Groundwater district approves new budget and tax rate
Burnet County’s groundwater authority, the Central Texas Groundwater Conservation District (CTGCD), passed its 2026-27 fiscal year budget and tax rate Tuesday, Sept. 15, ratifying a slightly increased tax rate and significantly cut budget.
The approved budget touts several thousand dollars in additional tax revenue, bolstered spending on groundwater studies, and a minor increase to staff salaries, but is vastly reduced as compared to the 2025-26 fiscal year budget.
CTGCD staff noted that this drastic decrease was mainly due to last year’s budget including costs to purchase the district’s new central office, of which $960,000 was initially set aside.
The approved FY 2026-27 budget includes roughly $998,000 in expenditures, as compared to $1.86 million approved in FY 2025-26. Factoring out the cost of the district’s new office, those expenditures drop to a total of roughly $903,000.
See the approved FY 2026-27 budget here. Compare it to the FY 2025-26 budget here.
Tax rate
The approved tax rate is $0.0057 per $100 property tax valuation, which is slightly higher than last year’s rate of $0.0055.
CTGCD General Manager Mitchell Sodek told the district’s Board of Directors during the Sept. 15 meeting that this tax increase would amount to approximately $0.30 more year-over-year on a $100,000 home’s tax bill.
- FY 2025-26 tax rate – $0.0055 per $100 property valuation
- FY 2026-27 tax rate – $0.0057 per $100 property valuation
Budget by fund
Several of the district’s funds were budgeted differently in FY 2026-27. These funds include:
- Payroll – $404,680 ($395,150 in 2025-26)
- Contract services – $138,500 ($162,500 in 2025-26)
- Office expenses – $127,373 ($43,560 in 2025-26)
- Projects – $127,100 ($70,000 in 2025-26)
- Capital purchases – $83,000 ($1 million in 2025-26)
- Administrative operations – $36,450 ($32,450 in 2025-26)
- Education – $35,000 ($60,000 in 2025-26)
- Other expenses – $18,800 ($18,500 in 2025-26)
- Vehicle expenses – $12,200 ($14,200 in 2025-26)
- Insurance – $9,795 ($9,720 in 2025-26)
- Technical operations – $5,500 ($5,500 in 2025-26)
What is the CTGCD?
In conjunction with a five-member, elected board of directors, the CTGCD regulates groundwater usage in Burnet County. The district is responsible for assessing permits to build and operate groundwater wells, determining the county’s drought stage, and creating aquifer management zones, amongst other responsibilities.