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EAGLE LAKE — Eagle Lake City Council approved and scheduled public hearings for its proposed budget and tax rate, which will decrease for the seventh consecutive year, for the upcoming fiscal year during its meeting, Tuesday, Aug. 11.
The budget and tax rate hearings are both scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 8, at 6 p.m. at 100 E Main St., Eagle Lake.
Property tax rate
The council set the proposed 2026-2027 fiscal year property tax rate at $0.572582 per $100 valuation, a 2.3% decrease from the current rate of $0.586240. The rate is summed between $0.484082 per $100 valuation for city maintenance and operations and $0.08850 per $100 for debt service funds.
The proposed tax rate and budget will raise more total property taxes than last year’s budget by $52,356, which is a 4.5% increase from last year’s budget. The property tax revenue to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year is $36,365.
The tax rate decrease follows the city’s ongoing seven-year reduction plan of about 15 cents.
The rate is below the rate promised to citizens during the approval of the 2023 General Obligation Street Improvement Bonds and will not increase taxes, according to City Manager Tink Jackson.
Budget breakdown
The proposed budget maintains rates and usage levels of the utility fund for the water, wastewater and solid waste departments. This follows decisions the city made after a 2025 water and sewer rate study revealed both funds were operating “significantly below break even.”
“Last year’s budget included adjustments to usage allowances for both funds. This was estimated to keep both funds at or above break even for two years,” Jackson said in a statement included in the proposed budget. “As such, we have maintained rates and usage levels the same in the proposed budget.”
Jackson added that the city also maintained the emergency equipment repair line items at the new levels set last fiscal year to cover expenses related to outdated infrastructure.
The city will also increase its garbage collection rates by 3.5% due to the contracted company increasing their rates by the same amount for the 2026-2027 fiscal year.
The proposed budget allocates $6,500 for the management of the Eagle Lake Golf Course, $7,250 for support of the Eula and David Wintermann Library, $40,000 from donations for city events, $10,000 towards addressing dilapidated buildings, $5,000 for city promotion, and $6,440 for Hotel Occupancy Tax fund requests to promote tourism.
The city also plans to dedicate $20,000 to fund a fire department truck for the Eagle Lake Volunteer Fire Department.
The Eagle Lake Police Department includes $25,000 for contract payment of body worn and in-car camera systems, $9,000 for replacement tasers, $4,000 for the match of the Flock Camera Grant, and $25,000 for an additional police unit vehicle.
The airport is primarily funded through hangar rental fees and state and federal grant funds. City council approved to decrease the hangar rental fees in the same meeting. The proposed budget includes a $10,000 local match for Routine Airport Maintenance Program funding.
Jackson said the city continues to work on projects funded by grants, including the Eagle Lake Park Birding Area in conjunction with Revitalize Eagle Lake and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department ($290,000), the Eagle Lake Regional Airport Plan ($300,000), and the City Master Plan and ordinance revisions through the Resilient Communities program ($235,000).
The proposed budget maintains 25 full-time staff positions and several part-time positions and factors in a 2% cost-of-living adjustment for al l hourly employees and the remaining 25% of costs associated with a new employee retirement plan approved for the last fiscal year that went into effect January 2025.
“This adjustment is just below the national inflation rate; however, it is the best we could do with limited resources,” Jackson said.
