The details
The council voted 4-0 to approve a proposed tax rate of $0.340940 per $100 valuation. The figure is slightly higher than preliminary estimates, Assistant City Manager Jessica Rogers said.
“Our current tax rate is 0.336,” Rogers said. “We projected we were going to be somewhere around 0.334. We ended up at 0.340. It's a difference of 0.004.”
The council also approved the certified estimated taxable value from the Harris County tax assessor-collector. The certified estimate places Tomball’s taxable value at about $3.7 billion, Rogers said, though that figure will be adjusted as properties under review by the Appraisal Review Board are finalized.
New property added to the tax roll was valued at approximately $123 million, with an additional $9 million from newly annexed properties.
“That is an indication of growth,” Mayor Lori Klein Quinn said.
What they’re saying
While the proposed rate is slightly higher than originally projected during budget discussions, city leaders said the goal remains to keep tax impacts neutral.
“We tried to stay flat,” council member Dane Dunagin said. “I’m satisfied that y’all worked so hard to get it where we stay flat.”
Rogers said the difference between the proposed rate and the current rate would generate roughly $173,165 in total additional revenue.
Rogers said even if the city had kept the rate flat, state law would require it to be advertised as a tax increase due to growth in taxable value.
“We have not raised taxes,” Dunagin said. “Amen. Nobody will be calling me this year.”
What's next
Two public hearings on this proposed tax rate are scheduled for Aug. 18 and Aug. 25, with final approval expected later this month, officials said.
