Round Rock City Council gave final approval to a higher tax rate and the city's fiscal year 2026-27 budget Sept. 10.

What you need to know: Additional revenue generated by the higher rate will be used to fund salaries for staff at bond-funded facilities that will open this fiscal year, as well as additional fire and police department positions, according to the city.

The vote finalizes a tax rate of $0.423 per $100 of valuation and a $684.1 million operating budget, effective Oct. 1.

The details: The city designated the additional revenue to fund 52.5 new full-time employees in the next fiscal year, spread across multiple departments.

The impact: Round Rock estimates that residents with a taxable home value of $370,288 would pay around $1,566 in city taxes annually, about $96 more than the previous tax year.

Cosmic Egg Wellness will reopen following a relocation to Round Rock's Creekside Plaza retail center in October.

What you need to know: The business is locally owned by Carolyn Lane, a doula with over 10 years of experience. It was previously located at 106 Harris St., Ste. 100, Round Rock.

The business offers several services, including:

• Prenatal and postpartum doula services

• Classes

• Yoga

What's next? The new location will be at 900 RM 620, Ste. 211, Round Rock.

Check out some trending stories from the Austin area Sept. 7-10.

1. Pflugerville's Springhill Restaurant to close in October

2. $82M Hwy. 79 widening prepares for next step in Round Rock

3. Scheels, sandwiches and soccer: 13 Cedar Park-area business updates to know this September

4. Snarf's Sandwiches planned for Georgetown

5. Sandy’s Southern Spice closes in Bastrop after owner’s death

6. Austin reports on new homeless encampment management program's early results

Southwest Airlines will open a lounge at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, set to welcome guests in late 2027.

A closer look: The airline also announced on Sept. 2 its first-ever lounges will be built at:

• Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport

• Daniel K. Inouye International Airport

• Nashville International Airport

The lounges, including at Austin, are already under construction, according to a Southwest Airlines news release. The company also plans to build seven more lounges at different airports but did not specify where in the release.

Diving in deeper: ABIA is currently undergoing an expansion to accommodate passenger growth.

In July, airport officials announced that June 2026 was the airport's busiest month ever for passenger traffic, servicing 2,102,853 departing and arriving passengers. Southwest Airlines saw the most passenger traffic that month, with 916,510 passengers served, up 10.9% year over year, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

This November, four candidates are running to lead the Texas Comptroller's Office and serve as the state's chief financial officer.

The overview: Libertarian V. Alonzo Echavarria-Garza, Democrat Sarah Eckhardt, Green Party candidate Shehla Faizi and Republican Don Huffines are running for comptroller. Huffines, whom Gov. Greg Abbott appointed to the office in July, is considered the incumbent in this race.

How it works: The comptroller oversees government spending and administers the state's $1 billion education savings account program, which launched ahead of the 2026-27 school year.

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