AUSTIN, Texas — Hope Green is a parent and business owner who saw firsthand how her staff members struggled to pay for child care.
"We need to put more effort into making sure that the options available to families are safe, they're affordable and that they take care of the child so that the parent is not at work worrying about the safety of their kid," Green said.
The Travis County Commissioners Court approved a measure that would direct county staff to move forward with planning a November tax rate election. Leaders are proposing a 2.5-cent tax rate increase that would generate more than $76 million a year to increase access to child care.
"It will expand access to care outside the regular workday so that people like nurses and restaurant workers can access care when they have work. It will build quality and capacity in centers because children thrive in higher quality settings. It will create a business-government alliance to incentivize private employers to offer child care stipends to their workforce," Travis County Judge Andy Brown said.
The average homeowner could pay roughly more than $10 a month, potentially paying just over $122 a year. Travis County Commissioner Jeff Travillion is convinced this would help the whole community.
"There is less spending in social services, there's less spending in juvenile justice and that you have the workforce that's necessary for the jobs that are being created," Travillion said.
But not all Central Texans are convinced this benefits them. Don Zimmerman with the Travis County Taxpayers Union has issues with paying more money.
"The taxes become really less affordable, people are forced out of their homes and business[es] and then the county comes in and says, 'Oh, they can't afford child care – let's raise taxes,'" Zimmerman said.
But Green insists now is the time to start taking these steps.
"If we're not making the necessary investment at that particular moment in a human's life, then we do a disservice to us," Green said.
Aug. 19 is the last day for county leaders to order a tax rate election. If that happens, voters will decide whether to approve the tax increase in November.
More numbers on the taxes will get updated in July when the Central Appraisal District provides more information.