Fort Bend County commissioners voted to lower the tax rate and approve the FY27 budget with a $100 million increase.(Community Impact staff)
Fort Bend County residents will see a decrease in property taxes in fiscal year 2026-27.
What readers need to know
At a Sept. 10 meeting, Fort Bend County commissioners approved an $841.41 million budget for FY 2026-27 in a 3-2 vote with commissioners Grady Prestage and Dexter McCoy dissenting due to ongoing concerns with recent adjustments in the judiciary’s budget.
“I will not vote for a budget that is potentially unlawful and usurps the authority of somebody who the public elected,” McCoy said in a press conference held with Prestage and other state officials before the budget hearing.
State Rep. Ron Reynolds speaks at press conference held by commissioners Dexter McCoy and Grady Prestage before the budget hearing on Sept. 10. (Pili Saravia/Community Impact)_
The new budget is a nearly $100 million increase from FY 2025-26. Half of that increase is a $52 million expenditure to finish bond projects, but it is expected to be reimbursed once bonds are issued, Director of Finance and Investments Pamela Gubbels said.
The increase also reflects growth in other departments, such as public transportation, information technology and the sheriff’s office.
The details
The highest-funded government function is general administration with about $200.39 million in the proposed budget, followed by debt service and then public safety.
The budget also lays out almost $40.55 million in capital improvement projects, per agenda documents. Projects include traffic signal safety improvements, bridge replacements, and vehicle replacements and improvements.
Meanwhile, no elected official received a raise, apart from the judiciary members who got a state-funded raise in their base salary, per the agenda documents.
Other budget highlights include:
A 2.5% cost of living adjustment for county employees hired before July 1
$13.7 million for the drainage district
At least 81 newly funded positions, including 35 in the sheriff's office and 14 in parks and recreation
Also of note
The budget transfers 11 of 44 total positions from the county attorney’s office to a new legal department approved by commissioners in August. It also allocates $1 million less to the county attorney's office, and it gives $1.3 million to the new department.
The county will also cut three of the eight associate judges.
What else?
Commissioners also approved a $0.407 tax rate per $100 property valuation in a 4-0 vote with McCoy abstaining from the vote due to leadership concerns. The new rate is a 1.21% decrease from last year’s tax rate of $0.412.
"Across our region, we are seeing higher property taxes proposed or adopted. Fort Bend County does not have to follow that trend," Interim County Judge Daniel Wong said. "Affordability isn't just a national issue, it is a Fort Bend County issue.”
The change will represent an approximately $15 decrease in the county’s portion of an annual tax bill for a median homestead with a taxable value of $290,480, Gubbels said. However, some homeowners might still pay more in taxes because the average home’s taxable value went up, she said.
The move to lower the rate will cost the county over $6 million, which will be taken out of the county’s general fund, Gubbels said.
Looking ahead
The FY 2026-27 budget will take effect on Oct. 1 and run through Sept. 30, 2027, per the county’s website.
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