r/Rowlett

Hey Rowlett, I pulled together 2026 appraisal changes across Dallas County, and Rowlett stood out.

The median single family home in Rowlett was assessed at $388,210, up 7.2% from 2025. That's higher than the Dallas County overall increase of 5.7%.

I don't want to cause unnecessary concern, but with the May 15 protest deadline coming up, I figured it was worth sharing so people can at least check their own notice and decide if it is worth looking closer.

The neighborhood-level spread is pretty wide. A few examples:

Higher increases:

• Stone Meadow By Lake: +28.7%
• Waterview, Phase 9: +18.1%
• Lake Valley Estates: +14.1%

Lower or declining changes:

• Princeton Park, Phase 3: down 9.6%
• Vue Du Lac: down 9.2%
• Lakehill: down 5.5%

The main takeaway is that Rowlett was not treated the same across every neighborhood. Some areas were basically flat or even down, while others saw meaningful increases.

That does not automatically mean the county is wrong. Appraisal districts are trying to estimate market value and keep similar homes treated fairly, which is hard to do across thousands of properties. But if your appraisal jumped a lot, it is worth checking whether similar homes near you are appraised lower, whether recent sales support the value, and whether condition issues were missed.

What you can do:

1. Pull up your notice at dallascad.org.
2. Compare your appraised value to last year.
3. Check whether your taxable value is capped because of a homestead exemption.
4. Look at similar homes nearby and see if they are appraised lower.
5. If the value looks off, file a protest through DCAD’s uFile portal before May 15.

I pulled the neighborhood-level data from here and you can also look up your neighborhood:

https://housegeek.co/tx/dallas-county/rowlett/property-taxes

Full disclosure: I’m a co-founder of housegeek. I’m sharing because the Rowlett increase was above the county average and the protest deadline is coming up. Mods, if the link crosses the line, I’m happy to remove it and leave the numbers here.

One note: some of the neighborhood names may look weird or unfamiliar because they are based on how the county assigns neighborhood groups. If you do not immediately recognize yours, expand the neighborhood list and scroll toward the bottom. You can look up your neighborhood by entering your address.

Happy to answer questions if I can.

I'm sitting out on my back patio having a few beers and listening to a little country music when what appears before me - one, solitary lightning bug.

I can't remember the last time I saw one!

Used to see them all the time when I was a kid in the 70s, but it's rare to see them now (at least for me.)

Any other Rowlett folks seeing lightning bugs?

My kid wants to take birthday doughnuts to school this week for their birthday - the kind where they write out Happy Bday *child’s name*, etc. The last time I did this was years ago, and Mia’s was the only one at the time I could find. Is Mia’s still the go-to, or does anyone have recommendations for a doughnut shop that can do this? Thank you!

Rowlett residents,

Major leadership decisions are being made right now without clear accountability or public input.

• The City Manager was removed after serious internal issues
• An interim was installed
• Since then, instability has escalated:
  • Fire Department leadership disrupted despite internal support for continuity
  • A former mayor and city official terminated over a private communication
  • External leadership decisions pushed immediately after a local election

These are directional decisions that affect the entire city.

Tonight is where that gets challenged.

Residents are showing up in red to support our firefighters and demand that major decisions be handled transparently and with input from the newly elected council.

City Council Meeting – Tonight
7:00 PM (check agenda for exact time)
City Hall Municipal Building
4000 Main St, Rowlett

Show up. Speak if you can. Stand if you can’t.

Can’t attend in person? Submit Citizen Input here:
https://www.rowletttx.gov/FormCenter/Public-Input-11/Public-Input-118

If no one is in the room, these decisions move forward without resistance.
If the room is full, the pressure changes the outcome.

A special meeting of the Rowlett City Council has been scheduled for May 14 at 5:30 p.m. at Rowlett City Hall to address mounting controversy surrounding Interim City Manager Kristoff Bauer.

According to the posted agenda, the council will convene in executive session under Texas Government Code §551.074, which allows deliberation regarding the “appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal” of a public officer or employee, specifically identifying the “Interim City Manager.”

The agenda also states the council may reconvene into open session and take “necessary or appropriate action” following the closed-door discussion.

The meeting comes amid escalating public criticism over the city’s handling of the interim fire chief appointment process. Residents packed recent council meetings to voice concerns after learning the city intended to bring in a retired fire chief from Temple rather than elevate longtime Rowlett personnel.

Many speakers questioned both the transparency of the process and the message it sent to members of the Rowlett Fire Department. Critics argued the decision reflected a broader pattern of leadership disconnect following months of instability at City Hall.

Public frustration intensified further after comments made on social media by Bauer’s wife, Chrystal Bauer. In a Facebook discussion defending her husband, she wrote that comments questioning his awareness of “the heroics of police, fire and EMS” caused her “blood to boil,” and stated there was “absolutely no malicious intent” behind the city’s actions.

The remarks drew additional backlash from residents who argued the controversy was never centered on disrespect toward first responders personally, but rather on leadership judgment, morale, transparency, and public trust.

One resident responded publicly that the issue was “leadership judgment and the city’s handling of a major appointment that directly affects morale, trust, and confidence in public safety leadership,” adding that “public leadership requires more than good intentions.”

The special meeting will occur one day after newly elected council members are sworn into office on May 13. Incoming council members include Chris Kizzar, Carter Holsten, and Byron Fassett.

The timing of the executive session has fueled speculation that the incoming council could move quickly to reassess city leadership following the recent election.

Yesterday our Emergency Management Coordinator was let go. We have no Community Development Director. Our Interim City Manager needs to go and take his Nichols Jackson attorney/firm with him.