Bellaire's tax rate stays flat tonight, if council votes the way the packet reads

Bellaire City Council meets tonight, Monday, October 5, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall, 7008 S. Rice Avenue. The first item is a public hearing on the city property tax rate, followed by the vote. Here's the turn in the story: on September 21, council took a record vote proposing $0.4268 per $100 of value and adopted a budget built on that number. Then it asked staff to find a way to hold the rate flat. The packet for tonight proposes $0.4174, the same rate as last year. Your city tax bill still goes up, because home values did.

The short version

• The proposed rate is $0.4174 per $100 of taxable value, unchanged from last year, instead of the $0.4268 proposed in September.
• The average Bellaire homestead's taxable value rose from $866,157 to $907,764, so the city tax on that home goes from $3,615 to about $3,789, up $174.
• Also on the agenda: an $8.2 million construction price for the new Public Works building at 5235 Glenmont Drive, two patrol cars, 43 police Tasers and water-meter parts.

Why the bill rises when the rate doesn't

A tax rate is dollars per $100 of taxable value. Hold the rate and raise the value, and the bill rises. Bellaire's packet puts the average homestead's taxable value, after exemptions, at $907,764 for this year, up 4.8 percent from $866,157. At $0.4174, that home pays $3,789 in city tax, up $174.

The city's total tax levy, what it collects from everyone, is budgeted at $25,617,411, about 2.86 percent more than last year. The packet gives the increase two ways on different pages, $713,188 in a comparison table and $727,742 in the agenda statement, so we quote the percentage. That's why the hearing notice calls it "a proposal to increase the total tax levy." State law requires the hearing whenever the levy goes up, even when the rate holds.

The three rates on the table

Texas law gives every city three numbers each year:

• The no-new-revenue rate, $0.4063 this year, is the rate that would bring in the same money as last year on the same properties. At that rate the average home would pay $3,688, which is $101 less than the proposal.
• The voter-approval rate, $0.4268, is the most the city can adopt without an election.
• The proposed rate, $0.4174, sits between the two.

The rate has two parts: $0.3089 for maintenance and operations, the daily running of the city, and $0.1085 for debt service, the payments on past bonds. The packet notes the operations part is 3.48 percent above its no-new-revenue level.

What changed since September 21

At the September 21 meeting, council's record vote proposed $0.4268 and the FY2027 budget was adopted on that assumption. The packet says council then "recommended revisiting the proposed tax rate and identifying ways to maintain a flat tax rate for FY 2027." Staff came back with $0.4174. The budget side of that change is not spelled out in the agenda statement; expect the city manager's report or the discussion to cover where the difference comes from.

How to speak

Sign up before the hearing starts. Each speaker gets up to five minutes, with a warning at four. Public comment on the tax rate is taken during the hearing only; once the hearing closes, the vote comes in the regular meeting that follows. For anything else, fill out a speaker form at the chamber entrance for the audience-comments item.

The other money items

• $8,218,861 as the guaranteed maximum price for renovating 5235 Glenmont Drive into the new Public Works building, with Sedalco, Inc. as construction manager. The building will hold Public Works, the capital projects team and some parks and facilities staff, plus warehouse space, inspection bays and police vehicle storage. Sedalco's fee is 5.5 percent of construction cost, $428,472. The money is in the adopted budget.
• $194,630.46 for two 2027 Ford Police Interceptor patrol vehicles, replacements on the regular schedule, from the Vehicle, Equipment and Technology Fund.
• $225,490.40 for 43 TASER 10 energy weapons for the police department, paid in five annual installments of $45,098.08.
• Up to $260,000 a year for water-meter components and repair parts.

The three smaller items are on the consent agenda and pass in one motion unless a council member pulls one.

Also tonight

Proclamations for Fire Prevention Week (October 4–10) and Friends of the Bellaire Library Week (October 5–12), marking the Friends' 75th anniversary. Approval of the September 14 minutes. The city manager's report.

Before you go

• Tonight, 6:00 p.m., Council Chamber, first floor of City Hall, 7008 S. Rice Avenue.
• To speak on the tax rate, sign up before the hearing opens.
• The agenda and the 157-page packet are on the city's meeting portal.

Sources

• City of Bellaire, City Council Regular Session agenda and agenda packet, October 5, 2026 (bellairetx.civicweb.net, meeting 5881): pages 1–5 (agenda), 10–11 (tax rate agenda statement), 49 (Glenmont Drive), and the police and public works agenda statements.
• City of Bellaire, Notice of Public Hearing on Tax Rate, 2026 (bellairetx.gov Document Center).

En español

El Concejo Municipal de Bellaire se reúne hoy, lunes 5 de octubre, a las 6:00 p.m. en el Ayuntamiento, 7008 S. Rice Avenue. El primer punto es la audiencia pública sobre la tasa del impuesto predial, y después la votación. El 21 de septiembre el concejo propuso $0.4268 por cada $100 de valor; luego pidió al personal buscar la forma de mantener la tasa igual. El paquete de hoy propone $0.4174, la misma tasa del año pasado. Aun así, la cuenta sube, porque los valores de las casas subieron: el valor gravable de la vivienda promedio pasó de $866,157 a $907,764, y el impuesto de la ciudad sobre esa casa pasa de $3,615 a unos $3,789, es decir, $174 más. La recaudación total será de $25,617,411, un 2.86 por ciento más que el año anterior. La tasa sin ingresos nuevos sería $0.4063, con la que la casa promedio pagaría $101 menos. También hoy: $8,218,861 para renovar 5235 Glenmont Drive como el nuevo edificio de Obras Públicas, dos patrullas por $194,630.46, 43 pistolas eléctricas Taser por $225,490.40 en cinco pagos anuales y hasta $260,000 al año en piezas para medidores de agua. Si usted quiere hablar sobre la tasa, inscríbase antes de que empiece la audiencia; cada persona tiene hasta cinco minutos.

The HERE Bellaire team