Megan Navarro
WIMBERLEY — The city of Wimberley is one of several cities across the state that received a letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, notifying them that they are prohibited from raising taxes above the no-new-revenue rate.
This also follows an investigation by Paxton of more than 1,000 municipalities based on Senate Bill 1851, which was passed during the 2025 legislative session. The law bars cities from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate if they do not meet Texas’ financial statement audit and transparency requirements.
The investigation led to the identification of more than 130 cities that failed to comply with the statutory requirements for the new fiscal year, according to the AG's office. Due to this, Paxton notified the cities, including Wimberley, that they are subject to the enforcement provisions and penalties established under SB 1851 and may not adopt property tax increases above the no-new-revenue rate.
Wimberley is one of few cities in Texas that does not levy an ad valorem tax, meaning that it does not collect a property tax from residents and it has set a rate of $0.00 since its incorporation.
According to Wimberley city administrator Tim Patek, the city provided the AG with an email that referenced the determination letter received, noting that the city’s fiscal year 2025 audit report had not been complete at the time of the office’s original request of April 8. The audit — which received an unqualified or clean opinion — was recently finalized and presented to city council at its May 7 meeting.
“Senate Bill 1851 requires municipalities to submit their annual audits within 180 days following the close of the fiscal year. However, because the city of Wimberley does not levy a local property tax, our auditors completed our audit after finalizing audits for other municipalities that do assess property taxes,” Patek said. “I provided them with our Audit Report and stated I hope this satisfies their request and brings us into compliance.”
Patek said that the city has not received any further correspondence back from the AG's office.
The AG's office stated that the letters were sent to an initial list of non-compliant cities and the investigation remains ongoing. Additional action could still occur.
The city of Wimberley’s audit reports can be viewed at bit.ly/42LlVRw. To find more information about the letters sent by the AG office, visit www.texasattorneygeneral.gov
