Houston to hold proposed tax rate steady; staff outlines fee options used by other Texas cities

Summary

Finance Director Melissa Dabowski and Controller's office staff told the Budget & Fiscal Affairs Committee on Oct. 20 that the city plans to keep its proposed property tax rate at 51.919¢ per $100 of valuation; with that rate the city projects a roughly $53 million gap versus the adopted budget and would draw down general‑fund balance to about $321.5 million.

Houston — The Budget & Fiscal Affairs Committee heard on Oct. 20 that the city will propose keeping its property tax rate unchanged at 51.919¢ per $100 of valuation and that decision would leave the city about $53 million short of the budgeted property tax revenue for FY2026, requiring a drawdown of fund balance.

Melissa Dabowski, the city's finance director, told the committee the "prior year tax rate, which is our current proposed tax rate of 51.919¢," would generate an estimated $1,450,000,000 in property tax revenue and that the shortfall compared with the adopted budget is roughly $53,000,000. Dabowski said that with the proposed rate the city's projected ending fund balance would fall to about $321,500,000, or 12.66% of expenditures (excluding debt service and pay‑as‑you‑go capital).

Controller's…

Houston to hold proposed tax rate steady; staff outlines fee options used by other Texas cities

Summary

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