"Despite rising personnel, retirement, and operating costs, this budget delivers a 3.03% reduction in the City's property tax rate."
That line opens the budget message in the City of Slaton's FYE 2027 operating budget. City commissioners adopted it unanimously on September 14, 2026. The 3.03% is real, but it measures the levy, meaning the total dollars the city expects to collect in property taxes. The city's rate per $100 of value went up. Both are true at once, and the reason why matters more to a Slaton buyer than any single price on a listing.
One page of the budget, three numbers moving in different directions
The cover page of the budget puts the figures side by side.
| Per $100 of value | 2025-2026 | 2026-2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Adopted property tax rate | $0.685656 | $0.711169 |
| No-new-revenue rate | $0.515925 | $0.720350 |
| Debt service rate | $0.266998 | $0.245043 |
| Change in property tax revenue | -$64,408.26, or -3.03% |
The no-new-revenue rate is the key row. In plain terms, it is roughly the rate that would raise the same money from the same properties as last year, so it climbs when their values fall. Slaton's jumped from about 52 cents to about 72 cents. The city adopted 71.1 cents, which is just under that line. The September 14 agenda lists the item as ratifying "the Property Tax Decrease reflected in the FYE 2027 Operating Budget," even though the rate on the bill is higher.
At a fixed $100,000 of taxable value, the city portion goes from about $685.66 to $711.17, or $25.51 more for the year. A house only pays that extra $25.51 if its taxable value stayed the same. Across Slaton as a whole, values went down.
The tax roll shrank before anyone set a rate
Slaton's certified taxable value fell from $309,646,348 in 2025 to $289,481,192 in 2026. That is a drop of about $20.2 million, or roughly 6.5%. The September 14 agenda shows what that meant for a typical home. The city's listed "median household value" went from $98,614 to $92,852, and the median-home city tax went from $676.15 to $660.33.
The budget does not name one cause for the decline. One factor that clearly applies is House Bill 9. It created a $125,000 exemption for qualifying income-producing business personal property, starting with tax years on or after January 1, 2026. The Lubbock Central Appraisal District record for one Slaton business inventory account shows that exemption cutting its taxable value from $522,871 to $397,871. In Lubbock, KCBD reported that most of the city's $436 million rise in exemptions this year came from that same business property exemption.
For a homeowner, the takeaway is simple. When business property leaves the roll, the city's costs don't go away. They fall on whatever value remains, and in Slaton much of that is houses.
Sale prices went the other way this year
Here the story splits. The city's median household value went down. Prices on homes that actually sold went up sharply.
The Lubbock Association of REALTORS September 2026 report, produced by the Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M, shows these Slaton numbers for January through September 2026:
- 38 closed residential sales, up 52.0% from the same period last year
- A median sale price of $147,500, up 50.5%
- An average price of $150,141 and $95 per square foot
- 67 days on market
- Homes closing at 87.3% of their original list price
Only one of those 38 sales was new construction, at $210,000. The price increase came almost entirely from existing homes. Thirty-eight sales is a small sample, and a few higher-priced homes can move a median that much. Even so, the gap is wide. The median sale price for 2026 so far is far above the city's $92,852 median household value. Part of that gap may come from labels: the state's notice form describes the figure as taxable value, not market value. Part of it may be timing.
The timing is the part buyers should understand. The appraisal district's 2026 Mass Appraisal Report says every subdivision is analyzed each year to check that sales from the past 12 months land within plus or minus 3% of appraised value. When they don't, the district adjusts that subdivision. The 2026 roll that set this year's tax rate was certified before most of this year's sales closed. Those sales feed the next round of that review.
What the rate is paying for
Look at three years of Slaton's rate and you can see what is behind the increases.
| Tax year | Operations rate | Debt service rate | Total rate | Levy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $0.415146 | $0.115018 | $0.530164 | $1,583,624 |
| 2025 | $0.418658 | $0.266998 | $0.685656 | $2,123,109 |
| 2026 | $0.466126 | $0.245043 | $0.711169 | $2,058,701 |
The big jump came in 2025, and almost all of it was debt service. That was the year Slaton issued Series 2025B certificates of obligation. The city's FY2025 audit lists them at $7,010,000. The budget describes the borrowing as about $7 million "to fund its Capital Improvement Plan and rehabilitate designated streets." The payment on that debt in FYE 2027 is $452,600.
The streets themselves are still being designed. According to the budget, design and engineering are "nearing completion," and the city expects to advertise the project for bids in March 2027. Anyone who buys a Slaton home this fall is paying toward a street program that hasn't reached construction. On the other side, the city's operations rate rose this year as it covers higher retirement contributions and a switch to straight-time pay for police and fire.
Streets also show up in a second place, outside the tax bill. The budget's Streets & Sanitation fund includes a $420,000 line called "Special Assessment Charge – Street." On the city's utility rates page, a $12.48 street fee appears next to sanitation at $22.16 plus sales tax. That page lists both charges in the reduced-rate schedules for seniors and customers on disability. A buyer comparing towns on tax rate alone would never see that charge.
Where this shows up during a purchase
Slaton's 87.3% close-to-original-list ratio for 2026 through September is the strongest sign of friction in the data. On average, the gap between a starting price and a final sale price has been about 13 cents on the dollar. That fits with 67 days on market and with 15 active listings, or 4.1 months of inventory, in September. Many Slaton sellers have been starting high and then coming down.
Here is how the tax side connects for a buyer:
- A seller's last tax bill was calculated from that home's appraised value at last year's rates. The appraisal district's yearly review of the past 12 months of sales is how higher sale prices make their way into future appraisals.
- Lubbock County's adopted 2026 rate is 32.2782 cents per $100, according to KCBD. The station described the hospital district rate commissioners adopted as "just shy of 10 cents." The city rate is one line among several.
- The city's street fee appears on the utility bill, not the tax bill. Budget for it separately.
- Paying for the street program has already started. The construction hasn't.
For comparison, Lubbock County's September 2026 median sale price was $261,230, with 44 days on market and 3.9 months of inventory. Slaton's $147,500 median for January through September 2026 is well below that county figure.
A few quick answers
Did Slaton raise property taxes this year? The rate went up, from $0.685656 to $0.711169 per $100. The total amount the city plans to collect went down by $64,408.26. The city's median-home tax figure went down by about $16.
Why would a lower total collection need a higher rate? Because the taxable roll shrank about 6.5%. Collecting a little less money from a much smaller base still takes a higher rate.
When will the street work start? The budget expects the project to be advertised for bids in March 2027. It does not give a construction start date.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Confirm the details for your own property with the Lubbock Central Appraisal District, your tax office or a qualified professional.
This year, Slaton's sale prices and its appraised values moved in opposite directions, so the number a portal shows you may be far from what the appraisal district has on file. Condor Property Group can line up your home's likely sale price against its current appraisal and this year's rates, so you know both numbers before you list or make an offer. Get Your Instant Home Valuation to start.