On July 25, 2026 the City received the certified property tax rolls from the Guadalupe, Comal, and Bexar appraisal districts. The Guadalupe Tax Assessor-Collector used this information, and information provided by the City of Schertz, to calculate the No-new-revenue and Voter-approval tax rates for the 2026 Tax Year.

The No-new-revenue rate is a calculated rate that would provide the city with same amount of revenue it received the year before on properties taxed in both years. The Voter Approval Rate is a calculated maximum rate allowed by law without voter approval. If Council adopts a rate higher than the Voter Approval Rate, the tax rate will automatically be on the November 2026 ballot.

The 2026 No-new-revenue Rate is $0.5296 per $100 of valuation and the 2026 Voter-Approval Rate is $0.5593 per $100 of valuation. Staff is recommending setting a preliminary maximum property tax rate of $0.5296 per $100.

In accordance with Chapter 26.05(d) of the State’s Property Tax Code, a governing body must hold a public hearing on the tax rate if the proposed tax rate exceeds the lower of the No-new-revenue or Unused Increment Tax Rate.  In this case, the hearing is not required as the proposed rate does not exceed the No-new-revenue rate. Staff recommends holding the public hearing anyway on September 1st and encourages citizen participation and input in the adoption process.

A one-quarter page “Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Increase” must be published in the local newspaper and online in compliance with the Tax Code 26.06.  The notice will contain information based upon a preliminary tax rate to be determined by the City Council and the dates of the public hearings. 

During the final tax rate adoption process, Council can approve a lower rate at that time; however, they will not be able to approve a higher rate without republishing the notices and holding additional public hearings.

The Public Hearing date is proposed for September 1st with final adoption at this meeting.

To set a preliminary tax rate and start the budget adoption process.

Setting a maximum tax rate will provide for discussion on funding programs and projects that would best service residents. The maximum allowed rate is listed in this resolution to allow for discussion of the full range of tax possibilities, but does not have to be adopted on September 1st and a lower rate may be adopted instead.

Per the Texas Tax Code Chapter 26, City Council will need to accept the calculated tax rates and set a preliminary maximum tax rates to use in the public notices, which Council will do by resolution. This resolution is set to the highest possible rate that does not require an election for discussion purposes only. Council can change the rate in the resolution by motion to a lower rate. This rate should be set at the highest Council would be willing to consider in the tax rate and budget adoption process. The final adopted rate can be lower than the rate set tonight but it cannot be higher without reposting a notice and setting a new public hearing date.

The proposed maximum rate maintains quality service to residents and businesses and provides growth in service offerings based on the classification and compensation study, staffing study and City priorities. The current property tax rate is $0.5118 per $100 valuation. The proposed maximum tax rate is $0.5296 per $100 valuation.

The M&O portion of the property tax rate will increase to $0.3615 from $0.3437 per $100 valuation.

The I&S portion will remain the same at $0.1681 per $100 valuation. 

There would be no annual impact on the average taxable home value of $327,222 at the proposed rate.
 

Staff recommends Council approve resolution 26-R-098, accepting the No-new-revenue and Voter-approval rates as submitted by the Guadalupe Tax Assessor Collector, setting a preliminary tax rate, and scheduling the public hearing.