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Kerrville City Council voted this week to raise the property tax rate by nearly 8% to help pay for rebuilding efforts following the July 4th flood.
A disaster tax rate of $.05711 per $100 valuation will go into effect for the Fiscal Year 2026 budget.
Based on the rate, city officials estimated the median-valued homestead will pay about $1,906 in property taxes — an increase of around $39 compared to the Fiscal Year 2025 tax bill of the same property.
The new disaster tax rate can be used, if directed by the city council, for three years or until the total taxable value exceeds the total value of the disaster year.
Many Kerrville residents voiced opposition to the hike during Tuesday's city council meeting. The move to raise property taxes comes less than three months following the Guadalupe River flood.
"Regardless if this is a temporary tax increase or not, it's unsustainable for the working class of Kerrville,” said resident McKenna Baxley. “We're coming to ask you for relief, and it's consistently been slapped in the face by this council or ignored.”
Director of Finance Julie Behrens said it's too early to determine the full financial impact of damages and lost property value due to flooding.
"The general fund is expected to generate more property taxes than was originally proposed in the budget as of right now because of the timing of the flood and the unknowns," Behrens said. "We don't know exactly what that is. We're estimating (it) to be around $336,000."
The city council will have the opportunity to make budget amendments once final damage costs and property values are updated.
Property owners will have until Oct. 20 to file for damage property tax exemptions.
Kerrville resident Jacqueline Murkey said the increase is still a strain for community members.
“Even though they will get an exemption for this year, that's not going to be in future years and they're not going to bounce back that quickly,” she said.
Kerr County Commissioners voted last month to lower the proposed property tax rate from Fiscal Year 2025. Commissioners approved a proposed tax rate of $0.40 cents per $100 dollar valuation — two cents lower than last year.
