What you need to know
Pearland City Council held a special meeting Aug. 25 to discuss the fiscal year 2025-26 budget, which they will vote to approve in September.
Under the proposed budget, Pearland would dedicate $2.3 million from the general fund to repair and maintain streets, an $800,000 increase from last year.
City documents noted the amount could rise to $2.6 million if the council chooses to allocate surplus reserves above the city’s 25% fund balance requirement.
In a split decision Aug. 11, the council opted to set its maximum tax rate at $0.635 per $100 valuation of a home for fiscal year 2025-26. The rate divided City Council between those who supported setting the maximum rate at $0.63 per $100 valuation, which is closer to the no-new-revenue rate, and those who prioritized service needs, Community Impact previously reported.
Some officials at the Aug. 25 meeting were also concerned because, despite the current budget built with a tax rate of $0.63, documents published ahead of public hearings will note the maximum possible rate of $0.635. Council member Tony Carbone called this “extremely odd.”
“I’m still squirming because we’ve got four of us up here I know that want $0.63 based on prior meetings, and so everything is going to be published, it’s all going to be teed up at a higher rate than what the budget is that we’ve talked about this whole time,” Carbone said.
If the maximum tax rate of $0.635 per $100 valuation is adopted, the city will have an additional $700,000 available for streets and sidewalk improvements. However, officials said repeatedly at the Aug. 25 meeting the expectation is to approve a tax rate of $0.63.
Looking ahead
City Council will hear the first reading for the budget and tax rate at its Sept. 8 meeting, followed by a public hearing on the tax rate and final adoption of the budget and tax rate at its Sept. 22 meeting.
One more thing
Since the proposed tax rate of $0.63 per $100 valuation is above the no-new-revenue rate of $0.619439 per $100 valuation, the council needs five votes to approve it. If they don’t get that, the tax rate reverts to the no new revenue rate of $0.619439.
At a tax rate of $0.635 per $100 valuation of a home, the median home valued at $372,103 would pay $2,362.85 annually in taxes. This compares to the no-new-revenue rate, which would create a tax bill of $2,304.95.
Approval of the no-new-revenue rate would also mean cutting around $1.7 million from the budget, officials said.
