Kempner approves small tax rate decrease for 2026-2027

‘A government-funded program never drops, never goes down. If we have an opporutnity to start making it go down, I don’t see why not.’
Councilmen Rob Green, left, and Thomas Combs discuss the proposed 2026-2027 budget for the city of Kempner. Elimination of a setaside for a future municipal court judge salary has enabled the Kempner City Council to lower the tax rate for the upcoming year. ERICK MITCHELL | DISPATCH RECORD
Councilmen Rob Green, left, and Thomas Combs discuss the proposed 2026-2027 budget for the city of Kempner. Elimination of a setaside for a future municipal court judge salary has enabled the Kempner City Council to lower the tax rate for the upcoming year. ERICK MITCHELL | DISPATCH RECORD

After floating a proposed 11% increase to the city’s tax rate, Kempner City Council members settled on a lower rate than the one approved in 2025.

During Tuesday’s regular meeting, council members adopted the city’s 2026-2027 fiscalyear budget and a tax rate of $0.3715 per $100 in property value – a 2% decrease from last year’s mark.

Before adopting the budget, City Manager Rebecca Ramos provided co…