Here are three local government stories making an impact on Cedar Park residents in September.
1. Cedar Park leaders aim to maintain city services in face of inflation, decreasing taxable property values
Cedar Park officials are advancing a $216 million budget that would raise the average homeowner’s annual property tax bill by $49. With the roughly 2.5% increase, the average Williamson County homeowner—an average $519,802 home valuation—would pay around $ 1,902 in property taxes to the city. The increase comes as city leaders work to maintain city services at the level residents expect in the face of rising costs and lower taxable property values, Director of Finance Erica Solis said.
What you need to know
City finance staff proposed a property tax rate of $0.377930 per $100 valuation. That’s a roughly 5% increase from the current tax rate, which is $0.360000 per $100 valuation.
Solis identified four key areas of investment for the city in fiscal year 2026-27:
- Public safety, including compensation and equipment
- Infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation
- Workforce and benefits, including performance-based merit pay and health insurance
- Repairs and maintenance on existing city facilities
City Council is slated for its final vote on the budget Sept. 10.
2. City Council establishes advisory task force for potential 2027 bond program
Cedar Park City Council members voted to establish a bond advisory task force to identify projects for inclusion in a potential 2027 bond program at the Aug. 13 City Council meeting.
The big picture
The formation of the task force is a step toward calling a bond election. City leaders have expressed interest in issuing bonds in order to pay for major capital projects. In order to do that, the city needs approval from the voters.
The bond advisory task force will work with city staff to determine the amount of the potential bonds and what projects they would fund, and then present a recommended bond program to City Council. City Council members will then vote, likely in February, to call a bond election in May, giving voters the opportunity to decide whether to approve the bond program.
3. Williamson County adopts $712.9M budget, no-new-revenue tax rate
Williamson County commissioners adopted the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and tax rate at the Commissioners Court meeting Sept. 1.
The $712.94 million budget is supported by a tax rate of $0.421547 per $100 valuation, the no-new-revenue tax rate.
Explained
The no-new-revenue rate calculates the property tax rate that would generate the exact same amount of revenue as last year from existing properties. Williamson County’s current tax rate is $0.413776 per $100.
Under the newly adopted rate, which goes into effect Oct. 1, Williamson County property owners will likely see a decrease on their county tax line, officials said. The average homestead will pay about $28, or 1.49%, less per year than in the current fiscal year, according to a county news release.
