You wake up, turn on the faucet, switch on the lights, and realize that the very act of living in your own home is becoming a luxury. In the City of Burnet, the local government has made sure that this financial anxiety is scheduled, predictable, and fully automated for the next half decade. On September 8, 2026, the Burnet City Council officially approved its Fiscal Year 2026 to 2027 budget, which combines a rising tax burden with automatic annual utility rate hikes that will run through 2031.
The council adopted a property tax rate of $0.6131 per $100 of valuation. While city officials might claim this rate is flat compared to last year, the reality is far more punishing. Skyrocketing property values mean that local homeowners will be hit with much higher property tax bills. But the council did not stop there. They also passed a 3 percent utility rate increase for municipal water, sewer, and electric services. Under this approved policy, residents' utility bills will continue to automatically jump by an additional 3 percent every October until 2031.
This automated policy is a masterclass in bureaucratic cowardice. By locking in automatic annual rate hikes for the next five years, the Burnet City Council has insulated itself from future voter backlash. They will not have to face angry residents at public hearings every time they want more money, the computer system will simply extract it for them. This removes crucial public oversight and treats taxpayers as an endless source of automated revenue.
This sort of automated fiscal planning is a classic example of local governments bypassing normal public accountability. When cities secure automatic revenue streams, they insulate themselves from the economic realities of their taxpayers. A similar battle for property rights and assembly took place in Austin, where the city used extreme regulatory fines of up to $2000 per day to enforce short-term rental bans. In that case, Zaatari v. City of Austin, the Texas Third Court of Appeals ruled in favor of property owners, declaring the city's restrictions unconstitutional. The lesson is clear: when local governments are given free rein to automate regulations or impose arbitrary burdens, they will consistently overreach until challenged by citizens and the courts.
By locking in automatic utility rate increases and profiting from inflated property valuations, Burnet is demonstrating how local governments expand their control by stealth. If we do not challenge these automatic mechanisms, we will soon find ourselves living under a system where every municipal expense is pre-programmed to increase without our consent.