Tomball City Council members unanimously approved the proposed tax rate for the upcoming 2020-21 fiscal year Aug. 17, which is a slight decrease from the rate council has approved the last nine years, according to city information. City budget records back to FY 2007-08 show the tax rate has either increased or held steady since then. The newly proposed property tax rate would be the city's first property tax decrease since that time, records show.

The proposed tax rate of $0.337862 per $100 valuation is slightly lower than the city's existing property tax rate of $0.341455 per $100 valuation, which has held steady since FY 2011-12, city budgets show, when the rate increased about $0.09 per $100 valuation.

Although this year's proposed rate is a slight decrease, the city is expected to receive no change in property tax revenue from FY 2019-20, according to meeting information; this rate is projected to generate the same amount of property tax revenue for the city as the ongoing FY 2019-20. However, the rate decrease may not reflect a savings for homeowners, as property valuations have changed.

"In other words, if we received $100 last year, we will receive $100 this year, regardless of any changes in property valuations," the supplemental meeting information states. The city's FY 2020-21 begins Oct. 1.