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Baytown kept its tax rate at $0.69803. Here is why your bill can still go up.

On September 10, City Council adopted the property tax rate for the budget year that started October 1: $0.69803 per $100 of value, the same printed number as last year. The same rate does not mean the same bill. This is what the city adopted, what the other rates on the notice mean, and how to work out your own number.

The short version

Adopted rate: $0.69803 per $100 of taxable value, for tax year 2026 (fiscal year 2026–27). Last year's rate was also $0.69803.
Of that, $0.43812 pays for day-to-day operations (maintenance and operations) and $0.25991 pays debt.
The no-new-revenue rate, the rate that would have raised the same money as last year from the same properties, was $0.68517. The adopted rate sits above it, so the city collects more: $2,034,375 more than last year's budget, a 4.83 percent increase. $2,234,124 of the new money comes from property added to the rolls.
The voter-approval rate, the ceiling above which an election is required, was $0.74695. The adopted rate is well under it.
Debt secured by property taxes: $18,043,396 this year.
The bill math: taxable value ÷ 100 × 0.69803. A home taxed at $250,000 pays about $1,745 to the city; at $300,000, about $2,094. School, county and other districts bill separately.

Why a flat rate is not a flat bill

Texas cities set a rate; appraisal districts set values. If the Harris County Appraisal District (or Chambers, east of Cedar Bayou) raised your taxable value this year, the same rate produces a bigger bill. That is why the law makes cities publish the no-new-revenue rate: it is the rate that would have kept total collections flat as values rose. Baytown's no-new-revenue rate was $0.68517. Adopting $0.69803 instead is, in plain terms, a tax increase of about 1.9 percent on the same property compared with holding collections level, even though the number on the notice did not change.

The city's budget book says this directly: the budget "will raise more total property taxes than last year's budget by an amount of $2,034,375 which is a 4.83 percent increase."

Where the money goes

The rate splits in two. The maintenance and operations part, $0.43812, funds police, fire, streets, parks, the library and the rest of daily city work. The debt part, $0.25991, pays principal and interest on bonds the city has issued for buildings, drainage and roads; $18,043,396 of that debt is backed by property taxes this year. The debt rate fell from $0.27339 last year, and the operations rate rose by about the same amount, which is how the total stayed the same.

How the vote went

Council adopted the FY2026–27 budget and the tax-rate ordinance at its September 10 meeting after the required public hearing. The budget ordinance passed with every member voting yes: Mayor Charles Johnson and council members Laura Alvarado, Sarah Graham, Ken Griffith, James Franco, Jacob Powell and Mike Lester.

Your own number

Find "taxable value" (not market value) on your appraisal notice; homestead and over-65 exemptions have already been taken out of it. Divide by 100 and multiply by 0.69803. That is the City of Baytown line. Goose Creek CISD, Harris or Chambers County, the hospital district and Lee College each have their own rate and appear on the same statement. Statements go out in October; payment is due by January 31.

Before you go

Adopted Sept 10: $0.69803 per $100 (M&O $0.43812, debt $0.25991), unchanged in print from last year.
No-new-revenue rate $0.68517; voter-approval rate $0.74695.
Check your taxable value; that, not the rate, is what moved.

Sources

City of Baytown, City Council Meeting Recap, September 10, 2026 (https://www.baytown.org/Blog.aspx?IID=377)
City of Baytown, FY2027 Adopted Budget, Budget Book p. 11, Property Tax (https://www.baytown.org/461/Annual-Budget)
City of Baytown, Notice of Meeting to Vote on Tax Rate (https://www.baytown.org/1329/Notice-of-Meeting-to-Vote-on-Tax-Rate)
City of Baytown, Taxpayer Impact Statement (https://baytown.org/1560/Taxpayer-Impact-Statement)

En español

El 10 de septiembre, el Concejo de Baytown adoptó la tasa de impuesto predial para el año fiscal que empezó el 1 de octubre: $0.69803 por cada $100 de valor gravable, el mismo número impreso que el año pasado. De esa cifra, $0.43812 pagan la operación diaria de la ciudad y $0.25991 pagan la deuda. La tasa "sin nuevos ingresos", la que habría recaudado lo mismo que el año pasado, era $0.68517; al adoptar $0.69803, la ciudad recauda $2,034,375 más, un 4.83 por ciento. La misma tasa no significa la misma cuenta: si el distrito de avalúos subió el valor gravable de su casa, usted paga más. Para calcular su línea de la ciudad, divida su valor gravable entre 100 y multiplíquelo por 0.69803; una casa de $250,000 paga unos $1,745. La escuela, el condado y los otros distritos cobran aparte en el mismo estado de cuenta, que llega en octubre y vence el 31 de enero.

The HERE Baytown team