The Sugar Land City Council approved a $541.49 million budget and voted to increase its tax rate for fiscal year 2026-27.

The details: The budget, which passed in a 4-3 vote during a Sept. 15 City Council meeting, focuses on maintaining the high quality of life expected by residents, while also balancing financial responsibility, Director of Budget ShaLae Steadman said. 

However, the budget is subject to change slightly since the council approved a tax rate during the meeting that was lower than the one originally proposed, which results in a $2.19 million decrease in revenue. City Manager Mike Goodrum said city staff will work on amending the budget to match the lower revenue. 

What else: Council members went back and forth on the tax rate, but after negotiation, the council landed on a $0.371116 rate per $100 valuation, a 3.42% increase from last year's tax rate of $0.358827. 

The rate results in an annual tax bill of about $1,371, an approximate $58.83 increase from last year or a $4.90 increase per month for a home with a median taxable property value of $369,495, city officials said in a Sept. 16 news release.

SIX13, a new Lagree studio, has opened its doors in Sugar Land focusing on fun drinks, good music and good community, owner Ko-Nisha Anderson said.

What they offer: The studio offers 50-minute Lagree classes available as individual sessions, packages or memberships. One drop-in class is $35, and the unlimited monthly membership costs $259, per the SIX13 website.

Lagree is a high-intensity, low-impact strength method designed to transform the way the body moves, feels and performs.

Also of note: SIX13 will open a cafe inside the studio by the end of the year, which will offer flavored lattes, coffee and matcha, Anderson said.

What’s in a name: The name SIX13 alludes to June 13, which is Anderson’s birthday and the studio’s opening date.

• 12920 University Blvd. Ste. 300, Sugar Land

According to the August monthly housing update from the Houston Association of Realtors, the number of single-family home sales has decreased by 11.5% across the Greater Houston region.

The breakdown: With the decrease in single-family home sales, affordability rates for home owners saw year over year growth for 22 of the last 25 months, HAR data shows. The nationwide growth rate stood at 15 out of the last 25 months.

When compared to single-family home sales in 2019, the 2026 market has seen a 20.1% decrease overall.

In their words: “Buyers have more options and more time to make decisions, while sellers continue to benefit from relatively stable prices," HAR Chair Theresa Hill with Compass RE Texas, LLC - Houston said. "That's a healthier environment for consumers and a positive sign for the long-term strength of our market.”

Some Texas Republican leaders have vowed to get rid of the property taxes that homeowners pay to their local public school districts, and lawmakers are analyzing how much it would cost to do so.

The big picture: Texas school districts collect about $29 billion per year in maintenance and operations taxes, which cover schools' daily expenses.

Of that $29 billion in school tax revenue, the state comptroller's office estimates that about $8.6 billion is paid by homeowners, and the rest comes from commercial and industrial property taxes.

This means the state would need to spend at least $8.6 billion annually to zero out homeowners' school property tax bills, officials said.

Quote of note: "Broadly speaking, you have a question about how much you want to fund schools, and then separately, where does that money come from?" Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath said during a Sept. 15 legislative hearing. "If you have a target of how much you want to spend, you need to make sure you have enough variable revenue sources to reach that."