The Woodlands Township board of directors held a strategic planning session meeting May 15 to discuss short- and long-term goals as they begin discussing the fiscal year 2027 budget, according to the meeting agenda.
Items worth mentioning
Township President and CEO Monique Sharp introduced the board's short-term and long-term goals from last year's strategic planning meeting, noting that the strategic meeting discussion will help determine the 2027 budget process and allow the board to review progress on key focus areas and priorities. Last year’s short-term focus areas included:
Long-term priorities identified in 2025 included:
- Performing arts center
- Aging village centers
- Traffic
- Tourism
- Communications
- Transportation initiatives
- Pathways/bike lanes/connections
Meeting highlights
The board discussed several options for the FY 2027 budget, including the potential effects of increasing current property tax exemptions. The fiscal year runs from January to December.
Sharp said the township, since 2024, has offered a $50,000 exemption for residents age 65 and older as well as a 3% homestead exemption for qualifying homeowners. Changes to homestead exemptions must be submitted before June 30; however, the township’s budget workshops are not held until August. Sharp said historically the township has opted to work on lowering its tax rate instead of increasing exemptions. The FY 2026 tax rate was $0.1714 per $100 valuation.
“The philosophy up until two years ago had been concentrating on the tax rate side; there was a constant effort to reduce the tax rate as much as we can. You can offer tax relief through an exemption, or you can offer it by looking at the tax rate, which impacts all taxpayers,” she said.
While the strategic planning meeting did not include decisions on the budget, the board did give direction to staff that they would like to schedule two pre-budget meetings, potentially in June and July, preceding the August workshops. The workshops will be held Aug. 17-21 to review the base budget for next year with the goal of maintaining existing service levels and preparing a base budget, Sharp said. The meeting will also be an opportunity to discuss initiatives for enhanced or new services, amenities or changes to the base budget. Board members will also be able to ask questions in advance of the workshops. Township staff said they will put an item on the matter on an upcoming board agenda.
What else?
The board also discussed potential upcoming budget initiatives, which will be considered apart from the base budget. Visit The Woodlands President Nick Wolda said the convention and visitors bureau could benefit from additional programming to attract hotel stays during slower times of the year, such as November and December, as well as late in the summer.
“We’re trying to fill in gaps,” Wolda said. “There’s more that we can do. Holiday on the Waterway is a tremendous start. We saw double the numbers, but how do we get people to parlay that into hotel room nights?”
According to the board
Board Secretary Linda Nelson, who is also chair of the Visit The Woodlands board, said exact initiatives might not be able to be determined before the budget meetings, but setting aside some funds to develop those would be beneficial.
Nelson mentioned partnerships with third-party organizations or events, such as the Rock 'n' Roll Running Series, could be an opportunity worth exploring.
“We’ve talked about it for a really long time ... They [World Triathlon Corporation] were looking for a home for their 2027 Rock 'n' Roll [Running Series], and talking about how our hotel rooms are lessened in December, that would be something that’s huge and right along the Waterway,” Nelson said.
Community Impact previously reported that the township kept the same tax rate for FY 2026 as the previous year. Vice Chair Craig Eissler said he would like to see the tax rate lowered this year.
Final takeaways
Board members also discussed the need for potential signage or other deterrents for e-scooters and e-vehicles.
“We’ve talked about additional signage along the pathways. I know that we have the stencils of no motorized vehicles, but those have been around for a while. I don’t know how many people notice them,” Eissler said.
Ideas for other initiatives will continue to be discussed in June and July before the August budget workshop.
