City of Weslaco approves property tax breaks for daycare facilities
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Weslaco is now the first city in the Rio Grande Valley giving some daycare owners some property tax relief.
Some daycare businesses will qualify for a 50 percent tax break, but not everyone is eligible.
Weslaco city commissioners passed an ordinance on Tuesday that would enforce Senate Bill 1145. It also applies to any business that rents their space as a childcare facility.
The ordinance wants to help these facilities with some of their costs, since many of the programs available to help businesses, like daycares, during the pandemic are now gone.
According to Children At Risk, a Texas welfare organization, the state lost 21 percent of its childcare providers from March 2020 to September 2021.
"So, we've heard of centers closing. We've heard of businesses just not being able to stay afloat," co-owner of Miles of Smiles Learning Center, Erik Orozco said. "So, any little tax break, or any other funds that are given into local centers, I think we're going to see less closing and some hanging on to their businesses."
The city says there are currently about 28 learning centers across town, but only 12 of those could qualify for the tax break.
Daycares must meet the following requirements to qualify for the tax break:
- the daycare must be licensed by the state
- the owner or operator must be a part of the Texas Rising Star Program
- at least 20 percent of the kids enrolled must be subsidized by state child care funds.
The city says the money saved by people who own these daycares must be used to lower child care fees for parents.
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