FY26 Budget
City Council Adopts FY26 Budget, Capital Improvement Program and Tax Rate
Sugar Land City Council adopted a $513.8 million budget for fiscal year 2026 and a tax rate of $0.358827 after a series of workshops and public hearings. The adopted budget includes $330 million for operations and $184 million for capital projects. The approved budget further establishes the city’s leadership in conservative, resilient and responsible stewardship through strategic investment in priority areas. The goal is to balance investment in both operations and capital funding to increase the city’s resiliency in fiscal year 2026 and into the future.
The city continues to be recognized as a leader in financial stewardship, with strategies specifically tailored to the community and designed to maximize both the conservative nature of the city’s finances and to offset the residential tax burden. The City maintained the homestead exemption at 15% for the 2025 tax year. Sugar Land has one of the lowest residential tax burdens per capita in comparison to peer cities, in addition to the fact that Sugar Land’s tax rate represents only a small percentage of the total average residential tax burden.
The Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) totals $766 million, with $184 million in projects funded in FY26. In November 2024, voters approved five General Obligation (GO) Bond propositions, and those projects have been incorporated into the CIP. It is important to note that only the first year of the CIP is formally funded in the annual budget. The remaining years serve as a planning tool and are updated annually based on funding availability, inflation, and the best information available at the time.
The adopted utility rates for 2026 will result in an increase to a residential bill of approximately 3% per month for residential customers. The new rate for residential solid waste services is $22.97 per month plus an additional $1 for disaster recover. These rates will be reflected starting with January 2026 water bills.
The final FY26 adopted documents can be found below:
| Fund | FY26 Adopted | FY25 Adopted | $ Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Fund | $137,052,899 | $130,998,723 | $7,139,493 | 5.45% |
| Debt Service Funds | $45,212,554 | $37,235,501 | $7,977,053 | 21.42% |
| Enterprise Funds | $107,367,437 | $104,081,613 | $3,285,824 | 3.16% |
| Economic Development | $14,910,986 | $20,951,244 | -$6,040,258 | -28.83% |
| Other Funds | $25,413,115 | $23,998,121 | $1,414,994 | 5.90% |
| Total Operating | $329,956,991 | $317,265,202 | $13,777,107 | 4.34% |
| Capital Projects | $183,888,750 | $160,340,804 | $23,547,946 | 14.69% |
| Total Budget | $513,845,740 | $477,606,006 | $37,325,052 | 7.82% |
| Total Budget with Transfers | $606,356,888 | $569,880,427 | $37,561,779 | 6.59% |