Harris County commissioners approved the largest property tax rate increase in county history on Thursday, Sept. 17.

The new rate will add an estimated $120 to $200 per year to the average homeowner's county tax bill, depending on taxable value and exemptions.

The county tax rate rises to $0.41750 per $100 of taxable value, a 9.6% jump from the current rate of $0.38096, Fox 26 Houston reported. When rates for all county-controlled taxing entities are combined, the overall increase is approximately 7.6%.

As we reported Sept. 16, the rate is the maximum commissioners can approve without a voter referendum.

What it means locally

Webster, Seabrook and Nassau Bay sit entirely in Harris County. Homeowners in all three cities will see the full increase on their county tax bills.

Friendswood straddles the Harris-Galveston county line. Residents on the Harris County side will pay the higher rate. Those on the Galveston County side will not.

Clear Lake Shores, located in Galveston County, is unaffected. The city levies no property tax of its own, according to the Galveston County Tax Office, and its residents do not pay Harris County taxes.

The county tax is only one piece of a homeowner's total bill, which also includes levies from cities, school districts and other local entities.

What it costs homeowners

Estimates of the annual hit vary. County Judge Lina Hidalgo estimated the proposed rates could cost the average taxpayer about $120 more per year, according to Fox 26. KPRC Click2Houston placed the figure higher, at $150 to $200 for the average homeowner.

Homeowners would pay nearly 30% more in county property taxes than they did in 2023, according to KPRC.

How commissioners voted

The increase addresses an estimated $181 million budget shortfall and allows the county to boost spending by about $327 million, according to Fox 26. About $50 million of that funds employee pay raises and new hires, KPRC reported.

The Sept. 17 vote followed a 3-2 preliminary vote on Sept. 8 that advanced the proposed rate. Commissioners Rodney Ellis, Adrian Garcia and Lesley Briones voted to advance it. Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Hidalgo voted against.

Ramsey pushed to hold the rate at $0.38096. County officials said that option could require roughly $243 million in budget cuts.

Hidalgo supported higher rates for Harris Health and the Harris County Flood Control District but opposed raising the county's general fund rate. She argued the court has repeatedly approved spending without identifying sustainable funding.

"We are patching the bullet hole with a Band-Aid for one more year," Hidalgo said following the Sept. 8 vote, according to Fox 26.

Community safety spending

Commissioner Ellis also proposed investing an additional $3 million in three community safety programs to make them permanent, the Texas Tribune reported. The programs, known as HART, RISE and the Domestic Violence Prevention and Intervention program, had been at risk of ending because of federal budget cuts. Ellis said the funding would bring total annual investment in those programs to about $14 million.

Election ahead

The tax vote lands weeks before the Nov. 3 general election for Harris County judge. Republican candidate Orlando Sanchez listed "out-of-control property taxes" as a top county challenge in a Community Impact candidate Q&A published before the vote. Democrat Letitia Plummer said in the same Q&A that she does not support raising taxes while residents face an affordability crisis.

Early voting begins Oct. 19, according to Community Impact.