Council is scheduled to take a final reading on a 0.415613 city tax rate, while the city’s incentive records use separate accounting buckets that should not be combined into a single annual cost.
The proposed rate is 0.006677 higher than the prior 0.408936 city rate—about 0.67 cents more per $100 of taxable value. The city identifies the higher figure as its no-new-revenue rate, and the Sept. 10 presentation describes it as a proposal awaiting a second reading.
For an average taxable homestead, the city presentation estimates the proposed rate would add $13 a year to the city property-tax bill. That estimate covers the city portion—not the resident’s combined bill from the city, county, school district and other taxing entities.
Four Labels, Different Accounting Paths
The city’s Economic Development Transparency Star page organizes agreements by program and calendar year. It says the New Braunfels Economic Development Corporation administered nine incentive agreements in calendar 2024, while the city administered five Chapter 380 agreements—three directly and two through Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone No. 1. That inventory identifies contracts; it is not the same thing as an audited fiscal-year expense total.
The FY 2025 audit answers a different question. Its sales-tax reconciliation lists $1,759,882 in abatement payments for the fiscal year: $20,054 through the General Fund and $1,739,828 through the Economic Development Corporation. The same note separately lists $145,979 in taxes abated under a 15-year manufacturing agreement, down from $164,616 in fiscal 2024. Adding those figures to calendar-year charts would mix periods and tax streams.