The overview
The move—which would require voter approval—would increase the property tax rate to $0.199901 per $100 property valuation. If approved, it would generate an additional $474,238, with $500,000 households seeing a $50 average annual increase, according to estimates by city officials.
The 1-cent increase was the lowest of five options, with a 5-cent increase as the highest, and was approved by all council members except Jason Knape, who was absent.
“I think is it worth spending that extra $50 [on a property valued $500,000]—that’s like $4 and some cents a month—to help maintain what we have been having from a quality of life perspective, from a property value perspective,” District 5 council member Abhijeet Utturkar said. “That’s the decision that we have to consider.”
Last year, the city decreased its tax rate by 4.09% to $0.161856 per $100 property valuation, an amount almost half that of nearby Rosenberg’s $0.32 per $100 and almost a quarter of Richmond’s $0.639791 per $100.
How we got here
The move was foreshadowed in a July 1 special meeting, where city officials said a tax increase would be crucial to helping the city fund essential projects, including the police department and street repairs.
“That’s an unpopular truth that needs to come out is that the tax rate needs to go up,” District 2 council member Patrick Powers said at the July meeting. “It’s going to be tough decisions, it’s going to be unpopular decisions, the public is going to hate us. But when we compare it with the other cities in Fort Bend County, it should be a no-brainer.”
What’s next
City Council will hold two public hearings for the budget at noon Aug. 15, with another in the evening, and a tax rate public hearing at 5 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Fulshear Municipal Complex, located at 6611 W. Cross Creek Bend Lane. The budget and tax rate are expected to be finalized Aug. 18, the last day to call a tax rate election.
Final meeting dates and times will be announced on the city’s website.
