ISSUE 1 · SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2026 · LIFE BY DESIGN, NOT DEFAULT
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL This Week |
Welcome to the first Caldwell Herald. Every Sunday: what your local government is about to decide, what’s happening around town, and one thing you can do about it — sourced, local, and short enough to finish with your coffee.
Two things this week need your attention before a deadline: a flood-protection grant the city wants your comments on by Monday, October 5, and a county tax bill that changed more than the headline suggests.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Liberty Watch |
$892,100 state flood & drainage grant | Oct 5 public comments due | $0 local match required | Oct 20 next council meeting |
The grant: Caldwell has been awarded $892,100 in state disaster-mitigation money through the Texas General Land Office, with no local match. It pays for backup generators at the Old San Antonio Road lift station and the CR 300 water plant, and a detention basin at the Industrial Park — the kind of unglamorous work that keeps water running and sewage moving when the power fails.
| Your move: written comments are due Monday, October 5, to 107 S. Hill St. or Afrank@caldwelltx.gov. On or about October 6 the city will ask the state to release the funds. |
Burn ban: all outdoor burning inside city limits has been prohibited since September 2, until further notice.
New at City Hall this year: Mayor John Rychlik took office in May, and in March Caldwell switched its power grid from MISO to ERCOT, the grid most of Texas runs on. The next regular City Council meeting is Tuesday, October 20, at 5:30 p.m., Council Chambers, 107 S. Hill St.
Sources: City of Caldwell notices · Council meeting listing · KBTX — ERCOT switch
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Mapping Our Community: What the County Did to Your Bill |
Burleson County adopted its 2026 tax rate 4–0. The rate jumped — yet by the county’s own numbers it’s below the no-new-revenue rate. Both are true, and the difference is where your bill lives.
$0.54 2026 county rate per $100 | $0.4479 last year’s rate | +1.39% total county property-tax revenue | +27.6% avg. homestead county tax (notice) |
The county’s total property-tax revenue rises just 1.39% ($286,363, per the adopted budget packet). But the county’s tax-rate notice, figured at the proposed rate of $0.54260, showed the county tax on an average homestead going from $911.77 to $1,163.47 — up 27.6%.
The lens worth keeping: when the whole levy barely grows but the average homeowner’s share grows by a quarter, the load has shifted — from some other kind of property onto homesteads. That isn’t anyone’s villainy; it’s how appraisals and rates interact. But it’s exactly the question worth asking out loud: what fell, and why are homeowners picking it up?
| Your move: compare your 2025 and 2026 county line on your appraisal notice, then ask your county commissioner that question. |
| GO DEEPER The Caldwell record: budgets, tax rates, votes and who governs, every figure sourced — councilonlocalrelations.org/tx/caldwell/ Start here — the Primers: 01 The Long Flat Line (how the family changed) · 02 The Documents We Live Under (the written rules that limit power) · 03 The Household (what a household buys, priced in years of work) · all primers → |
Sources: Burleson County FY2027 adopted budget packet · County tax-rate notice
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Around the Block |
| Adult Computer Skills Clinic — 2–3:30 p.m., Harrie P. Woodson Memorial Library, 704 TX-21 W. Register: 979-567-3271 x504. (Also Oct 5.) | ||
| Bookworms Storytime — 9:45 a.m., library. Babies through preschool; also Mondays and Wednesdays. | ||
| Mahjong for Adult Beginners — 2–3:30 p.m., library (call x500). Also Oct 11. | ||
| Grant comments due · Almost Nighttime Storytime, 6 p.m. (pajamas welcome) · Teen D&D, 5–7 p.m., ages 13–17. | ||
| Second Saturday in Caldwell — shops on and around the square stay open late. Nearby: the free Downtown Somerville Celebration, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. |
Run a Caldwell event? Send it by Thursday.
Sources: City of Caldwell / library notices · Second Saturday · Somerville Celebration
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Prosperity Spotlight |
 | Slovacek Sausage — Snook, since 1957 “Uncle” John Slovacek’s sausage got so popular with his neighbors that he made it a business in 1957. The Czech-style recipes, the company says, have “remained untouched” — and a Burleson County sausage now ships to 35 states. Just down the road from the Kolache Capital of Texas. |
| Slovacek Sausage · 9500 Slovacek Rd, Snook · 979-272-3333 · Tue–Fri 6 a.m.–8 p.m., Sat 7–8, Sun 8–8, closed Mon |
Sources: slovacek.com — About · slovacek.com — Retail
✦ Trivia Question |
Caldwell is officially the “Kolache Capital of Texas.” Who gave it that title, and in what year? (Answer at the bottom.)
