The Princeton City Council will hold a public hearing Monday, Sept. 21, on the proposed city budget for Fiscal Year 2026-27, followed a week later by a public hearing Monday, Sept. 28, on the proposed property tax rate.

The proposed budget and proposed tax rate may be amended by the City Council before final adoption on Sept. 28. 

Councilmembers had previously voted in a Sept. 8 special meeting to hold both hearings on Sept. 16, but they reconsidered later in the meeting and voted to hold separate hearings. 

“Following further legal review of the statutory requirements applicable to the City’s budget and property tax process, the city revised its meeting schedule to ensure that the required public hearings and subsequent adoption actions are conducted in accordance with state law,” said Princeton CFO Kelly Wilson.

She said Texas Local Government Code Section 102.006 requires the City Council to hold a public hearing on the proposed municipal budget. The statute requires that the budget hearing occur after the proposed budget has been on file with the City Secretary for the required period and before the governing body makes its tax levy.

Wilson said council will hold the required public hearing on the proposed FY2026-2027 budget on Monday, Sept. 21. 

“The purpose of this meeting is to provide the public an opportunity to attend, review the proposed budget and provide comments,” the CFO said, adding, “The City Council will not adopt the budget on Sept. 21.”

On Monday, Sept. 28, the City Council will hold a public hearing on the tax rate and consider the formal action items for adoption of the FY2026-27 budget as well as adoption of the 2026 property tax rate. 

“No final action on either the budget or the property tax rate is scheduled for Sept. 21,” she said.

Staff recommended a property tax rate of $0.472959 per $100 of taxable value, the voter-approval rate. Princeton’s calculated no-new-revenue rate would be $0.445102.

For a median-valued Princeton homestead, estimated at $307,881 for 2026, the proposed tax rate would produce an estimated city property tax bill of $1,456.15, an increase of $26.53 from the current year, Wilson said.

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