Rockwall County property owners will pay a tax rate of $0.2620 per $100 of assessed value starting Oct. 1, up from $0.2510. That rate could have been $0.2833 if the Commissioners Court had not pulled $4.61 million from the county's savings.

County Judge Frank New and Commissioners Bobby Gallana, Dana Macalik, Lorne Liechty and John Stacy explained the tradeoff in an open letter posted Sept. 22 on the county website. The letter breaks down why the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, which the court adopted unanimously on Sept. 8, leans on reserves to hold the line on taxes.

Why the drawdown

The $4.61 million withdrawal drops the county's fund balance to roughly 4.8 months of budgeted expenses. County policy calls for keeping four to six months in reserve. The commissioners wrote that they consulted the county's financial advisor before making the move and were told it would not hurt Rockwall County's AAA credit rating.

Road bonds drive the math

The biggest pressure on the budget comes from TRIP 21 road bonds. Voters approved $150 million in road bonds in November 2021. The county issued $50 million of that total in February 2026 for road projects across the county.

Debt service on those new bonds will cost $3.4 million in FY2027. That alone would have required adding $0.0123 to the tax rate. The actual increase is $0.011, meaning the court found savings elsewhere and used reserves to absorb the gap.

According to the adopted budget, the FY2027 budget will raise $4,744,249 more in property tax revenue than last year's budget, a 7.91% increase. Of that, $2,259,683 comes from new property added to the tax roll. Total outstanding bond debt will stand at $115,640,000 as of Jan. 1, 2027.

What else the budget funds

Beyond road debt, the commissioners' letter listed several cost drivers: a nearly $1 million expansion of the District Attorney's offices, more than $1 million in higher health insurance premiums and employee raises to keep pace with inflation.

A bumpy path to adoption

The final 5-0 vote on Sept. 8 followed weeks of disagreement. At an Aug. 13 special meeting, a motion to set the rate at $0.284858, which combined the voter-approved rate with unused increment, failed 2-2. Commissioners Liechty and Macalik voted for it; Judge New and Commissioner Stacy voted against. A second motion that day set a proposed rate of $0.28, passing 3-1 with Judge New opposed.

By the Sept. 3 special meeting, the court voted 5-0 to reduce the rate to $0.2620, the figure ultimately adopted five days later.

What it means for your tax bill

The adopted rate of $0.2620 is $0.0228 below the voter-approved ceiling of $0.2848. The $0.011 per $100 increase from the current rate translates to a modest bump for most homeowners. The commissioners' letter and budget documents are available on the county's financial transparency page.

FY2027 takes effect Oct. 1.