Issue #25

August 22, 2025

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What's the Tax Rate?

It’s budget season in Smithville and property owners across the county are wondering: Are my property taxes going up?

While we don’t have all the decisions from the five (!!!!!) taxing entities that make up your property tax bill, the City of Smithville’s rate was settled on Wednesday.

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This decision was made over nearly 20 hours at three budget hearings. We broke down exactly how we got to the rate, and their decision on taking on new debt in our latest video.

If you don’t care how the sausage was made, you can fast forward to this mark and see how the rate will affect your tax bill.

What's the Tax Rate?

And if you are a new subscriber, here is a feature we did on the city’s debt a few weeks ago.

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The Future of Economic Development

It’s no secret Smithville has a revenue problem. And as expenses have crept up in the last few years, the city has struggled to adjust.

Taking on debt has been the solution for four of the last five years, but this year the council decided to invest in economic development in an effort to stop the cycle.

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Learn about the three economic development options the council had to choose from and see what option they chose in our latest video.

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

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Leaf and Limb Pickup Changes

As the first leaves of autumn begin to fall in Smithville, residents will have a new way to manage their yard waste starting Oct. 1.

Learn what system the council approved, how the new system will work, find out the charges, and see what other options residents will have in our latest article.

Limb and Leaf Pickup Changes

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New Fees

Calling all golf cart owners! The permitting fee for your golf cart will double from $50 to $100 every two years. So get your permit before the prices go up Oct. 1!

And if your dog gets out and has to be taken to the Bastrop Shelter, the city will now charge you $375. This was a way to recoup the $275 Bastrop County charges the city for dropping dogs off.

Both increases were part of numerous fee increases the council approved on Wednesday. You can see the full list here.

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Airport Visit

U.S. Rep. Michael Cloud toured the Smithville Airport last Friday as part of a broader visit to industries in his 27th congressional district.

The visit, organized by the Bastrop Economic Development Corporation, included meetings with local officials to review the airport's long-term master plan and safety enhancements.

Read what Rep. Cloud had to say about the airport, and learn about the possibility of a Buc-ee's here in Smithville in our latest article.

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Happy Birthday Edward!

On Wednesday Public Works Director Edward Balusek celebrated his 50th birthday. Instead of going out to dinner with his family, or taking a vacation, Edward chose to spend his milestone birthday in a 6.5 hour budget hearing in council chambers–and we didn’t even bring him cake!

Thank you Edward for your dedication to the city and the budget process. We hope you had as wonderful a birthday as one can have in council chambers!

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SISD Clear Bag Policy

If you plan on attending any Tiger sports events this year, please note the district adopted a clear bag policy over the summer for all facilities (including the junior high). You can read the full policy here.

The football team will have their home opener next Friday, Aug. 29 against Rockdale and we hope to see you there Smithville!

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On Tap For Next Week

Monday Aug. 25: School Board Meeting, 6pm, Admin Building (Agenda)

Tuesday Aug 26: Housing + Health Community Workshop, 11a-1p, Rec Center

Friday Aug 29: Tigers Home Opener vs Rockdale! LET’S GET ROWDY SMITHVILLE!

Programming note: We started working on a story about the Rec Center but just couldn’t get it across the finish line this week with all the budget articles. So look for that story early next week.

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From the Publisher

Woodland • Gillian Welch, Da... Empty Trainload Of Sky • Gil... PREVIEW   ​

An open letter to the Smithville City Council, Mayor, and City Manager,

I would like to extend an open invitation to subscribe to Smithville Texas News. We are your hometown newspaper and I do cover you guys pretty extensively. I know I can be tough sometimes, but I do aim to be fair.

I didn’t know if there was hesitation about purchasing something from a reporter, so I wanted to provide some reassurance that you can.

I think we are all on the same page that reporters can never receive money from any elected or appointed official (to be clear no one has tried!). That could be perceived as a way to buy influence and would be unethical (surprisingly enough it still happens…here’s a story from this week about an aide in the New York City mayor’s office that left cash in a bag of chips for a reporter).

But there’s nothing unethical about an elected or appointed official purchasing a newspaper (or media) subscription. It’s a basic right, and a way to stay informed, something important for your job.

As much as I’d love to, I can’t comp subscriptions for public officials, as it would be considered unethical on my end. I know times are tough, so I’ve kept the price at $7 per month. And that gets you all the written articles, the video recaps, this weekly newsletter, and of course the Smithville Minute on Spotify (which I hope you start your day with!).

Many of you have talked about the struggles you have keeping residents informed. Eight months into this project, I very intimately understand your challenges! And I’m offering to be a part of the solution by creating a robust press for our community. But it needs the support of our community leaders to grow and thrive.

I hope you will consider subscribing (head to our website and click “subscribe in the top right corner), sharing our stories on your social media accounts, and letting other residents know about us. And if you have suggestions on how I can improve the product or if you want to introduce me to people in the community who would benefit from the paper, please let me know!

Thank you.

Have a great weekend Smithville,

~K
Kristen Meriwether
Publisher, Smithville Texas News

Kristen@smithvilleTexasNews.com

Follow us on X @NewsSmithville​