09/02/2025
Judge Fawcett Aggressively Advocates for Higher Property Tax Rates Before Texas Legislature
When Judge Dustin Fawcett appeared before the Texas House Ways and Means Committee on August 22, 2025 (watch video here, hour 2:08–2:33 - https://house.texas.gov/videos/22508 ) he wasn’t there to defend taxpayers — he was there to aggressively champion bigger government and higher taxes.
Fawcett testified against Senate Bill 10, which seeks to limit local property tax hikes by lowering the threshold that automatically triggers voter approval. Over nearly 25 minutes, he urged lawmakers to stay out of “capping” local governments and defended his administration’s ballooning budget. He also repeatedly insulted the Legislature — dismissing its property tax relief efforts as nothing more than a political stunt designed to add “a sentence on a campaign mailer.”
The committee pushed back. Chair Rep. Giovanni Capriglione confronted Fawcett directly: if higher taxes were so essential for roads and law enforcement, why did Ector County’s audited financials show administrative costs exploding from $2 million to $9 million (a 350% increase) in just one year, while law enforcement barely increased from $12.3 million to $12.8 million — a mere 2%?
Fawcett’s response was revealing. He admitted the county budget grew by nearly $10 million in his first year in office. On the defense, Fawcett misled the Committee when he told lawmakers that “law enforcement costs me $40 million a year to run.” The truth? The county’s audited books prove it was less than one-third of that.
Even the newly proposed 2025–26 budget raises law enforcement to only $20.6 million — still half of what he claimed. And that increase isn’t fueled by property taxes alone, but also by millions in sales tax revenue from the Ector County Assistance District — a fact Fawcett conveniently left out. Instead, he again misled legislators stating that his county “only” gets property taxes, ignoring the lucrative county sales tax that now pours millions into his budget every year.
When pressed further on why taxpayers’ bills keep rising, Fawcett once again insulted the Legislature. Rep. Ellen Troxclair pushed back hard, rejecting his accusations of political gamesmanship. She made clear that the Legislature’s push for property tax relief was driven not by campaign strategy, but by thousands of constituents demanding that the state rein in runaway local spending and lower property taxes.
Committee members also clarified that the bill doesn’t cap the total tax rate local governments can levy — it simply lowers the voter-approval rate so that local taxpayers have the right to weigh in. That point matters, because voters will recall Judge Fawcett’s own record of bypassing public input:
**He led the issuance of $325 million in certificates of obligation, sidestepping a bond election and saddling Ector County with the largest tax increase in its history.
**He was also instrumental in funneling $30 million into a new library project, again without voter approval.
Judge Fawcett went to Austin claiming he was representing Ector County — though this item was never listed on a Commissioners Court agenda — and painted a distorted picture: exaggerating law enforcement spending, failing to discuss millions in sales tax revenue, dismissing taxpayer relief as a gimmick, and repeatedly insulting state legislators.
Meanwhile, under his watch, Ector County’s administrative costs have exploded and the overall budget has ballooned. Taxpayers are being squeezed — and their county judge is fighting in Austin for the right to squeeze them harder.
NOTE: Odessa Headlines has filed a Public Information Request for all expenses associated with Fawcett’s travel to Austin for this hearing.
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