Candidates for Texas House and Bell County offices debated education savings accounts, a proposed hospital district, and county tax breaks for data centers at a LULAC forum in Harker Heights less than three weeks before the November 3 election.
$50% for 10 years for county property tax abatement for data center development
Brad Buckley, State Rep. District 54, Republican; Dawn Richardson, District 54 candidate, Democratic, retired educator; Hillary Hickland, State Rep. District 55, Republican and 4 more
Boil water notices were issued in three Texas cities due to water pressure drops and maintenance. City of Killeen issued a notice for a water meter relocation. Texarkana Water Utilities issued a notice for the Shadow Brooke Street area after water pressure loss. City of Fort Worth issued a notice for the Ventana neighborhood in Southwest Fort Worth.
City of Killeen, Water and Sewer Services, Issued boil water notice; Texarkana Water Utilities, Issued boil water notice; City of Fort Worth, Issued boil water notice and 1 more
Texas cities, counties, transit systems and special-purpose taxing districts received $1.3 billion in sales tax allocations in October, an 11.6% increase from October 2025. Central Texas showed mixed results, with Bell County up 10.01% and Coryell County up 3.23%, while Milam County declined 40.15%.
$$1.3 billion for sales tax allocations
Texas State Comptroller, Distributed sales tax allocations
A new state constitutional amendment approved by voters in November 2025 and implemented through House Bill 9 created a $125,000 exemption for income-producing tangible personal property. According to Bell County's Tax Appraisal District, this exemption cost local taxing entities an estimated $12.1 million in property tax revenue in 2026.
$Bell County taxing entities lost an estimated $12.1 million in property tax revenue; school districts and colleges accounted for about $6.7 million of that loss, with the state Foundation School Program partially offsetting school district losses.
Tax Appraisal District of Bell County, Estimated revenue loss from exemption; Billy White, Chief Appraiser, Tax Appraisal District of Bell County; State Rep. Hillary Hickland, R-Belton, joint author of HB 9 and 1 more