The Mineral Wells City Council voted 6-0 to set the 2025 property tax rate at 0.5717881, the voter-approval rate certified by the county tax assessor. The council recorded a roll-call vote with Councilmembers Rusher, Ramsey, Kelly, Mitchell, Watson and Franken voting in favor; Mayor Johnson was absent. The city manager and finance staff said the proposed budget for fiscal 2026 is built around that rate.

Why it matters: council members described the voter-approval rate as a middle course that funds the adopted budget without adding the “unused increment” option, which staff said would have increased the rate to 0.6136011 and generated an additional roughly $527,880 earmarked for street repairs. Finance staff told the council the 0.5717881 rate would produce roughly $7,850,818 in total city revenue, including $7,032,008.65 to the general fund, $350,006.16 to debt service and $467,337 to the tax increment reinvestment zone, based on a taxable value certified by the county assessor.

What staff said: Margaret Griffith, the Palo Pinto County tax assessor and collector, certified multiple statutory rates to the city including the no-new-revenue rate, two voter-approval calculations and a de minimis rate; the certification used a taxable value of $1,173,548,283 and a frozen levy of $632,118. The council debated two formal options prepared by staff and accepted the one described as the voter-approval tax rate. City staff also reminded the body that adopting the higher rate with the unused increment would have added about $96.31 to the average home compared with 2024.

Discussion and context: several council members said they preferred the voter-approval rate to ease the immediate tax burden on residents, noting the budget already anticipates utility rate adjustments and other rising costs. The adoption tonight was a preliminary step required by state law to set the tax rate on the budget calendar; the formal public hearings and final budget adoption remain scheduled under the city’s published timeline.

What didn’t happen: the council did not adopt the FY2026 budget at this meeting. Staff and council scheduled the required public hearings and will return for final adoption on the dates set in the city’s budget calendar.

Next steps: council and staff will publish the statutorily required notices, continue public hearings set for September, and finalize the FY2026 budget and property tax ordinance at the subsequent meeting where a formal adoption vote is planned.