Fort Bend County proposes maintaining tax rate, raising elected official salaries for FY 2025-26
Fort Bend County residents can expect to see the same tax rate as county officials receive raises.
Zooming in: At an Aug. 26 meeting, Fort Bend County commissioners unanimously proposed maintaining the county’s $0.412 per $100 property valuation tax rate for fiscal year 2025-26.
However, it will still result in an average increase of $29 for a $423,000 home due to increased property valuations, Director of Finance and Investments Pamela Gubbels said at an Aug. 4 budget workshop.
What else: Officials also approved a proposal to raise the salaries of most of the county’s elected officials, including their positions.
The proposed salary changes range from about 3%-36.84% with the highest raises going to county court and district court judges, according to agenda documents.
What’s next: The county will hold budget hearings at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 22 and at 1 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Fort Bend County Courthouse, located at 401 Jackson St., Richmond.
Montessori Reggio Academy opens Cambridge Early Years Center in Sugar Land
Montessori Reggio Academy has opened the doors to its fourth Greater Houston area location in Sugar Land.
The gist: Tailored for children ages 3 to 6, the Cambridge Early Years Center adopts the Cambridge International Early Years Curriculum, blending it seamlessly with the school’s foundation in Montessori and Reggio Emilia philosophies.
The curriculum places emphasis on creativity, inquiry-based learning and global awareness—building a strong academic and social foundation for lifelong learners, per an Aug. 13 news release.
Zooming out: This new addition allows Montessori Reggio Academy, or MRA, to further its mission of delivering high-quality, child-centered education, while deepening its ties to families and communities across Sugar Land, per the release.
In addition to the Early Years Center, MRA Sugar Land also has a preschool and elementary campus located at 2600 Cordes Drive., Ste D. The franchisee also opened a location in Katy at 20318 Franz Rd in March, Community Impact reported.
H-GAC bringing back ‘Free Fare Fridays’ to Greater Houston area in September
The Houston-Galveston Area Council announced the return of a campaign focused on reducing air pollution levels by providing free use of certain mass transit routes on Fridays in September.
What you need to know: As part of Ozone Action Month, multiple transit agencies across the Houston region will allow riders to use mass transit routes free of charge on Fridays in September, according to H-GAC’s website. The initiative aims to reduce the amount of air pollution generated by vehicles on Houston area roads.
The participating agencies include:
Harris County Transit: All routes
Fort Bend Transit: All routes
City of Conroe: Fixed and paratransit routes
The Woodlands Township: All routes
What else: For residents unable to use the transit options, H-GAC officials also suggested other measures to reduce air pollution, including carpooling, reducing the number of trips and biking when possible.
Communities in Texas’ Flash Flood Alley may soon have to install flood warning sirens
Some communities in Flash Flood Alley, which stretches through Central Texas and includes the Colorado and Guadalupe River basins, would be required to install flood warning sirens under a bill advanced by state House lawmakers Aug. 26.
The details: Under Senate Bill 3:
The Texas Water Development Board would identify areas impacted by the deadly July 4-5 floods that have “a history of consistent or severe flooding.”
Local governments in the identified areas would be required to install flood warning sirens if they are not already present.
The state would distribute up to $50,000 in grants to help cities and counties install warning systems.
Lawmakers have said they were concerned that some Hill Country residents and visitors missed or did not receive emergency alerts related to the July 4 floods, which began before sunrise.
Next steps: House lawmakers passed SB 3 unanimously Aug. 26, returning it to the Senate with a minor amendment. If senators sign off on the amendment, the warning siren bill will head to the governor’s desk.
