New $9 million city budget sets $1.6 million for police as an audit backlog forces a lower tax rate

Howe's 2026-27 budget, posted on the city website Oct. 1 as the first day of the fiscal year, plans about $9 million in spending across all funds, up from about $7.1 million in the year that just ended.

The summary sheet the city posted lists $8,999,307 in expenses against $8,996,142 in revenue. The previous year's final figures were $7,073,276 in spending and $7,096,975 in revenue.

Where the money goes

The largest pieces of the new budget, according to the posted summary:

• Water: $1.76 million
• Police: $1.62 million
• Wastewater: $1.53 million
• General fund: $1.47 million
• EMS and fire: $1.17 million
• Solid waste: $497,283
• Streets: $313,000

The Howe Economic Development Corporation's budget is $200,899, and debt service is $182,066.

In a Sept. 22 memo to the council, City Administrator Monte Walker listed some of the spending built into the plan: cleaning Well 2, repainting the inside of the city's elevated and ground storage tanks, initial payments on new radios for police and fire, $58,000 for Axon equipment for the Police Department, and the first payments for a HydroVac and a mini excavator for Public Works.

Why the tax rate had to fall

A separate memo on the tax rate said Howe had to adopt its no-new-revenue rate this year under Senate Bill 1851 because the city is still behind on its 2024-25 audit, which it expects to finish in November. Walker's September report to the council put the estimated finish for that audit in November as well.

The rate in that ordinance is $0.467877 per $100 of taxable value, made up of $0.413129 for maintenance and operations and $0.054748 for debt. Last year's rate was $0.484477. Walker wrote that the city's adjusted taxable value rose from $218.2 million to $262.9 million, so the lower rate is expected to bring in about the same revenue as the current year.

The budget ordinance carries the statement required by state law: the budget will raise $88,569 more in total property taxes than last year's, and $116,610 of the tax revenue is to be raised from new property added to the tax roll this year.

Walker's Oct. 1 letter to residents said the council approved a larger budget while lowering the tax rate.

Sources

cityofhowetx.gov

cityofhowetx.gov

cityofhowetx.gov