Highland Village homeowners would pay about $55 more per year in city property taxes under a proposed rate the City Council formally set Tuesday, Aug. 11.

The Council set a proposed rate of $0.528541 per $100 of assessed valuation for fiscal year 2026-27, up from the current $0.500984. That roughly three-cent increase, about 5.5%, is classified under Texas law as the Voter Approved rate, meaning the city can adopt it without calling an election.

A public hearing on the proposed rate is scheduled for a special meeting Sept. 15, according to a city alert posted Wednesday, Aug. 12. A second and final reading is set for Sept. 22.

The city's recommended budget will be posted at HighlandVillage.org/Budget on Aug. 22, giving residents nearly a month to review it before the hearing.

What it means for tax bills

On a home assessed at $300,000 with the standard $100,000 Texas homestead exemption, the proposed rate would produce a city tax bill of roughly $1,057, about $55 more than the current rate generates. Actual bills depend on each homeowner's certified taxable value from the Denton County Appraisal District.

For comparison, neighboring Flower Mound is holding its property tax rate flat at $0.387277 per $100 valuation in its proposed FY 2026-27 budget.

Why the increase

City Manager Paul Stevens framed the budget challenge as structural at the Council's July 14 meeting. "We are at a point where we need to look at things differently," he said. "... The City has always had a very lean budget, and even more so this year."

Revenues are projected to grow about 2.1% over the current year, but that pace is not keeping up with rising operating costs. The proposed base budget carries a 0% increase over last year, yet the General Fund still faces a roughly $1.6 million deficit after Council trimmed it from $2.1 million at a July 21 work session. The city's General Fund reserve sits at 35%, well above its 20-25% policy floor.

Mayor Charlotte Wilcox said at that same July 21 session that "years of conservative budgeting and building strong financial reserves have prepared us for this transition" as Highland Village enters what she called "a new financial reality" for the largely built-out community.

Floodplain ordinance could cut insurance costs

Also at the Aug. 11 meeting, Council approved the first reading of amendments to its floodplain management ordinance, originally adopted in 2011. The changes are part of an effort to improve Highland Village's rating in FEMA's Community Rating System, which can reduce flood insurance premiums for residents by 5% to 45% depending on a community's class.

FEMA identified revisions that would let the city receive maximum credit for practices already in place, meaning the amendments largely formalize existing procedures rather than impose new requirements. The city has contracted with LAN, Inc. to assist. A final reading is scheduled for Aug. 28.

How to weigh in

Residents can attend the Sept. 15 special meeting in person or watch live on HVTV (Frontier channel 43), at highlandvillage.org/hvtv, or on the city's YouTube channel. The Sept. 22 meeting will include the final vote on both the budget and tax rate.