City officials said Starbase will need more than $5 million in the upcoming fiscal year.

On Wednesday, Starbase commissioners met to discuss the proposed $5.3 million budget for the 2026 fiscal year.

Starbase city leaders also voted to give the initial approval to the city's proposed tax rate of .55 cents per $100. It must be voted on again before it’s officially adopted. 

Starbase is expected to rely heavily on property taxes for revenue, and over $4 million of the budget could be paid for in property tax revenue alone. 

Records show properties in star base has a taxable value of over $778 million for the Type C municipality that has under 5,000 residents.

“The rest of the revenue is from building permit fees, and these are projects we anticipate will start during the coming year,” Starbase City Administrator Kent Myers said.

The city won't get any revenue from property taxes until after January 2026, which means the city needs revenue to stay afloat between October 1, 2025, and January 2026. 

City leaders also gave the green light to start the process of possibly getting another tax note of over $1 million from SpaceX to help during those three months.

“We are still in a startup mode in the city, we still have some unknowns out there we are trying to finalize,” Myers said.

Since Starbase became a city on May 20, 2025, it's been running on revenue from building permits and a $1.5 million tax note from SpaceX.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Myers said Cameron County will no longer provide water to parts of Starbase, meaning services are set to be cut off in November 2025.

City leaders are looking for a solution.

A final vote on the proposed budget is set for Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025.

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