During its Aug. 14 meeting, Conroe City Council approved proposing a $0.4613 per $100 valuation tax rate for fiscal year 2025-26.

The details

The proposed rate is higher than the FY 2024-25 tax rate, which is $0.4272, according to prior reporting.

Finance Manager Michael Monteilh said property taxes help pay for:

• Police and fire service
• Street, signals and drainage improvements and maintenance
• Parks and recreation
• Code enforcement and community development
• Administration, engineering, legal, human resources, finance and information technology

The city is also anticipating collecting more revenue due to rising property values and continued commercial and residential development. The $0.4613 per $100 valuation voter-approved tax rate would collect $5.4 million, Monteilh said.

Also of note

FY 2025-26 budget takeaways include transitioning from a 10-year to a five-year capital improvement program, with general government projects coming in at $97.5 million and water and sewer projects estimated at $430 million.

Water and sewer rates are also projected to increase:

• 3.5% increase in residential rates
• 7.25% increase to nonresidental rates

According to the presentation, the San Jacinto River Authority’s pass-through rate is also expected to decrease from $3.19 to $3.12. City staff also projected $3.8 million in cost-of-living adjustments to all city employees, which is equivalent to a 6% raise.

What’s next

A public hearing for the budget is scheduled for Aug. 28, with final adoption of the tax rate and budget expected at the Sept. 11 council meeting. The public hearing will take place at Conroe City Hall, 300 W. Davis St. in Conroe.

Once the tax rate is adopted, it will help fund Conroe’s general operating budget for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.