Archived: The November 3, 2026 election has passed. This preview of Proposition A, the city's Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election, is retained for reference and is no longer current. Certified results are published by the Lamar County Elections Office.
Paris Voters Decide Proposition A: A Tax Rate Election Slated for November 3
On November 3, 2026, Paris voters decide City of Paris Proposition A, a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election on the city's property tax rate. Here is what the ballot question asks and why it matters to anyone carrying or buying property in the city.
The Paris City Council approved the FY 2026-27 budget on August 24, 2026, using a total ad valorem (property) tax rate of $0.57239 per $100 of taxable value. Because the Maintenance & Operations portion of that rate exceeds the 3.5% voter-approval threshold set by Senate Bill 2, state law requires the rate to go before the voters, and the ballot asks them to vote "FOR" or "AGAINST" the proposition.
The proposition is City of Paris Proposition A on the November 3, 2026 special election ballot, as listed on the city's official 2026 Property Tax Election page. In practical terms, a "FOR" vote authorizes the adopted rate to stand; an "AGAINST" vote would require the city to reduce the tax rate back below the threshold unless the council takes a separate action.
Why the VATRE exists
Texas Senate Bill 2, the property tax reform passed in 2019, caps how much a city's Maintenance & Operations tax revenue can grow from year to year without voter approval. When a city needs an M&O rate that would raise more than the cap allows, it must hold a Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election, commonly called a VATRE. Paris adopted a budget that uses a rate above that threshold, so the election is the required step in the process.
The adopted budget and the public conversation around it frame the election as a capacity question: the rate funds the city services and infrastructure programs that support growth, including the development fast-track work outlined in the 2026-27 budget. Voters are being asked whether that rate should stand as adopted.
What it means for commercial property investors
Property tax is an operating cost on every commercial asset, so the outcome changes the yield math on buildings like 1905 E Price St. A passage holds the rate at the adopted $0.57239 per $100, the level already baked into the city's revenue projections. A rejection would force the council back to the budget, likely cutting the M&O rate and trimming the revenue the city planned to spend, including some of the growth-oriented programs investors are tracking.
Either way, the election is a transparency moment: Paris voters now directly authorize the rate that funds the staff, streets, and programs behind the city's development pipeline. For an investor underwriting a Texas Opportunity Zone property with an estimated 10% cap rate, knowing the local tax rate is settled by the electorate adds predictability to the model, whichever way the vote lands.
Sources: City of Paris, "2026 Property Tax Election" page and official election notice. East Texas Radio and The Paris News, "City of Paris Council Formally Adopts Proposed 2026-27 Annual Budget and Orders November Voter-Approval Tax Rate Election," August 2026. Texas Senate Bill 2 (2019) voter-approval threshold requirements.
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