Although House Bill 2 from the 89th legislative session introduced $28.9 million in funding for Katy ISD, which would have otherwise grown the shortfall to about $35 million, district officials said the impact has been largely offset by inflation, rapid enrollment growth and a lack of state-funded cost adjustments in recent years.
However, Chief Financial Officer Chris Smith said at the Aug. 18 work study meeting that the projected shortfall of $24.5 million is not a cause for concern due to historical underspending.
Katy proposes maintaining same property tax rate for FY 2025-26
Katy’s property tax rate is expected to stay the same as city officials work to finalize the fiscal year 2025-26 budget.
What happened: City staff have proposed a $74.54 million budget for FY 2025-26, a 5.2% decrease from last year’s budget.
Additionally, council proposed maintaining its tax rate at $0.425 per $100 valuation for the second consecutive year.
Diving in deeper: The budget includes $55.04 million toward the city’s general fund, with 47.01% allocated to public safety services, including $14.47 million for the police department and $11.41 million for the fire department.
What else: The budget also lays out $5.56 million in capital improvement investments for FY 2025-26, including:
$1.8 million for an Impel Quint firetruck
$1.5 million for substations at Texas Heritage Marketplace
$438,800 for four new police Tahoes
$110,000 for two new fire department vehicles
What’s next: The city will hold a public hearing for the proposed budget Sept. 8 and the tax rate Sept. 22.
Imported Decor II has relocated to a new facility in Katy.
What they offer: The business features over an acre of Mexican and Vietnamese pottery, columns, fountains and Talavera for indoor and outdoor use, according to its Facebook page.
The pottery shop was previously located at 2436 Band Road, Rosenberg.
Frontier Airlines announces 8 new routes from IAH airport
Starting in late November, Houston travelers flying on Frontier Airlines will have new routes from George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
The framework: Josh Flyr, vice president of network and operations design, said in an Aug. 26 news release that the company is thrilled to add new routes from Houston as part of its aim to expand low-fare carrier options in the top 20 metros in the country.
“With new nonstop routes to exciting domestic and international destinations, now is a better time than ever for Houston-area travelers to fly with Frontier and enjoy the convenience, comfort and signature affordability we offer,” Flyr said.
What you need to know: The Denver-based airline company announced the following new IAH domestic and international routes launching in late 2025 through early 2026:
Texas House moves to require cities, counties to seek voter approval for tax hikes exceeding 1%
Texas House lawmakers voted Aug. 25 to tighten limits on local property tax growth, advancing a bill that would require cities and counties to seek voter approval before raising tax rates by more than 1%. Cities and counties can currently increase taxes by up to 3.5% annually before going to local voters.
What happened: House lawmakers substantially amended Senate Bill 10 before returning it to the Senate. State senators sought to tighten the voter approval rate to 2.5% and impose the changes only on cities and counties with more than 75,000 residents. House lawmakers voted to apply a 1% threshold to all cities and counties, regardless of size.
Cities and counties' public safety expenditures, such as salaries and equipment for police, firefighters and paramedics, would not be subject to the 1% limit.
