Following recommendations to revise the heightened property tax rate proposal for fiscal year 2026-27, Bellaire City Council approved an ordinance adjusting the rate and tax levy Oct. 5 after a public hearing.
Officials adopted a tax rate of $0.4174 per $100 valuation, which will increase the total tax levy for the upcoming year by 2.86%, Chief Financial Officer Terrence Beaman said in the presentation. This is the same property tax rate that was authorized for the prior year.
The original proposed tax rate was $0.4268 per $100 valuation, a 2.3% increase from FY 2025-26.
The catalyst
On Sept. 21, council members unanimously voted to propose a tax rate of $0.4268. Immediately following this vote, City Council adopted the FY 2026-27 budget in accordance with the Truth-in-Taxation process.
The budget presumed the proposed tax rate, with allowance for future refinements to be made based on feedback received from the council, as agenda documents show.
Council member Catherine Lewis was among those on the dais who expressed concerns about raising property taxes for residents at the September meeting. The shared discussion ultimately led to City Council’s recommendation that city staff revisit the proposed rate and evaluate how the city could maintain a flat tax rate for the new year.
What’s being done
Beaman explained during his public hearing presentation that staff’s methodology for lowering the proposed total tax rate and holding the rate flat was a culmination of:
Increasing commercial drainage revenues by about $66,000
Decreasing transfers to the city’s general fund by about $78,000
Decreasing expenditures related to overtime by about $7,600
Utilizing $277,000 in excess funds from the city’s debt service fund balance
City staff also opted to maintain the originally proposed maintenance and operations tax rate, or M&O, from Sept. 21 at $0.3089 and lowered the debt service tax rate to $0.1085, per the agenda.
These adjustments resulted in the overall property tax rate remaining unchanged from FY 2025-26 to FY 2026-27 at $0.4174 per $100 valuation. Under this rate, the city will generate a total budgeted tax levy of $25,617,411.
Beaman assured council members that the city’s general fund and drainage utility fund both remain structurally balanced even with the applied changes. He added that the city will still be able to fully fund debt obligations in the new year while keeping the same tax rate as FY 2025-26.
What residents need to know
Beaman said that the average Bellaire homeowner will pay $3,789 in taxes under the adopted tax rate.
The city’s average home value will be $907,764, a 4.80% increase from $866,157 in FY 2025-26, Community Impact previously reported.
Offering input
During the commentary portion of the public hearing, Bellaire officials extended their thanks to the staff involved in the proposal’s refinement.
Mayor Pro Tem Winfred C. Frazier recognized that the outcome of the Oct. 5 session was a result of several dedicated workshops over time and officials’ receptiveness to residents’ questions.
“I want everyone to take these things into consideration–to know what an outstanding effort it is to keep that tax rate lower, and to remember what the tax rate history has been for our city,” Frazier said. “I want residents to know that we are paying attention.”
Council member Jackie Georgiou added that as Bellaire continues to grow, open-mindedness toward changes in the city budget may be necessary in order to maintain the level of service that is “expected” in the city.
“I hope that as we move forward and we look for opportunities… we stay open-minded about [the budget], and we don’t push back too hard on things that are going to help us in the long run,” Georgiou said.
Stay tuned
The FY 2026-27 budget period began Oct. 1 and will continue through Sept. 30, 2027. A budget amendment will be required at a future date to reflect the impact of the now-adopted lower tax rate, per agenda documents.
