BUDGET & TAX RATE
Your City of Rockport budget affects every resident in your community. How we allocate your taxpayer dollars and monthly utility payments directly determines the level of service you receive in key City functions such as drinking water, public safety, streets, and more.
Proposed Fiscal Year 2026 Annual Budget (click here for Proposed Budget) (Updated Proposed Budget Cover Page) (Updated Proposed Budget as of 9-4-2025)City staff developed the FY 2026 budget based on City Council goals and presented it to Council, as required by the City Charter, on August 12, 2025.
The proposed budget totals $64,282,421 $62,760,880 with a proposed tax rate of $0.446530 $.426475 per $100 valuation. This rate is the voter-approval rate set by the State, which allows cities to increase the operations and maintenance portion of the tax rate by no more than 3.5%.
The City’s rate remains among the lowest in the Coastal Bend area. The proposed $0.446530 $.426475 per 100 valuation tax rate is made up of:
- Maintenance & Operations (M&O): $0.231403 per $100 valuation (Capped 3.5% increase)
- Interest & Sinking (I&S):
$0.215127$.195072 per $100 valuation
For the average home value of $367,016 $396,236, this proposed rate equals an increase of about $21.03 $13.18 per month or $252.37 $158.16 per year.
Required Wording
This year's levy to fund maintenance and operations expenditures exceeds last year's maintenance and operations tax levy. The following statements must be included in the ordinance, resolution, or order setting this year's tax rate. The statements must be in larger type than the type used in any other portion of the document.
City of Rockport ADOPTED A TAX RATE THAT WILL RAISE MORE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS THAN LAST YEAR'S TAX RATE.
THE TAX RATE WILL EFFECTIVELY BE RAISED BY 3.50 PERCENT AND WILL RAISE TAXES FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS ON A $100,000 HOME BY APPROXIMATELY $-4.14.
Budget Highlights Major priorities in the proposed budget include:
- Maintaining reliable service delivery
- Investing in public safety resources
- Adding to the City’s reserves
- Funding strategic Capital Improvement Projects including major arterial roadways
- Practicing strong fiscal stewardship
Key factors influencing the budget include marginal growth, a slight decrease in sales tax revenue, ongoing commitments to street improvements, and maintaining service levels in a growing community.
Budget and Tax Rate Video (Out of transparency, AI was used to voice over this presentation.)
Budget Documents
Updated Proposed FY2025-2026 Budget cover page
Updated Proposed FY2025-2026 Budget as of 9-4-2025
Updated Tax Rate Calculation Information Worksheet
Adopted Budgets
Notices
Updated Notice About 2025 Tax Rate
Public Hearing for FY2026 Budget and FY2025 Tax Rate (Hearings are scheduled for September 9, 2025 at City Hall at 5:00 p.m.)
For more information about property taxes, please visit the State's webpage on Property Tax Transparency.
Presentation
July 29, 2025 City Council Budget Workshop & HOT powerpoint
August 5, 2025 City Council Budget Workshop
Additional Information
Updated Truth-in-Taxation (TNT) letter
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