The Cedar Park City Council approved a $216 million budget on Sept. 10. The council set a property tax rate of $0.377930 per $100 of property value, which is the highest rate possible without triggering an election.

What you need to know: This rate will increase the average homeowner's annual property tax bill by about $49 from last year, resulting in an average bill of roughly $1,902.

What’s changed: Taxable property values in Cedar Park decreased in 2026 for the first time since 1989. This drop requires the city to increase the tax rate in order to raise the same amount of revenue to fund city-operated facilities and services amid rising costs for maintenance, fuel, concrete, and health insurance.

Zooming in: The budget allocations include:

• $85 million for the general fund, with about 70% going to employee compensation

• $48.2 million for the utility fund, which is funded by customers' bills

• $83 million allocated to funds set aside for specific uses, such as economic development, community development and transportation projects

Round Rock ISD owns 1,496.9 acres of land within its 70,400-acre boundaries, with almost 250 of those acres currently undeveloped.

The context: Some parcels were held for future campuses and a second stadium. However, as the district enters into another financial year characterized by uncertainty, Superintendent Hafedh Azaiez said every option is on the table.

The action taken: During the 2024-25 financial year, the district announced the sale of a 7.5-acre property for $9.8 million, which turned a balanced budget into a surplus. In FY 2025-26, sales of smaller land parcels totaled just over $1 million.

What are the options? If growth persists, the district could adjust attendance boundaries instead of building new campuses, allowing it to sell undeveloped properties. The district is also monitoring how education savings accounts and its virtual academy impact facility needs.

Travis County commissioners moved forward an estimated $2.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2027 on Sept. 10, boosting funding for public defense, housing and diversion programs while voting to consolidate the county's Axon Enterprise contracts under one department.

By the numbers: Indigent defense funding rose across multiple lines, including a doubled $3 million reserve earmark for outside counsel and $1.5 million added directly to the Public Defender's Office for attorney pay.

The budget also sets a new county living wage of $23.71 an hour. Commissioners also voted to consolidate the county's Axon Enterprise contracts into a single $6,832,000 technology department budget.

What officials are saying: The county's technology executive, Maurice McCreary Jr., defended the Axon contract as essential to transparency and evidence-sharing with defense attorneys. Commissioner Brigid Shea backed continued investment in body and vehicle cameras.

Advocates with the Coalition for Budget Accountability had rallied outside the markup, arguing new Axon spending should be matched with public defense funding instead.

Commissioners are scheduled to take a final budget vote Sept. 29.

Three candidates are running to lead the Texas General Land Office in the Nov. 3 election.

The overview: Democrat Benjamin Flores and Libertarian Neill Snider are challenging Republican incumbent Dawn Buckingham for the seat.

Buckingham ran uncontested in the March Republican primary, Community Impact reported, while Flores won the Democratic primary. Snider was selected as the Texas Libertarian Party's candidate during an April nominating convention.

The context: The state land commissioner manages 13 million acres of state lands, with duties such as allocating disaster recovery funds, leasing state lands to generate revenue for the Texas Permanent School Fund, preserving state landmarks such as The Alamo and overseeing several veterans programs.

Looking ahead: Early voting runs from Oct. 19-30 in the midterm election, and Election Day is Nov. 3.