Bellaire council proposes 0.4174 tax rate, adopts FY2026 budget and adds five security cameras

The Bellaire City Council on Sept. 16 accepted the certified 2025 tax roll, voted to propose a tax rate of 0.4174 per $100 of valuation and authorized publication of a public-hearing notice, and adopted the citys FY2026 budget with an amendment to add five automated license-plate reader cameras.

The council voted unanimously on each action. The acceptance of the certified tax roll and property tax rates passed on a 5-0 voice vote when one member was absent; the record vote to publish the proposed tax rate and the final vote adopting the amended FY2026 budget each passed 6-0 after all members were present.

City Chief Financial Officer Terrence Beaman summarized how the rates were calculated under Chapter 26.04 of the Texas property tax code and the states truth-in-taxation framework. "So it's an important time here for us when we annually get together and we set our property tax rate for the upcoming year," Beaman told council before the vote. He said the appraisal district certified the citys taxable values on Sept. 5 and presented three statutory rates: the no-new-revenue rate (0.4177), the voter-approval rate (0.4174) and the de minimis rate (0.4153). Beaman recommended adopting the voter-approval rate of 0.4174 and explained the total rate breaks into a maintenance-and-operations (M&O) portion and a debt portion.

Beaman said the city's overall assessed value rose about 3.7 percent…