City employees in New Braunfels could be getting raises in Fiscal Year 2026-27.
New Braunfels City Council members will be considering a proposed FY 2026-27 budget of $118.5 million and $0.4089 tax rate per $100 valuation on Sept. 14. The general fund is structurally balanced, which means that recurring revenues meet expenditures.
The proposed tax rate of $0.4089 per $100 valuation is below the no-new-revenue rate of $0.4156 for the second consecutive year, according to a special Aug. 17 City Council meeting presentation.
A no-new-revenue tax rate is the rate needed to generate the same amount of revenue from the year prior on existing properties. The interest and sinking rate is typically used for debt services and is separate from the maintenance and operations. The maintenance and operations rate is used for the general fund.
Key takeaways
The proposed budget would allocate $2.2 million to support recruitment, retention and market competitiveness by giving city employees a 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, and step increases for eligible, sworn personnel. A step increase is a pay scale advancement based on years of service or rank. The budget would also fund 19 additional full-time employees, according to a special Aug. 17 city council meeting presentation.
The city’s general fund is also poised to see a 5.9%, or $6.6 million, year-over-year increase in general fund revenue—if the council approves the proposed budget. The increase is driven by sales tax collections, franchise taxes and charges for services, according to the presentation.
The local impact
The city's part of the average homeowner's tax bill is 27%, with the rest being made up by New Braunfels ISD and Comal County, according to the presentation. The city has not increased the tax rate since FY 2014, New Braunfels Assistant City Manager Jared Werner said.
"Growth in existing and new values gave us the flexibility, not only to not increase it, but to reduce it to the tune of approximately 9 cents," Werner said.
If City Council adopts the current tax rate, a median homestead property in Comal County would pay $24 less in property taxes to the city. A median homestead property in Guadalupe County would pay $39 less in property taxes to the city.
What’s next
The first public hearing for the city’s proposed budget and tax rate will be held at New Braunfels City Hall on Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. The second and final public hearing will be held Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. To learn more about the city’s proposed budget, visit www.newbraunfels.gov/4297/FY-2027-Proposed-Budget-Plan-of-Municipa.
