Temple adopts budget with 10% cuts as city faces rising costs and tax, water rate hike

TEMPLE, Texas (KXXV) — Residents in Temple, Texas, are raising questions about a rising tax rate as the city finalizes its budget amid economic pressures hitting wallets across the board.

Gasoline prices, food costs, and everyday expenses have climbed, leaving many working residents feeling the strain.

Neighbor Nell Fischer said she wants to understand what is driving the increase.

"I just think our city, I think our city is hurting, and I think we need to understand why."

Fischer also expressed concern about the direction of home values in the city.

"Our home values may decrease even more."

City Manager Brynn Myers said the budget process required departments to find savings while protecting essential services.

"We wanted to make sure that we were able to present a budget to you that continued to fund the important community priorities and kept our core services running well while also recognizing that we do need to be fiscally responsible, so we ask all of our department heads to present 10% budget cut scenarios."

The budget will focus funding on public safety and improvement projects across the city. Mayor Tim Davis said most homeowners will not feel the rate increase in their actual tax bills because property values have dropped.

"For the average home, it's not a tax increase. It's not a monetary. It's an increase in rate, but it's not an increase in expense in true dollars."

The city's budget will raise more total property taxes than last year's budget by $7,306,515, a 10.83% increase. Of that, $5,032,457 comes from new property added to the tax roll. The average homestead taxable home value in Temple for 2026 is $219,512.

Residents will also see higher water and wastewater rates beginning Oct. 1 as operational costs rise. City staff explained the reasoning behind the utility rate adjustments.

"We look at the whole picture when we're trying to determine the cost of service and the revenue requirement to cover that cost."

Mayor Davis added that the utility fees and the tax rate serve different purposes in the city's overall funding structure.

"Maybe some, there can be questions around, so you've got a tax rate, but then you've got these other fees that you're adjusting — it's because... the tax rate doesn't cover the operation, 100% of it."

Water rate changes effective Oct. 1

The following rates apply to the first 2,000 gallons of water used, based on meter size:

The rate per 1,000 gallons above the minimum remains unchanged at $4.85.

Customers outside city limits pay rates 25% higher than those listed above.

Wastewater rate changes effective Oct. 1

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.