As previously reported, the FY 2024-25 approved tax rate was $0.3790 per $100 of home valuation, making the FY 2025-26 tax rate a 0.53% decrease.
The details
The adopted balanced budget totals $508.1 million with allocations including law enforcement pay parity with the city of Houston and Harris County, additional staffing across departments, expanded IT and cybersecurity funding, jail inmate medical and food services and a contribution of nearly $5.4 million to the county’s capital improvement plan, Budget Officer Amanda Carter said.
A last-minute adjustment added $850,000 in expected revenue that had been excluded in earlier drafts. Commissioners debated whether to use the funds to further reduce the tax rate or bolster contingency reserves. Ultimately, the court opted for a compromise: most of the money was applied to lower the rate, with about $74,757 added to contingency, bringing that line item to $150,376, Carter said.
Diving in deeper
The adopted tax rate of $0.3770 is slightly below the previously proposed $0.3779 rate, but still represents a 2.09% increase over the no-new-revenue rate, as required by state law to be disclosed.
Tammy McRae, Montgomery County’s tax assessor-collector, said that for a home valued at the county average of $335,928, the county tax bill will be about $1,266 annually, which is a monthly cost of about $106.
The court also emphasized that Montgomery County’s portion accounts for about 16% of a typical property owner’s consolidated tax bill, with school districts making up the largest share.
McRae and several commissioners stressed the county’s unique challenges, pointing to its 79% unincorporated population, which requires the county to provide more direct services than many urban counties.
The budget and tax rate were approved unanimously following roll call votes.
