Liberty Hill City Council members approved a $138 million budget for fiscal year 2026-27 that will keep the median property tax bill close to the same amount as the previous year's. City leaders said they developed the budget with the goal of keeping up with explosive growth. For the area’s median home, valued at $339,763, a homeowner can expect to pay around $1,600 in property taxes.
What you need to know
The property tax rate will increase from $0.469407 per $100 valuation to $0.494268 per $100 valuation following City Council members’ vote Sept. 9.
However, a $20,000 decrease in the median taxable property value across Liberty Hill means the projected median property tax bill will decrease by about $6 despite the higher tax rate.
The increase is necessary for city services and infrastructure to keep up with the city’s rapid growth, Finance Director Josh Armstrong said.
“Cutting the rate any lower than what we [have proposed] would be like shooting yourself in the foot before a marathon,” Armstrong said at an Aug. 12 City Council meeting.
City council members said they believe the tax rate increase is unavoidable.
“Sometimes we’re going to have to increase some things because if we don’t, we cannot expect to deliver upon what we’ve committed to,” council member Diane Williams said Sept. 9.
The big picture
The $138 million in expenses included in the budget is split between $59 million in operations costs and $79 million in capital projects.
The city is making a large investment in capital projects so that water, roads and other infrastructure can catch up to the growth Liberty Hill has seen in recent years and be prepared for future growth, City Manager Thomas Hunter said.
The population of Liberty Hill grew from about 3,500 in 2020 to more than 13,000 by the end of 2025, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
City officials also plan to use money previously set aside for capital projects that did not move forward to fund future infrastructure improvements, Hunter said.
The budget is centered around four key strategic goals set forth by City Council, city staff said:
Transform downtown into a vibrant community-centered destination
Lead in sustainable infrastructure and water innovation
Advance regional mobility and connectivity
Strengthen community trust and organizational excellence
“I would say for the first time in a little while, we've got a direction where we can take every single line item, we can take every single project, and we can tie it directly back to the strategic goals and priorities that this council set,” Hunter said.
