ATX-PFH: Impact 9/8/2025

Hutto officials ratified a property tax rate for the upcoming financial year Sept. 4. 

Why now? This comes as the new financial year is set to begin Oct. 1. 

What you need to know: City staff proposed a total tax rate of $0.385928 per $100 of valuation, made up of a $0.252808 per $100 maintenance and operations rate to generate revenue for the general fund, and a $0.13312 per $100 rate to fund debt payments, such as bonds. 

A new business dedicated to beekeeping and swarm removal is now serving Hutto and the surrounding area.

Overview: Beeware Beekeeping, owned by Ethan Witt, leases bees to landowners who own 5-20 acres and are looking for an agricultural tax exemption on their property. Depending on the acreage, owners would need roughly 5-12 beehives to acquire the exemption, which in Texas requires proof of agricultural activity for five of the previous seven years.

For land that doesn’t currently meet the requirement, owners can start the process and file for the exemption once the land becomes eligible.

The Heart Hospital of Austin at St. David's Round Rock is the first in the nation to use a new vascular stent treatment for carotid artery disease, with a surgeon at the hospital being the first to use this treatment outside of clinical trials in July. 

What you need to know: Per a news release shared by the hospital system in August, Dr. Bradley Boone, M.D., chief of surgery at Heart Hospital of Austin at St. David’s Round Rock and vascular surgeon with Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgeons, performed the first surgery in the country to use a carotid stent in the transcarotid artery revascularization technique since receiving approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

Here are the top trending Community Impact stories from the Austin metro from Sept. 1-5.

1. Cedar Park denies request for business to operate late hours in north Cedar Park neighborhood

2. Georgetown to use eminent domain to complete Williams Drive intersection improvements

3. Chuy's to build restaurant near Georgetown, Leander border

4. Farmers markets, fried chicken and sports training: 19 business updates from Cedar Park

5. 230 homes sold across Georgetown's 3 area ZIP codes in July

6. City Council approves request to rezone Apple campus in North Austin

Around 1 a.m. Sept. 4, the Texas Legislature gaveled out of its second special session of the year. On the heels of a two-week Democratic walkout that stymied bills during a previous legislative overtime, lawmakers moved quickly to pass 16 of Gov. Greg Abbott’s 24 priorities in under three weeks.

The details: A long-debated plan to ban or restrict sales of hemp-derived THC and a measure aimed at reining in local property tax growth were among the proposals that did not make the cut. Those proposals fell apart in the final days of the special session, after House and Senate lawmakers were unable to reach agreements. 

Also of note: Lawmakers also did not pass bills intended to improve emergency preparedness and communications in the wake of the deadly July 4-5 floods; shield certain law enforcement files from public disclosure; and bar local governments from hiring outside lobbyists. 

The governor can call a special session at any time; however, legislative leaders indicated they did not expect to return to Austin to tackle the remaining agenda items.