Travis County approved a nearly $1.09 billion budget Tuesday—a 5.1 percent increase over the county’s FY 2017-18 budget. “As stewards of the County’s resources, we take into consideration our region’s growth and needs, while being mindful of the tax burden being placed on our residents,” Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said. Although the tax rate—$0.3542 per $100 of taxable value—will be a reduction of $0.0148 per $100 of taxable value compared to last year’s tax rate, the total taxable property value in the county will increase from the current $171 billion to $189 billion next year. New property value—value that has not previously been on the tax rolls—is estimated at $4.7 billion. The 2019 property tax rate is 3.81 percent over the effective tax rate. The estimated property tax bill for the average homestead is $1,157.86, which is a 2.82 percent increase. This means residents could see, on average, a $31.77 increase in the county’s portion of property taxes next year.