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Rockwall City Council directs staff to publish proposed tax rate, asks for three budget scenarios
Summary
At an Aug. 25 budget work session, Rockwall City Council instructed staff to advertise a proposed FY2026 tax rate and requested three scenarios — the proposed advertised rate, the current rate, and the no-new-revenue rate — ahead of final adoption on Sept. 15. The council split 4–2 on the motion to publish the higher proposed rate.
Rockwall City Council on Monday directed city staff to publish a proposed property tax rate after a lengthy FY2026 budget presentation and debate over tradeoffs between preserving city services and limiting taxpayer burden.
City staff presenter Mary Smith told the council the draft budget is anchored on a proposed property tax rate of $0.2575 per $100 of assessed value and reflects strong construction-related revenue growth. "So in front of you, you have the proposed budget for fiscal year 2026," Smith said, and described a projected 8% rise in assessed value and a recommended small increase in the combined tax rate to fund operations, market salary adjustments and capital needs.
The discussion focused on competing priorities. Several council members said market pay and retention for police and fire are urgent; Mary Smith recommended market adjustments (including a proposed 5% across many fire ranks and smaller adjustments for…
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