rating, which helps keep insurance rates down, will tank the second fire coverage takes a hit. Translation: your insurance premiums will climb faster than a grease fire at Whataburger.
SB10 already cruised through the Senate on an 18–12 vote, with our own Sen. Charles Perry happily signing off. Because nothing says “pro-public safety” quite like making sure firefighters have to pass the boot around just to afford hoses.
Who needs firefighters when you’ve got tax cuts, right?
