Bellaire City Council on Monday held a public hearing on the city’s proposed 2025 property tax rate and then adopted an ordinance setting the rate at 0.4174 per $100 valuation.

Chief Financial Officer Terrence Beaman presented the city’s calculation and comparison of three rates the law requires the council consider. Beaman said the proposed rate, 0.4174 per $100, is slightly below the no-new-revenue rate calculated by the county and appraisal district and equal to the voter-approval rate for the city. "Our proposed rate is 0.4174," Beaman said. "Our no-new-revenue rate is 0.4177." He told council the difference would change the average Bellaire homestead tax bill from about $3,414 to about $3,487 — roughly a $73 change for an average taxable homestead under the proposed rate.

Beaman walked the council through how the rate is composed, breaking it into an M&O (maintenance and operations) portion of 0.3036 and a debt portion of 0.1138. He told the council the debt component will change over time as the city issues bonds and completes projects.

No members of the public signed up to speak during the hearing. After council questions and no public comment, the mayor closed the hearing and the council moved to adopt the ordinance setting the tax rate for tax year 2025. The council voted unanimously to adopt the ordinance.

Why it matters: The rate the council adopted determines Bellaire’s property tax levy for fiscal 2026 and will be used in the city budget and in individual homeowners’ bills. By setting a rate below the no-new-revenue rate, the council signaled it did not propose raising property tax revenue over the prior year from the same properties.

The council recorded the vote as unanimous. Final deliberation and the adoption vote occurred during the regular meeting following the public hearing.