✦ Quote of the Day |
“Town meetings are to liberty what primary schools are to science.” — Alexis de Tocqueville
✦ Secret Little Hack |
Skip the line at City Hall: there’s a new payment drop box to the right of the main entrance on South Echols Street for utility and municipal court payments. Don’t put cash in it. City Hall itself is open weekdays 8–5, closed noon to 1.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Real Estate Pulse |
$229,553 median sale price (3 mo. to Aug) | −11.7% vs. a year ago | 87 days on market (was 35) | 12 homes sold in August |
Caldwell’s market has cooled hard: prices down, and homes sitting more than twice as long as a year ago. It’s a small market, so a few sales swing the numbers. Your move: if your appraisal didn’t fall with the market, that’s worth a look at the Burleson County appraisal district.
Sources: Redfin — Caldwell housing market
| Looking to buy or sell? Nina Bright, Realtor — call or text 832-689-3170. Full disclosure: Nina is David’s wife. |
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Service Opportunities |
Teach a neighbor: the library’s Adult Computer Skills Clinic on Mondays needs patient people as much as it needs learners. Shop the square: Second Saturday on October 10 keeps downtown businesses open late — show up and spend local.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Growth & Learning |
Here’s a real-world lesson for kids: why does a town need a generator at a sewer lift station? Walk through it together — storm, power out, pumps stop, and then what? The $892,100 grant is about the boring things that keep a town working when things go wrong. More at unrivaledacademy.com.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Local Theory & Remnant Radio |
 | Now playing: Sovereign Ground — the latest Local Theory album (April 3, 2026 · 15 tracks). Listen · vote on the mixes. Remnant Radio streams the whole catalog 24/7 at radio.thinkandactlocally.com · Spotify. Fourteen releases. Sovereignty through sound. |
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Weather Forecast |
Sun Mostly sunny 97° 73° | Mon Sunny 97° 72° | Tue Mostly sunny 96° 74° | Wed 50% rain 95° 74° | Thu 90% rain 88° 70° | Fri 70% rain 83° 67° | Sat 40% rain 80° 66° |
Hot and sunny to start, with highs in the mid-to-upper 90s Sunday through Wednesday and the heat index as high as 101 on Sunday and Monday. Rain chances build Wednesday, then showers and thunderstorms move in Thursday — 90%, with some storms that could produce heavy rain — and highs drop to near 80 by Saturday. Lows start in the low-to-mid 70s and slip into the mid-60s by Saturday night.
Forecast for Caldwell from the National Weather Service (HGX), retrieved Sep 27. Check the latest before you plan outdoors.
Sources: National Weather Service
✦ CrowdHealth |
 | David and his family left traditional health insurance for CrowdHealth — a community that funds each other’s medical bills. Bills get negotiated down first; no claims department, no denial letters. See how it works. Referral link. David is a paying member. |
✦ Unrivaled Travels |
 | Planning a trip worth taking? Our own travel service books the expedition, cruise, or getaway you’ll remember — at no markup. info@unrivaledtravels.com · 281-241-1994 · unrivaledtravels.com One of our own businesses. |
✦ Unrivaled Marketing Solutions |
 | You built the business — now make sure your Caldwell neighbors can find it. Grab a free digital audit and we’ll show you where you’re leaving money on the table. No pitch. Book your free audit. One of our own businesses. |
✦ They Told Him He Was Crazy |
David sold his metals. Not trimmed — sold. He kept the receipts, every decision sourced, so you can decide for yourself: conviction, or crazy? Read the filing →
David’s own account; affiliate link. Support never touches coverage.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Community Voices |
This is issue one, and this section belongs to you. Who in Caldwell deserves a thank-you this week? The crossing guard who knows every kid’s name, the neighbor who mows the widow’s lawn, the team that brought home a trophy. Hit reply — one or two sentences — and we’ll run the best next Sunday.
✦ Take Action |
- Comment on the $892,100 flood grant by Mon, Oct 5 (Afrank@caldwelltx.gov).
- Compare your 2025 and 2026 county tax lines.
- Mark Tue, Oct 20, 5:30 p.m. — the next City Council meeting.
✦ Submit Your Content |
Events, business features, volunteer calls, letters from Caldwell: david@thinkandactlocally.com. Deadline: Thursday 5 PM for Sunday.
✦ Answer to Trivia |
The Texas Legislature, in 1989 — House Concurrent Resolution 171 of the 71st Legislature (Texas State Library). The Kolache Festival is always the second Saturday in September.
THE HERALD ✦ CALDWELL Keep the Herald Free |
No advertiser sets our coverage — readers keep it alive. This is the first Caldwell edition, and it grows one neighbor at a time: forward this to someone who’d want to know what their council decides next.
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Caldwell on the record (CLR) · CLR Primers · Think and Act Locally · Unrivaled Marketing Solutions
The Herald is a project of the Council on Local Relations. Portions drafted with AI assistance and reviewed before publication. Reply anytime: david@thinkandactlocally.com
