By Edmond Ortiz
Eight cities just northeast of San Antonio have adopted a Fiscal Year 2026 budget, and while many of those suburbs continue to experience population and commercial growth, the new budgets reflect their struggle with rising expenses and property value issues.
See how towns surrounding Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph will address growth and other challenges in the new fiscal year, which started Oct. 1 for nearly all of them:
Cibolo
City Council voted on Sept. 18 to approve a $24.8 million general fund budget, which local officials kept tight due to the same inflationary, market competition and property assessment challenges that are facing many small yet growing cities.
Cibolo’s FY 2026 budget will add three new police department positions, cost-of-living adjustments and competitive market pay adjustments for city employees, and a 2% fee increase to wastewater charges to cover the rising cost of the third-party provider of collection and treatment services. City staff will bring the wastewater rate adjustments to the council at the end of a study that a consultant recently performed on the town’s utility rates.
Projecting $24.5 million in general revenue in FY 26, Cibolo’s leaders are raising the property tax rate from 49.9 cents per $100 valuation to 52.2 cents, a move that will result in a $13 increase on the annual total tax bill on the average Cibolo homestead.
A recent council vote to hike the property tax rate passed 4-2-1, with Councilmembers Norma Sanchez-Stephens and Joel Hicks voting “no,” and Councilmember Jeff McGlothin absent.
Windcrest
City Council on Sept. 15 passed an $11.6 million general fund budget, which is a slight increase over the $11.0 million budget approved for Fiscal Year 2025.
Compared with last year, the new budget features an $86,604 increase in spending for the fire department, $23,327 for public works, $201,166 for animal control, and a $52,145 decrease for the police department. The FY 2026 budget supports initiatives such as repairs at the Windcrest Civic Center.
Council approved raising the property tax rate from 39.3 cents per $100 valuation to 44.6 cents, a hike that will yield a 14.6% – or $182 – annual increase on the average Windcrest homestead tax bill.
Kirby
City Council voted on Sept. 11 to adopt a $7.53 million general fund budget for FY 2026, with $6.62 million in general fund spending projected by the city.
Dealing with a budget shortfall and declining property values, the city is increasing its property tax rate from 57.9 cents per $100 valuation to 60 cents.
Local officials said the average Kirby homestead should receive an annual $100 increase on its property tax bill due to the tax rate hike.
Selma
City Council on Sept. 11 approved a balanced general fund budget of $16.6 million – 5% down from the $17.5 million projected in the adopted FY 2025 budget.
Selma’s new budget, which takes effect Nov. 1, projects property tax and sales tax revenues slightly higher than FY 25. It also contains 4.5% more spending on the fire department, 3.4% more spending on the police department, and 26.7% increased expenditures to handle infrastructure issues.
The city is maintaining its property tax rate of 18.7 cents per $100 valuation
Converse
City Council voted on Sept. 10 to approve a balanced general fund budget of $22.6 million. The new FY 26 budget includes money for technology and software upgrades, and new tasers and patrol motorcycles for police, new fire/EMS computers, bunker gear and an ambulance, park improvements, new public works equipment, and staff additions, such as a new animal control officer, a building permits technician, and two part-time library workers.
The city is staying with its current property tax rate of 46.5 cents per $100 valuation, as local officials project steady growth in taxable property tax and sales tax revenue and permit fees. The city’s property tax hike will result in a $93 increase on the annual tax bill of the average Converse homestead.
Live Oak
City Council on Sept. 9 passed a $19.5 million general fund budget, with general fund revenue projected at $20.7 million for FY 26.
Live Oak’s new budget supports a 3% pay adjustment for employees, and initiatives such as upgrading the Toepperwein Road/Leafy Hollow traffic signal, beautification of rights-of-way of state-owned roads, enhancing city monuments and signage, and continuing improvements at the city pool/clubhouse complex.
The city is hiking its property tax rate of 37 cents per $100 valuation to 38.6 cents. Local officials said the city will raise nearly $463,000 in property tax income more than last fiscal year.
The city’s property tax hike will increase the annual tax bill of the average Live Oak homestead by $39.
Universal City
City Council took action Sept. 2 to adopt a balanced $20.5 million general fund budget, which supports goals such as replacing two police patrol vehicles and one fire crew truck, fire department equipment upgrades, park improvements, and the continuance of 2023 street bond projects.
The city is raising its property tax rate from 51.4 cents per $100 valuation to 53 cents, as local leaders acknowledged little major movement in taxable values or sales tax revenue. The city’s property tax hike will result in a $75 increase on the annual tax bill of the average Universal City homestead.
Schertz
City Council on Aug. 19 passed a $53.7 million general fund budget, which contains monies for measures such as cybersecurity technology upgrades, Main Street improvements, rebuilding Lower Seguin Road, street projects on Country Club Boulevard and Savannah Drive, and finishing the reconstruction of Schertz’s part of Lookout Road.
Additionally, Schertz’s FY 26 budget funds the addition of 26 positions, including four paramedics, six firefighters to complete staffing at the upcoming Fire Station No. 4, a supervisor to oversee transition of Schertz Senior Center operations to the city, and five public works staffers, and a floodplain manager.
Schertz’s budget also features merit increases of up to 4% for non-uniformed public safety employees, and a 4% pay step increase for eligible uniformed public safety employees,
Projecting $52.4 million in general fund revenue, the city is raising its property tax rate from 49 cents per $100 valuation to 51.1 cents. According to city officials, while overall taxable value in the Guadalupe County portion of Schertz rose from last year, property values of existing homesteads declined on an average of 6%. Local leaders also said Schertz’s sales tax revenue, which had been strong in previous years, levelled off in Fiscal Year 2024.
