For Atascosa County homeowners, the numbers behind the county's proposed 2027 budget come down to a fairly straightforward question: What could this mean for the property tax bill?

For a median-valued homestead of $206,980, Atascosa County estimates the county portion of the property tax bill would increase from about $999 under the current $0.482888 tax rate to approximately $1,171 under the proposed rate of $0.565516 per $100 of taxable value.

That is an estimated increase of $172 for the year, or a little more than $14 per month, based on the county's taxpayer impact statement.

The Atascosa County Commissioners Court is scheduled to take up the proposed 2027 budget, county salaries and tax rate Monday, Sept. 14, following weeks of budget preparation and public hearings. The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the Atascosa County Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Circle Drive, Suite 203, in Jourdanton. The county has posted its proposed budget, taxpayer impact statement and hearing notices online as part of its fiscal year 2027 budget materials. 

Proposed Atascosa County tax rate is above the no-new-revenue rate

One number that matters in understanding the proposal is Atascosa County's no-new-revenue tax rate, which is $0.515555 per $100 of taxable value.

The county's proposed rate of $0.565516 is nearly 5 cents higher per $100 of value than that benchmark.

The no-new-revenue rate does not mean the county would collect no additional money whatsoever. Under Texas' truth-in-taxation system, it is essentially a comparison rate designed to show the rate that would generate approximately the same property tax revenue from properties that were on the tax rolls in both years, after required adjustments. New property is treated separately in the calculation. 

For the county's median-valued homestead, Atascosa County estimates a tax bill of about $1,067 at the no-new-revenue rate, compared with $1,171 under the proposed rate.

That puts the proposed bill about $104 a year — roughly $8.67 a month — above the county's estimate at the no-new-revenue rate.

The proposed $0.565516 rate also matches Atascosa County's calculated voter-approval tax rate. The Texas Comptroller describes the voter-approval rate as a calculated maximum rate that generally may be adopted without requiring voter approval, subject to the rules and adjustments in state law. 

County expects about $3.54 million more in property tax revenue

Atascosa County's final revised proposed budget states that it would raise $3,541,872.26 more in total property taxes than the previous year's budget, an increase of approximately 10.5%.

Of that additional revenue, approximately $804,627 would come from new property added to the tax roll this year.

Those percentages should not be confused with the change in the tax rate itself.

The proposed rate of $0.565516 is about 17.1% higher than the current $0.482888 rate. The amount of additional revenue collected countywide, however, depends on the taxable property base, new construction, exemptions, appraisal changes and other factors involved in the county's tax calculation.

For individual homeowners, actual bills will also depend on their property's taxable value and exemptions. The county's $1,171 estimate is specifically for the $206,980 median-valued homestead used in its required taxpayer impact statement.

Public safety accounts for several notable budget increases

A look through the county's revised proposed budget also shows where some additional spending is headed.

The proposed 2027 budget for the Atascosa County Sheriff's Office is approximately $7.70 million, compared with a 2026 budget of approximately $6.49 million. The sheriff's full-time payroll line rises from about $3.22 million to $3.92 million, while the proposed budget also includes funding for overtime, vehicles, equipment, fuel, insurance and other law enforcement expenses.

The jail and detention facility is budgeted at approximately $5.93 million, up from about $5.47 million in the 2026 budget. Its proposed spending includes correctional officer and jail staff salaries, overtime, medical care, food, maintenance, insurance and other operating expenses.

Atascosa County's 911 expenses would rise from roughly $1.21 million to $1.30 million, while the Emergency Management budget would increase from approximately $176,325 to $222,497. Funding for volunteer fire departments remains budgeted at $257,000.

Those numbers help put the tax discussion into a broader context: Commissioners are not simply choosing a tax rate Monday. They are deciding how much revenue the county expects to collect and how that money will be distributed among law enforcement, courts, emergency services, county facilities, administrative offices and other services residents rely on.

What happens at the Sept. 14 Atascosa County Commissioners Court meeting?

The Sept. 14 meeting is the next key date for residents following the Atascosa County 2027 budget and property tax rate.

The county's budget documents identify public hearings on Sept. 8 and Sept. 14, both at 9 a.m. at the Atascosa County Courthouse in Jourdanton, and state that the county intends to adopt the proposed budget and tax rate on Sept. 14.

Until commissioners take final action, however, the numbers are still proposals. Atascosa County specifically notes that both the proposed budget and proposed tax rate can be amended by Commissioners Court before adoption.

That makes Monday's meeting particularly relevant for homeowners, businesses and other taxpayers who want to understand not only the final tax rate but what the additional revenue will support.

Residents who want to review the numbers themselves can find the FY 2027 Final Revised Proposed Budget, Taxpayer Impact Statement, public hearing notices and related budget documents through Atascosa County's official budget page. 

For many households, the most useful comparison may be the simplest one: on the county's median-valued $206,980 homestead, the estimated county tax bill is $999 under the current rate, $1,067 at the no-new-revenue rate and $1,171 under the proposal commissioners are preparing to consider.

The final decision on that proposal is expected Sept. 14.

Stay tuned to My Neighborhood News for updates on the final Atascosa County 2027 budget, adopted property tax rate and what the decision means for local taxpayers.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.

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