TEXAS — No cities in Wharton County were included in a new list of more than 110 Texas municipalities prohibited from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Monday, Aug. 17, that his office sent violation determination letters to 115 additional cities accused of failing to meet state financial audit and transparency requirements.
Although no Wharton County cities appeared on the latest list, several municipalities in nearby counties were named, including:
- Weimar in Colorado County
- Palacios in Matagorda County
- Pattison in Austin County
- Kendleton and Simonton in Fort Bend County
- Brazoria and Jones Creek in Brazoria County
- Point Comfort and Seadrift in Calhoun County
- Yorktown in DeWitt County
- Santa Fe in Galveston County
- Pasadena in Harris County
Wharton, El Campo, East Bernard, Boling and Louise were not included in the Aug. 17 announcement.
However, the City of Wharton was included in a separate list of more than 130 cities released by the Attorney General’s Office in May. Wharton was the only municipality in Wharton County named in that earlier announcement.
El Campo, East Bernard and the county’s other municipalities have not appeared on either list released by the Attorney General’s Office.
The enforcement action stems from Senate Bill 1851, which was passed during the 2025 legislative session. The law prohibits cities from adopting a property tax rate above the no-new-revenue rate if they fail to meet certain financial statement audit and public transparency requirements.
The no-new-revenue rate is generally calculated to provide a city with approximately the same amount of property tax revenue from existing properties as the previous year. New construction is treated separately in the calculation.
Being placed on the list does not necessarily mean a city already adopted an illegal tax increase. The letters notify the cities that the Attorney General’s Office considers them out of compliance with state audit requirements and that they cannot adopt a rate above the no-new-revenue rate.
Individual property tax bills could still increase because of higher appraised values, new construction, exemptions or changes made by other taxing entities. The attorney general’s action applies only to the cities named and does not directly restrict counties, school districts or other taxing entities.
The latest announcement follows an investigation of more than 1,000 Texas municipalities. More than 130 cities were named in May, followed by the additional 115 cities announced Monday.
The Attorney General’s Office said the investigation remains ongoing and additional cities could be identified.
Source: Texas Attorney General’s Office
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