Editor’s note: Values for Spring Hill ISD previously reported in this story were incorrect and have been removed. Correct Gregg County Appraisal District data concerning the district is not yet available.
Most Gregg County taxing entities logged overall higher property values during the development of their 2026-27 budgets.
Those values, though, were also significantly affected by a new state tax exemption that went into effect this year.
“You will notice under personal/utilities, for each entity, there is a significant decrease in taxable value,” said Mark Cormier, chief appraiser for the Gregg County Appraisal District, pointing to HB 9 that was approved in the previous legislative session.
The bill allows businesses to exempt up to $125,000 of income producing personal property at each location of the business. That category includes such things as computers, tools and machinery. Before the change in law, the exemption was $2,500.
School districts receive state funding and are protected from the new law’s effects, Cormier said, but for cities, counties and other taxing entities, the change represents a loss of revenue.
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The city of Longview, for instance, saw an overall 2% increase in total appraised values, according to information provided by the appraisal district. Certified values were about $9.75 billion compared with about $9.55 billion in 2025.
Within that, though, business personal property and utility values dropped from about $1.7 billion to $1.5 billion. Mineral values also fell.
The impacts were larger in smaller Gregg County cities. The city of Easton, for instance, saw an overall drop of almost 16%, with certified values of $36.6 million compared with $42.5 million in 2025.
Overall in Gregg County, certified values for taxes that go to the general fund went up 2.47% to $15.1 billion. Within that, business personal property values fell more than $537 million.
Without the new higher exemption, taxing entities would have additional revenue to provide services such as police and fire protection, parks upgrades and roadwork.
Mineral values also dropped for every taxing entity in Greg County.
The Gregg County Appraisal District hires Capital Appraisal Group to determine the county’s appraised values for minerals.
Cormier pointed to information that organization provided about appraisals of mineral values and why they were lower this year compared with 2025.
“The primary driver behind the lower mineral values this year is the oil price scenario used in the cash flow,” that information says. “From last year to this year, the oil price applied is down approximately 26%, while overall oil production in the county is essentially flat. So, while values declined, it is not due to a loss in production — it’s largely price-driven.
“On the gas side, production is down about 9% year-over-year, with pricing remaining relatively flat, which also contributes modestly to the decrease. In comparison, we are seeing some oil-heavy counties experience much larger declines — up to 50% — where both production and pricing dropped. Gregg County held relatively steady on production, which helped mitigate a more significant value decrease. In short, the change in value is primarily a function of lower oil pricing assumptions rather than operational performance.”
While oil prices might be high right now, mineral values are not based on current market conditions but rather on the average price in the previous calendar year.
Final 2026 and 2025 values across Gregg County and percentage change:
Clarksville City: $76.532 million (2026) and $79.541 million (2025), -3.93%
East Mountain: $964,270 (2026) and $1.090 million (2025), -13.11%
Easton: $36.620 million (2026) and $42.461 million (2025), -15.95%
Gladewater: $337.401 million (2026) and $321.964 million (2025), +4.58%
Kilgore: $1.420 billion (2026) and $1.427 billion (2025), -0.49%
Lakeport: $87.339 million (2026) and $86.213 million (2025), +1.29%
Longview: $9.750 billion (2026) and $9.549 billion (2025), +2.06%
Warren City: $27.670 million (2026) and $27.180 million (2025), +1.77%
White Oak: $580.2 million (2026) and $559.830 million (2025), +3.51%
Gladewater ISD: $370.951 million (2026) and $368.587 million (2025), +0.64%
Kilgore ISD: $1.649 billion (2026) and $1.579 billion (2025), +4.21%
Longview ISD: $7.184 billion (2026) and $7.023 billion (2025), +2.24%
Pine Tree ISD: $1.875 billion (2026) and $1.881 billion (2025), -0.29%
Sabine ISD: $612.097 million (2026) and $574.709 million (2025), +6.11%
White Oak ISD: $371.428 million (2026) and $364.838 million (2025), +1.77%
Kilgore College: $3.864 billion (2026) and $3.767 billion (2025), +2.49%
ESD No. 1: $979.857 million (2026) and $896.357 million (2025), +8.52%
ESD No. 2: $846.322 million (2026) and $806.500 million (2025), +4.71%
ESD No. 3: $1.438 billion (2026) and $1.427 billion (2025), +0.78%
Gregg County: $15.073 billion (2026) and $14.7 billion (2025), +2.47%