Zooming in
At an Aug. 26 meeting, Fort Bend County commissioners unanimously proposed maintaining the county’s $0.412 per $100 property valuation tax rate for fiscal year 2025-26. The rate sits below both the no new revenue rate of $0.418595 and the voter approval rate of $0.429394, according to agenda documents.
However, it will still result in an average increase of $29 for a $423,000 home due to increased property valuations, Director of Finance and Investments Pamela Gubbels said at an Aug. 4 budget workshop.
The tax will help fund the county’s proposed $743.97 million budget for FY 2025-26, a 1.7% increase from last year, Community Impact reported.
What else
Officials also approved a proposal to raise the salaries of most of the county’s elected officials, including their positions.
The proposed salary changes range from about 3%-36.84% with the highest raises going to county court and district court judges, according to agenda documents. Toni Wallace, judge for County Court at Law No. 4, saw the largest increase from $171,000 to $223,300, although that also includes state compensation.
County commissioners, the county sheriff, county clerk, district clerk, county treasurer and district attorney received a proposed 3% raise, with the county judge receiving a proposed 4.68% raise, according to agenda documents.
What’s next
The county will hold budget hearings at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 22 and at 1 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Fort Bend County Courthouse, located at 401 Jackson St., Richmond.
