The Woodlands Township Board of Directors lowered the property tax rate for 2026 but the average homeowner will still pay about $49 more because of rising home values.
The board set the total 2026 tax rate at $0.1694 per $100 of taxable value during a special meeting Thursday, Sept. 3. That is down from $0.1714 in 2025, a decrease of 1.17%.
Director Shelley Sekula-Gibbs cast the lone dissenting vote on both the maintenance and operations (M&O) rate and the tax levy order, making the final tally 6-1 on each. Chairman Brad Bailey, Vice-Chairman Craig Eissler, Directors Linda Nelson, Richard Franks, Adam Lamb and Cindy Heiser voted in favor, according to the township's tax rate notice.
The board adopted the fiscal year 2027 consolidated budget unanimously. Township President and CEO Monique Sharp presented the budget, which is based on the new tax rate, according to the township's Boardroom Briefing.
The M&O portion of the rate is $0.1594 per $100. The debt service rate of $0.0100 per $100 passed unanimously.
What homeowners will pay
The rate is lower. The bill is not.
The average homestead taxable value is projected to climb from $645,317 in 2025 to $681,960 in 2026, a 5.68% jump. That pushes the typical tax bill from $1,106.07 to $1,155.24, an increase of $49.17, or 4.45%.
The adopted rate of $0.1694 sits above the no-new-revenue rate of $0.1654 but well below the voter-approval rate of $0.1804. The total tax levy across all properties is projected to rise from about $52.1 million to roughly $53.2 million, an increase of about $1.15 million.
Sekula-Gibbs's dissent
No on-record statement from Sekula-Gibbs explaining her Sept. 3 votes appears in the township's official recap. During an Aug. 18 budget workshop, she raised concerns that township staff growth over the past decade had outpaced population growth.
"I thought it would be worth discussing and letting people know that if we keep this trajectory going, we are going to really be heavy on staff," Sekula-Gibbs said at the workshop, as Community Impact Newspaper reported.
The tax levy order passed as Order No. 008-26. Residents with questions about their tax calculations can contact Montgomery County Tax Assessor Tammy McRae at 936-538-8124.
