Citizens have the right to request and obtain government information under the Texas Public Information Act, adopted in 1973. Section 552 of the Texas Government Code says the Act is primarily based on “the principle that government is the servant and not the master of the people.” During January-June of 2022, Shenandoah…

After four consecutive years of a 0.1799 property tax rate (per $100 valuation), Shenandoah city council voted on August 10 to reverse course and use Montgomery County’s reported No New Revenue rate of .1477 for 2022-23. The formal vote is slated for the August 24, 2022 council meeting. Although this…

In 2019, the Texas Legislature passed the Texas Property Tax Reform and Transparency Act. The  term “effective tax rate” was updated to the new term “no-new-revenue rate”. Simply stated, when a taxing entity adopts a no-new-revenue rate, it agrees it will not increase property tax (ad valorem) above what is required to…

Although the number of registered voters increases yearly corresponding to the population growth, the data do not indicate a proportional increase voter turnout. It is not depicted in this chart, but there have been a few times when elections were decided by only two or three votes.Shenandoah has an election…

On June 8, City Council approved an ordinance increasing the homestead exemption from $75,000 to $100,000 of appraised value for 65+ and disabled homeowners. Council did not engage in discussion about a proposal submitted by Alex Warmath which requested consideration of lowering the property tax rate (ad valorem) for all…

The Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA) is a 1967 law which is aimed at protecting the public’s right to have timely notice of government meetings and ensure public business is conducted in an open manner, with limited exceptions. TOMA includes certain rules that govern speech of citizens and council members.…