A Guide to Revenue Administration for Small Cities

Abstract

Commencing with California's passage of Proposition 13, cities and towns throughout the nation have been compelled to re-examine their reliance on traditional revenue sources. Whether or not there has in fact been a universal "taxpayer revolt", the economic conditions of the past few years have caused both city officials and the public at large to seek relief from the increasing burden of the property tax. Believing that an analysis of other municipal revenue sources, whether existing or potential, might benefit Texas cities and towns, the Institute of Urban Studies obtained a grant under Title I of the Higher Education Act which is the funding basis of this manual. The purposes of the project were to identify non-tax revenue sources and to produce a tool to assist small city administrators in developing those alternative sources of revenue suitable to their particular communities.