Government
BY SARAH BRAGER & JULIANNA WASHBURN
Houston officials discuss adding residential fees The city of Houston may be able to increase its general fund revenue by at least $200 million annually through enacting policies in line with other major Texas cities, according to an Oct. 7 presenta- tion from Controller Chris Hollins’ office. The overview In the Oct. 7 Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee meeting, Deputy Controller Will Jones presented a breakdown of Houston’s general fund revenues compared to those of its peer cities, including Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio and El Paso. Breaking it down The breakdown compared revenue sources, such as property tax, city fees and interfund transfers. Using an average of per-household fees in other cities, Houston could generate: • Approximately $164 million annually from
Houston keeps flat property tax rate Houston City Council members passed an unchanged property tax rate for fiscal year 2025-26 in an 11-3 vote on Oct. 15, despite a projected $53 million loss in the fund balance with the approved rate. What you need to know City Council approved a tax rate of $0.5191 per $100 home valuation, the same as last fiscal year’s tax rate. However, the approved rate is lower than the tax rate used to calculate the FY 2025-26 city budget council adopted in June. City Finance Director Melissa Dubowski said the budget was created using a rate of $0.5378 per $100 home valuation, which is the maximum rate the city could adopt without voter approval due to local revenue cap laws.
Annual fee-based revenues in major Texas cities
Utility transfer (water/electric) Clean community/environmental Garbage/solid waste
$655M
$324M
$239M
$126M
$101M
$0
San Antonio
Austin
Dallas
Fort Worth
El Paso
Houston
NOTE: DATA IS BASED ON EACH CITY’S MOST RECENT BUDGET SOURCE: OFFICE OF CITY CONTROLLER CHRIS HOLLINS/COMMUNITY IMPACT
garbage/solid waste fees ($33 per month) • Approximately $15 million annually from envi- ronmental fees ($3 per month) • Approximately $100 million from transportation fees ($20 per month) Council did not take any action on the presentation.
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