How much are property taxes going to go up in Williamson County?

Property taxes going up in Wilco

Nearly every city in Williamson County is looking to raise their property taxes this year, citing growth. Here's a closer look at the math.

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - Nearly every city in Williamson County is proposing a property tax increase this year, and many of them point to the need to keep up with growth.

City governments can increase property tax rates by 3.5 %, but if they want a higher increase, voters will have to approve it in November. A chunk of city government budget money comes from property taxes.

Round Rock City Council is considering a proposed property tax increase from its No New Revenue Rate of 33.15 cents.

"Which is the tax rate that would bring in the same amount of revenues as the previous year," said Sara Bustilloz, Round Rock’s communication and marketing director. "So a lot of us are experiencing growth and higher property valuations, new values on the tax rolls, so you would actually have to roll your tax rate back in order to raise the same amount of revenues, so it gets very very confusing."

It’s a lot to sort through, but to make it simple, Round Rock is considering an 8.6 percent increase, or an extra $9 a month.

"About half of that is for voter-approved bond projects that were approved in the May 2023 bond election, and then the other is essentially for staffing and equipment," said Bustilloz. "We’re bringing on 26 new staff members, 17 of those are in public safety, including 10 new officers and six new firefighters."

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One of the highest increases in Williamson County could come from Round Rock’s next-door neighbor, Hutto. The city council is looking at a 15 percent raise, which is about $14 more a month.

"We have over 8 percent growth in the city every year for population, everyone’s heard about the new Samsung company project that’s coming. So we have to get our roads, our infrastructure, and wastewater projects going now so that when all that growth continues to come we’ll be ready," said Councilmember Randy Clark, Place 3. "We’re already behind."

Hutto city council is split on the raise, 3 to 4.

Mayor Mike Snyder is one of the members who do not want to see an increase that high.

"I saw the budget, and I was like, well, if we're gonna not cut out the fat, then I'm not raising a dollar on anybody's taxes until our food's cut out," said Snyder.

Councilmember Amberley Kolar, Place 6, added in a statement to FOX 7 Austin:

"The role of the city council is to enable city staff to provide essential services to the residents of Hutto. Hutto is a growing community with a bright future in central Texas and with growth comes a greater responsibility to serve residents.

"Unfortunately some members of the city council are not willing to negotiate the tax rate to better serve the community's needs. Instead, scare tactics are being used to divide the community during the budget season, which will impact the operations of the city throughout the 2025 fiscal year."

Up north in Georgetown, the city council is looking at a 4.41 percent increase.

"I am moving to set the maximum property tax rate of 36.4820 cents per hundred dollar valuation," said Councilmember Kevin Pitts.

They hope it will raise more money for maintenance and operations.

In Taylor, the proposed tax rate is technically less than last year by a few cents.

The City Council approved the proposed rate at 59. 13 cents. Last year, it was 62.8 cents. However, the proposed rate is a 6.37 percent increase from its No New Revenue Rate of 55.59 cents.

Jarrell is also looking at a proposed rate of 39.4 cents per $100 valuation.

Both Leander and Liberty Hill are considering increasing rates to under 3 percent.

If you’re interested in how your property taxes will change, click here.