Council members heard a delinquent property tax report Oct. 9 from the city’s collections contractor and associated staff. A firm representative, identified as Mike, said the city “does not have a delinquent property tax problem” and described the steps the firm uses to recover unpaid taxes.

The presenter said total outstanding property taxes across all years were about $178,000 at the time the report was prepared and that the city had collected roughly $14,000 since an earlier draft. He outlined the firm’s workflow: outreach and payment arrangements for accounts in the “action pending” stage; researching title and filing lawsuits when outreach fails; and, ultimately, setting properties up for sale if owners still do not pay.

The presenter said the firm had recently run a tax sale with two properties listed but none sold on that occasion, and that a trial was scheduled the next day. He also described a deferral category under the Texas Tax Code for certain taxpayers (typically those 65 or older on a resident homestead) that pauses collection activity while interest and penalties accrue at a lower rate.

On performance, staff said the firm had generated approximately $5.8 million in collections over the life of the contract and achieved roughly a 68% resolution rate for referred accounts. Newer outreach tactics included a text-message campaign; staff reported sending more than 8,000 texts to taxpayers to prompt courthouse visits or payment arrangements.

During the presentation a commenter noted forthcoming statewide constitutional amendments on business property exemptions that could raise the exemption to $125,000 per business; presenters cautioned that any change would affect 2026 tax bills, not 2025, and that local appraisal districts and taxing entities would need to assess impacts.

Council did not take formal action on the report; members accepted the presentation and asked staff to provide final reconciled financial numbers at a later date.