BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL TO PROPOSE TAX RATE
The Brenham City Council will seek to formally propose a new property tax rate at its meeting on Thursday.
The city intends to propose a rate of $0.4676 per $100 valuation. While the rate is higher than the city’s current adopted rate of $0.4584 per $100, it is lower than both the no-new-revenue rate of $0.4691 and the voter-approval rate of $0.4802.
The suggested rate is made up of $0.3256 for maintenance and operations (M&O) and $0.1420 for interest and sinking (I&S). The M&O portion of the rate is slated to increase from the existing rate by $0.0092, while the I&S rate would stay the same.
(courtesy City of Brenham)
According to the agenda packet for the meeting, the tax on the average homestead would increase by 7.3 percent, from $1,247 to $1,338. The average homestead taxable value in the city is moving up from $272,061 to $286,168.
Formal adoption of the tax rate is scheduled for the council’s meetings on September 4th and 18th. Since the rate is below the no-new-revenue rate, no public hearing is needed before the tax rate is adopted.
Also at Thursday’s meeting, the council will potentially ratify the acceptance of a $100,050 donation from American Fidelity Insurance Company. The Nancy Carol Roberts Memorial Library is receiving the donation as the beneficiary of the life insurance policy provided by Pierre Roberts Jr.
Later, councilmembers will take up an agreement with CR Systems, Inc. for roof renovations at The Barnhill Center in the amount of $87,866, and advertising agreements with AJR Media Group and Madden Media for tourism and marketing in the respective amounts of $56,894 and $99,840.
An executive session will be held for discussion about the possible purchase, exchange or acquisition of real property for electric department improvements and facilities. Any action will occur in open session.
In other business, the council will consider:
- Repealing an ordinance for the non-exclusive franchise granted to Waste Solutions USA, LLC to operate a roll-off container service for residents, businesses and industries inside Brenham city limits. The company has requested the franchise agreement be revoked, as it has not provided any roll-off dumpster service in Brenham since obtaining the franchise in April 2024.
- Renewing with the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool for the city’s insurance coverage for the 2025-26 Fiscal Year.
The council will meet Thursday at 1 p.m. at Brenham City Hall.
Click here to view the agenda packet for Thursday’s meeting.
What is so nice about this it appears the city does not understand the struggle of trying live within a budget. They just keep raising the taxes to cover their spending. City goes up, county goes up, school goes up. But salaries stay the same or go down due to inflation. We need responsible people in city government that understand the everyday life of people and not through rose colored glass. May be time to move to a place that understand that people need to live or elect responsible people.