Some San Antonio child care centers won’t have to pay their city property taxes anymore. City Council members unanimously OK'd the tax break on Thursday, following Bexar County commissioners who in March exempted certain daycare facilities from county property taxes. The city and county will grant 100% property tax exemptions to child care centers that are both Texas Rising Star-certified and have at least 20% of their enrolled children receiving state daycare subsidies.
Some child care centers won’t have to pay property taxes in Bexar County Councilwomen Marina Alderete Gavito and Melissa Cabello Havrda have said they hope daycare centers will pass along some of the savings to families struggling with child care costs. However, facilities are not required to pass the savings along to customers, and City Attorney Andy Segovia said at a March meeting that the city is not allowed to make such a stipulation.
San Antonio City Council green-lights $14 million in tax breaks, grants for JCB Manufacturing plant Katie Ferrier, vice president of education and workforce development at the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of the exemption at Thursday’s meeting. “Recognizing that this is an imperfect solution, we still need to access all tools available to help our community respond to this crisis,” she said.