Budget discussions are on the horizon for the El Paso City Council.
The City Council will review the appraisal roll, certified anticipated collection rate for the current year, the No-New-Revenue Tax Rate and Voter-Approval Tax Rate for fiscal year 2026-2027 taxes during its regular meeting Tuesday, Aug. 4. Additionally, the City Council will hear a presentation on the proposed budget.
The agenda for Tuesday's meeting provides no details on what the budget might look like, but earlier discussions indicate that El Paso residents may once again see higher property tax bills.
The city released its preliminary budget Wednesday, May 27, showing a tax rate of $0.783 per $100 valuation compared to the 2026 rate of $0.760. The increase would mean an annual
average hike of about $105, or about $8.75 per month.
The proposed budget comes in at roughly $1.405 billion, an increase of 1.7% over the 2026 budget, due to rising costs related to maintaining existing services, public safety operations, infrastructure obligations, contractual costs and millions in voter-approved bonds.
The following are some of the other key pieces of the city's preliminary budget:
- Planned first responder academies, including three police academies and two fire academies, to support recruitment and retention
- Continued funding for Vision Zero, the city’s traffic safety initiative focused on reducing serious injuries and deaths on El Paso roadways, as well as neighborhood traffic management and lane striping initiatives
- Maintenance of approximately $29.7 million in annual pay-go funding for streets, vehicles, equipment, facilities and parks
- No increase to employee healthcare contributions for the ninth consecutive year
- Continued investments in infrastructure, facility maintenance, technology and neighborhood quality of life initiatives
The City Council will officially adopt the budget in late August.
Policy on campaign, public safety costs
The City Council on Tuesday will also hear recommendations for a policy that would require political campaigns venturing into El Paso to pay upfront for costs related to public safety and venue rentals. The vote on the new policy comes after the City Council directed the city manager and city attorney to develop a plan on June 9.
The policy comes as President Donald Trump still owes the city more than half-a-million dollars after a 2019 appearance in El Paso.
"After the Trump campaign visit, the city was left with a bill for approximately $600,000," Limon wrote in a document accompanying the June 9 agenda. "Attempts were made to collect the cost, but no payment was ever received. The city allowed the Trump campaign to hold a rally, yet a contract was never written to cover the costs incumbered. This action will prevent other campaigns from coming to the city, using our resources and then passing those costs to the taxpayers."
Adam Powell covers government and politics for the El Paso Times and can be reached via email at apowell@elpasotimes.com.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso property taxes could rise $105 under proposed City Council budget
