Opinion by Stephanie Lippke Every magic trick works the same way. The magician makes you watch the hand that's waving. The trick happens in the other one. Elgin is being shown the waving hand. What the Mayor's group is doing In my opinion, Mayor Theresa McShan, Mayor Pro Tem YaLecia Love and Council Member Arthur Gibson have made a choice: rather than defend their decisions, they have made the people asking about those decisions into the story. Council Members Brenda Piña, Li

Elgin already has an interim city manager. That is what makes Wednesday night’s agenda so interesting. On September 3, council went into executive session to discuss City Manager Robert Eads. When members returned, they voted to make Beau Perry interim city manager. Now, just six days later, council is going back behind closed doors. This time, the agenda specifically says members will discuss both the future of Eads and the “appointment and employment of an Acting or Interim

Gas. Groceries. Utilities. Taxes. How Much More Can Elgin Families Take? For many Elgin families, the problem is no longer whether something costs a few dollars more. It is what gets pushed aside when several bills rise at the same time. Gas, groceries, electricity, insurance, housing and everyday necessities already compete for the same paycheck, and now the September 1 City Council agenda moves Elgin another step toward a higher property tax rate while a five-year utility r

The Elgin City Council meets Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at 6:30 p.m. at the Elgin Public Library Annex Council Chambers, 404 N. Main Street. This is not a budget adoption meeting, but there are several items on this agenda that could have long-term financial and growth impacts for Elgin. The biggest issues involve the Water Treatment Plant, the Triada development, new EDC property purchases, and the City’s legislative priorities for the 2027 Texas Legislature. The biggest item

The City has already said there will be no more administrative transfers from the Utility Fund to the General Fund in FY27. Utility transfers will be limited to capital-related expenses. That is an important change. It also creates a very simple budget question: What replaces the roughly $2 million the General Fund received from Utility last year? Think of it like a household budget Imagine your household loses a second income of $2,000 a month. At the same time, you get a ra

By Stephanie Lippke 8/7/26 12:00pm The City of Elgin is working on next year’s budget and property tax rate. These decisions will affect every homeowner, renter and business in Elgin. The highest rate now being considered is $0.719777 per $100 of taxable value. Last year’s adopted rate was $0.619296. The no-new-revenue rate is $0.629128. The higher rate has not been finally adopted. Citizens still have time to speak up. The next budget meetings are scheduled for: August 11, 2

Elgin’s Tax Rate Could Rise 26.3% in Just Two Years Tonight’s first reading could move Elgin closer to a 16.22% tax-rate increase this year, while the City is also studying higher water and sewer rates. See what taxpayers are being asked to fund, why the increase is so large, and what residents should demand before the final vote.

Tonight, Elgin City Council may be asked to approve a 40-year Triada agreement using documents that contained the wrong date, the wrong agreement, and missing payment terms. Now, hours before the vote, corrected papers may be handed out and major language removed, even though the Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) says amendments require written approval from both the City of Elgin and Triada Municipal Utility District (MUD). Read the full timeline and see why this vote sh