Webster homeowners would pay about $21 more in annual city property taxes under a spending plan the City Council began reviewing Tuesday, Aug. 11, at the first of two back-to-back budget workshops.
The proposed fiscal year 2026-27 tax rate of $0.37558 per $100 of assessed value would push the median homeowner's bill from $919.25 to $940.08, based on a median homestead taxable value of $250,301, according to the city's budget workshop agenda.
The rate represents a modest bump from the current adopted rate of $0.37106. But it sits well above the city's no-new-revenue rate of $0.34535, which would have produced a $55 decrease for the same median homeowner. The gap means Webster is proposing to collect more revenue than a flat rate would generate.
A second workshop is set for Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 6 p.m. in the same location, the Fire Department Training Room at 18300 Highway 3.
City manager suspension unresolved
The budget deliberations come as the council navigates unresolved personnel questions at the top of city government. City Manager Mike Ahrens has been suspended without pay since April 7, when Mayor Donna Jasso removed him pending an investigation into three complaints by Webster Economic Development Corporation staff. The full council ratified the suspension 7-0 on April 13 and hired the law firm Lewis & Brisbois to investigate.
An acting city manager has been serving since, though the city has not publicly identified the individual in recent agenda documents. On Saturday, Aug. 8, the council held a special closed session specifically to deliberate on "the appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of the Acting City Manager." Two earlier closed sessions on July 25 and July 31 addressed the city attorney under the same personnel-matters statute.
No action was taken in open session after any of the three meetings.
No total budget figure released
The agenda documents include a taxpayer impact statement but no line-item budget detail or total spending figure. The proposed budget is available for inspection by appointment at City Hall, 101 Pennsylvania Ave., by calling 281-316-4144, or online at webstertx.gov.
How to weigh in
Residents may address the council during the "Requests or Petitions from the Public" segment at the start of each workshop. The Aug. 12 session begins at 6 p.m.
Council members listed in the April 13 meeting minutes include Mayor Jasso, Mayor Pro Tem Edward Lapeyre and Councilmembers Jennifer Heidt, Sam Davis, Chris Vaughan, Beverly Gaines and Marty Graves. Both workshop agendas were signed by Lacy McCracken, acting city secretary.
Texas law requires a separate public hearing on the proposed tax rate before final adoption. That hearing date has not yet been posted.
