Here's your weekly Keller recap.

Your city bills change in one week

Council approved a $111.8 million budget for the fiscal year that starts October 1, about $582,000 more than this year. The property tax rate goes to $0.300417 per $100 of valuation, up from $0.28700. It's still below the no new revenue rate, and on an average home the city's share of your tax bill works out to roughly $1,381, up about $7 for the year. The bigger hit is water: city water costs rise 4.75 percent and water and wastewater fees rise 3.5 percent. If you use 14,000 gallons, expect about $93.44 a year on water, up $4.29. The budget funds 15 capital projects, including a $2.6 million replacement of the 40-year-old Alta Vista water line, street reconstruction, sidewalk repairs, a new playground and restrooms at Johnson Road Park, and turf replacement.

Keller has a $1.3 million hole to fill after the Westlake split

Westlake paid Keller $1.31 million for police services this fiscal year, and next year's budget had it at $1.38 million. That revenue goes away when the contract ends in 2028. Keller's interim communications manager Randall White told the Star-Telegram the city has already started working out how to cover it, and that Keller knew Westlake had put the service out for bid, so the possibility wasn't a surprise even if the decision was. One nuance worth knowing: a Westlake council member wrote afterward that he sat on a committee that interviewed both police departments over several months and called it a tough decision, which is a different story than pure retaliation over the data center. Roanoke's council went into closed session Tuesday on the Westlake police question, and Roanoke has submitted a proposal.

The state just froze data center permits, and the Keller case is in court tomorrow

Governor Abbott ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on Monday to stop issuing permits for data centers statewide until ERCOT and the Texas Water Development Board finish auditing more than 400 of them. TCEQ has paused all air and water permits tied to data center infrastructure and has to report back by October 19. ERCOT expects to finish its audit in December. This is a state action, separate from both the Marshall Ridge lawsuit and Keller's own proposed moratorium, and nobody has said publicly whether it touches Circle T specifically. The injunction hearing in the 342nd District Court is still set for Friday, September 25.

Tuesday's zoning results still aren't posted

Planning & Zoning heard the Providence rezoning at 901 Johnson Road and the 7 Brew drive-thru at 901 Keller Parkway on Tuesday night. As of this morning the city's records system still lists the agenda, minutes and video for that meeting as not available, so there is no official recommendation to report on either one. Both still go to City Council after P&Z, and Council meets the first and third Tuesdays.

Three intermediate schools close at the end of this school year

Bear Creek, Parkwood Hill and Trinity Meadows close when this year ends. Trustees voted on it back in May, but the clock is now running and Community Impact laid out the current numbers this week: enrollment is down 18.3 percent since 2021-22, and Keller issued 37 housing permits through July 30 compared with 100 in 2019. Elementary schools move to pre-K through fifth and middle schools to sixth through eighth for 2027-28, and feeder patterns shift with them. The district says it saves about $3 million a year. It also says it has not decided what happens to the three buildings.

The school tax rate vote is tonight

Trustees meet at 5 p.m. at the Education Center, 350 Keller Parkway, with a public hearing on the proposed 2026-27 tax rate and a vote on the rate resolution both on the agenda. That's the KISD share of your property tax bill, which is the larger share. This goes out before the meeting, so the result isn't in here.

The bond oversight committee is not on tonight's agenda

Applications for the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee closed September 16. The board has not formally created the committee, has not named anyone to it, and there is no agenda item to do either one tonight. With $828 million on the ballot in November, that's worth tracking. October's regular board meeting has moved from October 22 to October 29.

Eight streets are seven weeks past due and nobody has said why

The Tarrant County repaving partnership covering North Pearson, Willis, Roanoke Road, Cheyenne Trail, Judge Bland, Lucian, Oak Hill and Oak Trail was supposed to wrap up in August. There is no completion notice, no revised schedule and no explanation from the city or the county. Four separate research passes this week came up empty on Commissioners Court agendas and Precinct 3. If you live on one of those streets and want a real answer, Keller Public Works is at 817-743-4080. If you get one, send it to me and I'll run it.

Eagle Tavern keeps its pool tables, but only two

After a month of this sitting unresolved, the city's September 1 meeting minutes show Council approved the indoor entertainment permit for Eagle Tavern at 721 Keller Parkway as Ordinance 2293, with a condition capping the bar at two pool tables. The permit was the thing standing between the bar and its tables, since the tables themselves are what triggered the requirement. Planning & Zoning had recommended denial in August, so Council went the other way with a limit attached.

Something is coming to Bates Street, but nobody's said what

Council approved a $10,000 façade grant for 128 Bates Street and a separate Keller Depot incentive agreement covering 128 and 136 Bates, reimbursing up to $61,740 for the first phase of work. That phase includes public restrooms at 128 Bates and a commercial grease trap at 136 Bates, and the grease trap money only gets paid out once the owner signs a lease with a food or coffee tenant. Later phases in the application describe pop-up vendors, food trucks and communal seating, but those are concepts, not approvals. No tenant has been named.

Kiwanis Butterfly Festival
Saturday, September 26 at 9 a.m. through Sunday, September 27 at 5 p.m. at the Keller Lions Den, 532 Keller Parkway. It moved here from Southlake this year. There's a 600-square-foot tent with hundreds of butterflies, kids feed them watermelon, and they're released Sunday at 5 p.m. A ticket is good for one entry on either day. Check the current price on Eventbrite, because the Kiwanis club's own page still shows old pricing.

Keller Farmers Market
Saturday, September 26, 8 a.m. to noon at Bear Creek Park, 400 Bear Creek Parkway. Free to walk in. No theme this week, just the regular market.

Family Karaoke Night
Sunday, September 27 at 7 p.m. at Hollywood's Pour Shack, 250 S. Main. The venue moved the start from 8 to 7 now that school is back, says teenagers sing, and specifically invites people to bring the young ones. No cover amount is listed, so ask when you get there.

That's your Keller week. See you next Friday.