Fort Bend County commissioners proposed a slight increase in the county drainage district property tax and a slight decrease in the overall Fort Bend County tax rate at an Aug. 7 regular meeting.

“It’s pretty obvious that we need a little more revenue in the drainage district budget to deal with what [Hurricane] Harvey left us this time last year,” Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert said during the meeting. “This slight adjustment will provide those funds for the local maintenance work that has to be done on the existing drainage system.”

The proposed drainage district tax rate of $0.01900 per $100 valuation would be an increase from last year’s approved rate of $0.01600 per $100 valuation.

The county’s proposed overall tax rate is $0.44500 per $100 valuation—a slight decrease from $0.45300 per $100 valuation. However, despite the decreased rate, the county will see an increase in property tax revenues because home values have increased, Hebert said.

Public hearings for the drainage district tax rate and overall tax rate will be held Aug. 29 at 5:30 p.m. and Sept. 4 at 1 p.m. Public hearings for the proposed fiscal year 2018-19 budget will be held Sept. 10 at 5:30 p.m. and Sept. 11 at 1 p.m. All hearings will take place at the Fort Bend County Courthouse, 401 Jackson St., Richmond.