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Devine City Administrator David Jordan, left, and Mayor Butch Cook confer during a special session of the Devine City Council held Sept 9 Photo by Anton Riecher.
By Anton Riecher
At its Sept. 9 special meeting, the Devine City Council voted unanimously to stand pat on the same property tax rate as last year – 59 cents per $100 valuation. But, after the meeting it was discovered that the city had published the wrong date for the public meeting to set the tax rate and part of its wording, so it will have to be redone and be voted on again on Monday, September 29, 2025 at a 6:00 p.m. public meeting for a Proposed Budget and Tax Rate for fiscal year 2025/2026. (See both corrected public notices published in this week’s Devine News.)
(Apparently when you keep the tax rate the exact same, but take in more money than the prior year due to property value increases, the tax rate is considered a tax increase in the end).
Mayor Butch Cook said a lack of attendance at the public hearing (Sept. 9) on the tax rate apparently signifies that “everyone is in agreement with what we’ve decided.”
“All things considered, with our water rate increases and such, we wanted to do our best to keep things as manageable as possible for the citizens,” Cook said.
With all five council members in attendance, District 2 Alderman Michael Hernandez made the motion putting forward the tax rate. The motion was seconded by District 1 Alderman Ray Gonzales.
Cook noted that as a result of increased appraisals the approved tax rate will bring in about $40,000 or nearly three percent more in tax revenue that the same rate last year.
“I don’t want to mislead anybody into thinking that we’re getting the exact same amount of money,” he said.
Of the added revenue, $11,641 of it will result from new property added to the tax roll in the past year, Cook said.
A breakdown of the tax rate shows $.4864 per $100 valuation dedicated to maintenance and operating (M&O) funds, same as last year. Likewise, the debt service rate or INS will stand at $.1036 per $100 valuation, also the same as the previous year.
Debt obligation under the general fund stands at…LOGIN TO CONTINUE READING at www.devinenewsmembers.com. You will get instant access to our full E-edition, and begin getting the newspaper delivered to your home next week for $36 a year in Medina County. Support important local city, county, and school news like this!
