The Harris County Commissioners Court is moving forward with a 7.6% property tax rate increase compared with last year, marking one of the largest tax hikes in the county’s recent history.

The overview: The court approved a tax rate of about $0.67 per $100 in taxable property value in a 3-2 vote during its Sept. 8 meeting. County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Precinct 4 Commissioner Tom Ramsey opposed the rate recommended by the county’s Office of Management and Budget.

The increase will add about $193 to the average homeowner’s property tax bill, OMB Director Daniel Ramos said.

Looking ahead: With a projected shortfall of about $180 million, the court is expected to adopt its 2026-27 fiscal year $3.09 billion budget during the Sept. 17 meeting. The court is expected to also take a final vote on the proposed tax rate, adopting it before the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

National fitness chain Stretch Zone opened a studio in the Spring area, co-owner Belle LeBlanc confirmed.

The details: Stretch Zone offers 30 minute practitioner-assisted stretching sessions, focused on increasing mobility and range of motion, according to its website.

Quote of note: "We are passionate about the health and wellness of our community and are excited to provide such a beneficial service," LeBlanc said in a statement.

Several dental businesses have recently opened or are coming soon to the Spring-Klein area:

• The Tooth Lodge, operated by Houston native Dr. Afreen Ansari, opened on July 6 at 6820 FM 2920, Ste. 190. The clinic offers modern dentistry services.

• Smile Theory, a woman-owned business with a bilingual staff speaking English and Spanish, plans to hold a grand opening on Sept. 13 and open for appointments on Sept. 14. It is located at 18480 Kuykendahl Road.

The Texas comptroller's office is requesting that lawmakers provide more than $2 billion for the second and third years of the state's education savings account program, which gives participating families taxpayer dollars for private education and homeschooling.

How we got here: The legislature created Texas Education Freedom Accounts in 2025 and allocated $1 billion for the program's first year, the 2026-27 school year.

Nearly 110,000 students have received state dollars from the program so far, and officials said providing another $1 billion annually would ensure the state can "maintain our current participation" in the next two years.

Zooming in: According to the comptroller's legislative appropriations request for the 2028-29 biennium, it would cost approximately $4 billion to maintain funding for current participants, accept the siblings of participating children who will soon qualify for the program and admit more than 106,000 waitlisted students.

Something to note: The comptroller's $2 billion base budget request would not fully cover the waitlist and interest list, which would cost nearly $4 billion for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 school years.