The details
On Aug. 18, Township President and CEO Monique Sharp outlined the preliminary budget for fiscal year 2026, which runs from January to December in The Woodlands Township, as well as possible tax rates. Projections were made with the current tax rate as a starting point, at $0.1714 per $100 assessment, Sharp said.
The no-new-revenue tax rate is the rate at which the same amount of revenue as the previous fiscal year is generated, and the voter-approval rate is the rate at which an election must be held to approve a tax rate.
- FY 2026 no-new-revenue tax rate: $0.1603 per $100 assessment
- FY 2026 voter-approval rate: $0.1889 per $100 assessment
The largest increase in the budget comes from contracted law enforcement, Sharp said. Efforts to increase pay parity with the city of Houston contribute to a proposed increase of about $1.1 million, she said.
“Of course, we want our law enforcement partners to be able to be competitive locally and to be able to recruit high-quality officers to protect us,” Sharp said. “And so this is a necessary step that we feel like we need to take.”
The fire department’s proposed budget for 2026 is approximately $36 million, a 6% increase from 2025. Factors contributing to the budget increases include:
- One new fleet technician position
- 3.5% annual salary adjustment
- Additional fees related to the use of Montgomery County Hospital District’s computer-aided dispatch system
What’s next
The township board canceled its second budget workshop scheduled for Aug. 19 to give staff time to do additional research. It will reconvene to continue budget workshops at 8:30 a.m. Aug. 20. The meeting will be livestreamed on the township’s website.
