Around the house, November means Thanksgiving, which means great family times, food and, in our case, grateful hearts for the many blessings of our lives. This year I get to announce two more grandchildren on the way. Thanks to Jennifer (in April) and Rachael (in March) our family will grow in 2007. Sara is preparing for the new arrivals by strengthening her nerves and muscles corralling the three youngsters Erin blessed us with here in Big D.

I bring up all this family business because new beginnings are wonderful events for most people. They are full of energy, hopes and expectations. That’s what Nov. 7, 2006, promises for Dallas. This is our chance for Dallas to act like a family of believers in our future as a city by voting yes on all aspects of the capital bond package. Passage of all 12 propositions is vital to the future of every citizen in this community.

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For the first time in many years the Council was able to lower the property tax rate because you spent more in sales tax than expected and commercial property values rose in Dallas for the first time since the late 1990s. That added value was directly due to some of the early TIF districts maturing and starting to feed the city coffers as well as the appraisal district recognizing how low its commercial valuations were in some categories, causing it to start a major revaluation of all commercial property. The final results of this revaluation will have a lasting effect on our single-family property tax load in years to come.

The passage of the capital bond program also ensures that in the next few years, the southern half of this city will develop into one of the nation’s largest inland distribution points for goods entering the United States from the Pacific Rim and Mexico. The goods will be bound for the eastern half of the country and Canada. We are now being recognized all over the Orient as the heart of the main southern trade route in this country. Product storage, light manufacturing, product assembly, repackaging and product distribution are all elements of commerce that cause major warehouses and regional support facilities to be built.

That means more taxable real property and inventory in the area’s commercial base, thereby relieving you and me, the single-family homeowner, from bearing the brunt of higher property taxes due to a lack of commercial growth in the city.

I once again encourage you to vote yes on Nov. 7 for the benefit of all our city family. And, thank you again for allowing me to represent you at City Hall.