Bryan City Council unanimously voted Aug. 11 to propose keeping the city's property tax rate unchanged and schedule a public hearing on the rate in September.

The vote does not finalize the city's property tax rate. Instead, it begins the process before the council may formally adopt a rate.

The gist: The proposed rate of $0.624000 per $100 of property value is the same rate the city currently charges.

While the city has not raised the tax rate in several years, rising property values have steadily increased revenue. As previously reported by Community Impact, the property tax rate in the city of Bryan hasn’t been changed since 2022.

The council approved the proposal without discussion.

What’s next: Bryan City Council is scheduled to consider the proposed rate at its Sept. 8 and 15 meetings, with a public hearing set for Sept. 8.

If approved, the property tax rate will go into effect at the start of the new fiscal year 2026-27, which begins in October.

Brazos County is simultaneously reshaping how it delivers government services through three major capital projects worth millions. These are investments county leaders say are designed to accommodate rapid growth, modernize aging facilities and relieve a building that has long outgrown its original purpose.

Assessing the need: The county’s first Medical Examiner’s Office, a $35 million facility, is expected to operate this fall after reaching substantial completion in June. Once fully operational, the office will end the area's longstanding reliance on Travis County for autopsies, reducing costs and delays for families.

Mapping it out: Meanwhile, construction continues on the major renovation of the county’s administrative building and ground broke on the all-new courthouse annex in April.

Together, the three projects total $124.5 million in investment and represent the county’s largest wave of public construction in nearly 20 years, as said by county officials.

Brazos County officials told Community Impact years of conservative budgeting, combined with federal pandemic relief dollars for one project, created an opportunity to tackle long-delayed infrastructure needs before costs climb even higher.

Ground broke Aug. 12 on a new $1.5 million development expected to house multiple shopping options near Blinn College in Bryan.

The overview: The retail shopping center has been in the works since at least 2025, according to permit documents from the city of Bryan. The 11,250-square-foot facility will be on a little over an acre of land right next to the St. Joseph Regional Hospital.

Riverstone Commercial Real Estate, the company behind the construction of the complex, said in a Facebook post that the shops will have "excellent visibility, convenient access and a drive-thru option available."

Stay tuned: According to state filings, construction of the Shops at Blinn is scheduled to finish at the beginning of 2027. Tenants have not been announced, but Riverstone is looking for "a wide range of tenants including restaurants, retail, medical, and office users."

• Construction to be completed early 2027
• 2100 E. 29th St., Bryan

Ahead of the 2026-27 school year, public school leaders in Community Impact’s coverage areas shuttered at least nine individual schools to respond to repeated state accountability issues and stave off state intervention. A new Texas Education Agency rule may make it harder for districts to do so in the future.

The details: Beginning Aug. 16, if a district closes a D- or F-rated campus and transfers the largest share of students from the closed campus to a school with a C, D or F rating, the closed campus’ rating will be assigned to the new campus. 

Districts will only avoid transferring a shuttered school’s rating history if they relocate a plurality of students to an A- or B-rated campus.

Stay tuned: The TEA is scheduled to release A-F ratings for the 2025-26 school year on Aug. 14. If a school receives five failing ratings in a row, the TEA is required under state law to close that campus or replace the district’s board of trustees with a state-appointed board of managers.