Murphy homeowners could pay more in property taxes under a proposed rate the City Council is set to vote on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
The council scheduled a public hearing for 6 p.m. at Murphy City Hall, 206 North Murphy Road, on the proposed Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget and tax rate. A final vote on both is expected the same evening.
The proposed budget totals $67 million, up from $63.1 million adopted for the current fiscal year. The proposed property tax rate is $0.361832 per $100 of assessed value, a bump from the current $0.357514.
For the average Murphy homeowner with a home valued at $592,198, the Murphy Monitor reports that works out to roughly $14 more per month, or $166 more per year. That figure is larger than what the stated rate change alone would produce on a home of that value — a straightforward calculation puts the rate-only impact closer to $2 a month, or about $26 a year — and neither the city nor the Monitor has published the underlying math, so it's not clear whether the larger figure also folds in rising appraised values. Residents who want the precise breakdown should ask the city for its truth-in-taxation worksheet.
How the rate got here
The council voted on Aug. 18 to set $0.361832 as the maximum rate it could adopt, and city records confirm the resolution (No. 26-R-1193) passed. The Murphy Monitor reported the vote as 7-0 and unanimous, with Council Member Jené Butler making the motion and Council Member Elizabeth Abraham seconding it; I wasn't able to independently verify the motion-and-second detail against the full council minutes due to a technical access limit, so it's presented here as reported rather than independently confirmed. Finance Director Berna Fitzpatrick-Walker presented the tax rate proposal to the full council that evening, which the minutes confirm.
Council members spent more than an hour debating the budget and rate before giving preliminary approval, the Murphy Monitor reported Aug. 27. Mayor Scott Bradley, working on his 20th city budget, compared Murphy's tax burden to neighboring cities.
"Murphy is a good deal," Bradley said at the Aug. 18 meeting, as the Monitor reported, answering his own question about how the city stacks up.
Resident Mary White also addressed the council on the tax rate at the Aug. 18 meeting, according to council minutes.
What to watch
The council can adopt the proposed rate, lower it, or continue discussion. It cannot raise the rate above the $0.361832 maximum set in August.
The seven council members who will vote are Mayor Bradley, Mayor Pro Tem W. Scott Smith, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Ken Oltmann, and Council Members Abraham, Debbie Ison, Kevin Kelley, and Butler.
Residents who want to speak can attend the hearing at 6 p.m. at Murphy City Hall.
