Kermit Council Set to Finalize Voter-Approval Tax Rate and Ask Austin to Leave the Cap Alone
Thursday's second reading locks in a $0.342649 rate, the most the city can adopt without an election. Kermit's legislative wish list also opposes lowering that limit.
Kermit's City Council is set to give final approval Thursday to a higher property tax rate. The council will also ask the Legislature not to tighten the state limit that keeps cities from raising rates without an election.
The council meets at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, at City Hall, 110 S. Tornillo St., according to the agenda. The tax rate and the fiscal year 2027 budget are up for second reading. Both passed 4-0 at a special meeting on Sept. 28, according to minutes in the meeting packet.
The rate
A staff memo puts the proposed rate at $0.342649 per $100 of taxable value. That is the voter-approval rate, the highest the city can adopt without asking voters. It is above the no-new-revenue rate of $0.303391. It is also $0.007899 higher than last year's adopted rate of $0.334750, which the memo calls about a 2.36% increase.
State law requires specific wording when a rate goes above the no-new-revenue level. The recommended motion says the rate "be increased by the adoption rate of $0.342649 per $100 of taxable value, which is effectively a 12.72 percent increase in the tax rate."
At a Sept. 22 special meeting that included public hearings on the rate and budget, City Manager Mike Arismendez said the city "would go with the voter approval tax rate" without triggering an election, the minutes say. He also said employee insurance costs had risen 11%. He said sales tax would be reviewed around December, and a raise of 2.5% or 3% for employees would be discussed in January 2027. The minutes record the tax rate hearing as opening at 5:34 p.m. and closing at 5:35 p.m.
The money
The memo says the rate is expected to raise $993,030 in property tax, up from $924,185 this year. It puts the difference at $65,403 "after consideration of exemptions." A separate budget memo projects $943,378 in property tax revenue at the same rate. The packet does not explain why the two figures differ.
The budget totals $16,581,218 in revenue and $15,672,969 in spending across all funds. That leaves a projected $908,249 added to fund balances and cash. Staff says spending is $1,014,156 below the fiscal 2026 adopted budget.
General Fund: $7,907,042 in revenue and $7,902,475 in spending, covering administration, police and fire, streets, code enforcement, animal services and parks. It counts on about $2.96 million in sales tax.
Water System Fund: $4,954,669 in revenue and $4,279,641 in spending, including $400,000 to start water line improvements.
Solid Waste Fund: $1,988,868 in revenue and $1,766,689 in spending.
Hotel Occupancy Fund: $796,923 in revenue and $790,445 in spending.
The memo says the general budget "maintains day-to-day service levels while limiting major capital improvements, street resurfacing, and vehicle and equipment replacements."
The 1929 Winkler County Courthouse in Kermit, 2014. Photo: TexasExplorer98 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The message to Austin
Later in the meeting, the council takes up its priorities for the 90th Legislature. One section says the city "OPPOSES legislation that would further reduce the voter-approval tax rate." It notes that cities generally calculate that rate using a 3.5% growth factor for maintenance and operations. During the 89th Legislature's special sessions, it says, lawmakers introduced proposals to lower that to 2.5%, and one Senate proposal would have applied the lower limit to cities and counties of 75,000 people or more.
The city's case is local control. "Reducing that threshold does not provide additional voter control," the document says. It argues the change "restricts the fiscal options available to locally elected officials before an election can even occur." It also says small and rural towns have fewer ways to raise money.
That argument has something to it. Kermit is not a big city, and its insurance bills are climbing. But taxpayers who would have liked a vote on this year's increase may read it differently. A lower threshold would have sent more rate increases to voters.
Also on the agenda
The council will consider a contingent-fee contract with the law firm Perdue, Brandon, Fielder, Collins and Mott to collect unpaid court fines and fees. It will also consider an appeal of an amusement center permit at 725 N. Pine St. and an application for a 2027-28 Community Development Block Grant. Residents can register to speak on site the day of the meeting and get three minutes during public comment. The meeting is also streamed on the city's YouTube channel. The full packet is on the city's meeting portal.
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