Lavaca County adopts 2025–26 budget, sets tax rate at 0.5497 after public objections

The Lavaca County Commissioners Court on Monday adopted the county’s 2025–26 budget and set a total property tax rate of 0.5497, voting unanimously after a public hearing in which three residents urged the court to set a lower rate.

County Judge (presiding) opened the public hearings and said the budget process took three months, noting in public remarks, “This budget has not been taken lightly. It's taken 90 days to get us to this point.”

The court voted to acknowledge that the proposed budget will raise $11,664,971 more in property-tax revenue than last year — an 8.43% increase — and that $327,063 of that increase is attributable to new property added to the tax roll. The court then adopted the 2025–26 Lavaca County budget and later approved a property tax rate composed of a maintenance-and-operations (M&O) rate of 0.4464 and a farm-to-market rate of 0.1033, for a total rate of 0.5497.

Why it matters: The adopted tax rate is the highest the court may set without seeking voter approval. Several residents who spoke during the…