Montgomery County homeowners could save about $16 a year on their property tax bills if commissioners adopt the no-new-revenue rate that emerged from budget workshops this week, but a push to raise pay for all county workers could change the math before a final rate is set.

The county's no-new-revenue rate for fiscal year 2026-27 dropped to $0.3706 per $100 of taxable value, down from the current adopted rate of $0.3770, according to figures presented at the Tuesday, Aug. 11 budget workshop in Conroe. At that rate, the owner of a median-valued home ($270,349) would owe $1,001.91 in county taxes, roughly $16.25 less than this year's $1,018.16, according to Community Impact's reporting from the workshop.

The lower rate reflects a 3.23% rise in the county's certified taxable value to approximately $109.27 billion. Tax Assessor-Collector Tammy McRae told commissioners the increase was smaller than in recent years, noting the county lost about 4% in value between preliminary numbers in April and certified values in July. As of July 25, some 21,181 parcels remained under protest, representing about $4.224 billion in taxable value.

McRae also flagged a $3.35 million revenue hit from House Bill 9, which took effect Jan. 1 and exempts up to $125,000 of businesses' personal property from local taxation under state Proposition 9.

Pay parity debate

Budget Officer Amanda Carter told commissioners the county's law enforcement pay parity plan met its goals after raises last year, with lower attrition rates across the county. But she said the committee recommends extending the plan from four years to five, saying four years is too compressed to handle the changes needed in law enforcement. The full pay parity cost for FY 2026-27, including benefits, is estimated at $9.88 million.

That wasn't enough for Riley.

"I'm going to take care of every other employee in this county this time," Precinct 2 Commissioner Charlie Riley said at the Tuesday, Aug. 11 workshop. "Pay for law enforcement got the big pay raise last year, and nobody else got anything. I'm taking care of everybody this year."

Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Walker backed Riley, saying he had already given his own precinct employees a dollar raise out of his budget because "everything's expensive."

Commissioners deferred final decisions on pay raises and medical plan costs to later in the workshop week, which was scheduled to run through Aug. 14. The voter-approval rate, the highest the county could set without triggering an election, stands at $0.4136 per $100 valuation.

No final proposed tax rate had been adopted as of Tuesday, Aug. 11. Residents can track the budget workshop agenda for updates on when the court will formally propose a rate and schedule a public hearing.