White Oak adopts slim trim to tax rate

“Our property rate actually went down.”
It’s just a tenth of a percent, Kristine Toon allows, but a decrease is something the White Oak city secretary and finance director can get behind.
Granted, she said, homeowners may see their tax bills climb anyway following increased appraisals outside City Hall’s sphere.
“The budget will raise revenue by $121,926.74, which is an increase of 3.51 percent,” Toon confirmed. That includes about $31,000 raised from new property added to the tax rolls.
In addition to the requisite votes on finances, the White Oak City Council’s Sept. 8 meeting included a necessary restructuring of the Public Works Department.
Regarding the tax rate, at $0.618063 per $100 valuation (compared to $0.61878 for the current FY2026) the figure for Fiscal Year 2026-2027 includes $0.534460 for Maintenance & Operations as well as $0.83603 for Interest & Sinking (debt service).
Revenues and expenditures total $11,898,392 for the coming fiscal year (which begins Oct. 1), and the budget’s balanced using $252,000 from the city’s reserves. There’s $400,000 earmarked in the Utility Fund for Texas Department of Transportation’s waterline relocation project along Hwy. 42 and for the remaining costs to refurbish the city’s two water tanks (the project began in FY26).
There is no increase to water rates: “That’s not a discussion at the moment,” Toon said.
Among the key elements of the newly-adopted budget, city employees will receive an 3 percent Cost of Living Adjustment.
“We’re doing three percent for the city as a whole and 10 percent for the officers,” Toon noted. “We’re raising them up to try to be more competitive.”
Key expenditures ahead in FY2027 include:
• a new trackhoe
• a truck for the Water Department
• maintenance pumps and rotors to replace worn equipment
• a new police vehicle
• “The police department and fire department are getting new radios,” Toon noted. “That’s going to make them more compatible with our new system and with Gregg County.”
• a $110,000 drainage renovation for Wood Creek Court
• two road projects (base work, overlay and seal) for Owens and Alexander
• a new shop for the Parks department
• a new server (approximately $12,000) for City Hall
Following the death of Public Works Director Tracey Fears in June, city leaders have been discussing changes to move the department forward.
Heading into the new fiscal year, Colton Apple is the new Public Works department head with Dale Tuttle serving as foreman and Jacob Pennington as crew leader.
Conversations are ongoing about renaming ballfields at the city’s baseball complex in honor of Fears.