The Arlington City Council convened in a special session on August 11, 2026, at 3:01 PM in the Council Briefing Room. The main agenda items were a detailed presentation and discussion of the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, considerations on the proposed property tax rate, and a resolution to schedule a public hearing on the budget. The council voted to set the maximum property tax rate at the no-new-revenue rate of $0.636334 per $100 valuation, and unanimously approved the budget public hearing.
FY2027 Budget Presentation: City Manager Trey Yelverton presented the proposed budget, emphasizing financial resiliency. He highlighted that the city has cut $7.7 million in the FY2026 budget, eliminated 42 vacant positions (84 over five years), and reduced the city’s fleet by 84 vehicles. The budget focuses on public safety, streets, and maintaining essential services. A video summary noted that property taxes make up about 45% of the budget, sales tax 29%, and 53% of sales tax comes from non-residents. The city already offers the maximum property tax exemptions allowed by state law.
Health Plan Modifications: Yelverton discussed changes to employee health insurance, moving from a 90/10 cost share (city/employee) to a goal of 85/15 over two years. This year’s adjustment includes a 10% rate increase plus the second step of the shift. A $500 one-time health savings account (HSA) contribution or wellness contribution is proposed for all employees, funded by one-time dollars. For an average employee making $79,000, the city’s annual contribution ranges from $8,900 (employee-only high deductible) to $22,000 (family co-pay plan). 64% of employees would see no net impact from the changes.
Accrued Sick Leave Policy: Yelverton explained the terminal pay policy for sick leave, revised in 2020 to prevent employees from claiming retirement to receive sick payout while moving to another employer. Benefits are now restricted to those with 20 years of city service or age 60 with 5 years of city service, or a rule of 70 (age plus service years). A lifetime cap of 960 hours is in place.
Proposed Tax Rate Discussion: Yelverton presented the current proposed tax rate of $0.6298 per $100, which is the same as the previous year and below the no-new-revenue rate of $0.636334 due to appraisal district actions. He noted that a move to the no-new-revenue rate would generate an additional $2.2 million in revenue, which could fund deferred items such as homelessness diversion, Arlington Life Shelter support, Handy Tran service restoration, and Safe Streets implementation. He cautioned that the lower rate would constrain future services. Council members expressed varying views: some supported the current proposed rate to avoid a third tax increase in three years, citing uncertainty from the state legislature and appraisal district; others favored the no-new-revenue rate as a ceiling to explore enhancements. Councilmember Hogg suggested dedicating any increase solely to street maintenance. Councilmember Pham warned about the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) board’s actions, noting that their freeze on appraisals caused a $25 million shortfall last year. The mayor noted that the net effect to a median homestead would be about $15 per year between the two rates.
Deferred Items: Yelverton highlighted unfunded requests totaling over $15 million, including real-time crime center expansion, equipment for police and fire, homeless diversion ($150,000) and Arlington Life Shelter water bill offset ($50,000), and transportation projects like Handy Tran service area restoration ($100,000) and Safe Streets implementation (amount not specified). Councilmember Garcia-Dumas asked for clarification on these items, and staff explained that homeless diversion is a one-time payment per client (average $1,400) to prevent homelessness, and that the life shelter offset could increase bed capacity if operational costs are covered.
Parents get to know each other. It is probably our best event all year. This is a program that the YMCA has run for literally decades to help those adults with a range of abilities and disabilities lead a great life. Familiares y amigos desde las bancas celebrated, cada carrera del equipo de sus amores, convertiendo el Vandergriff part in Parque de Pelotais Liga. Right. It's like watching Texas Rangers. And every single time I hang out with my friends, like the whole squad. So amazing. Oh yeah, it's really fun. It's my first time playing baseball, and I'm really excited. And we mainly help people 50 and older gain strength, boost stamina, and just enhance their dreams of longevity and enjoying retirement. That's why we exist is to help this community that's largely underserved in the fitness marketplace, be and enjoy everything that they work so hard to achieve. I'm a man of faith, and I've always derived my inner strength from my faith in God. And inner strength is it doesn't have to be spiritual like that, but it's one of those things where I've always thought people have it within themselves to begin to change their lives, to begin to grow their lives. If you just have the support that you need and maybe the right tools, you can do almost anything you set your mind to. What it does for me is it helps me realize I've got a bigger purpose than just myself. The American dream for me is the ability to make a difference in my community while also having the leverage to be there and be a present husband and be involved in my children's lives. I gave that to you. Good afternoon, everybody. It is three. Oh, one PM on August eleventh. We're going to go ahead and call the afternoon session of the Arlington City Council session to order. We're going to jump right in to our budget discussion with two point one. Usually do that at the end of our presentation. So last week I got kind of forgetful regarding that, so I skipped it at the end, and we were rushed to do some other things. So I thought I'd start actually by today showing you the uh the budget video that we put out publicly that Jay Warren and his team have worked on to prepare. That's Arlington's proposed budget. Hundreds of pages, and it's kind of hard to absorb. So we're gonna break it down for you in a couple of minutes, and let's start with a little bit of context here. You know, last year Arlington made some hard calls, not the kind that gets you applause, the kind that quietly keeps the lights on. We tightened spending and we stayed balanced. And honestly, that work never really stops. So this year's budget isn't about doing more. It's about something just as important. Prioritizing spending on the services that matter the most to you. Now you've felt inflation this year, there's no doubt. Groceries, gas, everything. Well, the city feels it too, just at a much bigger scale. Cities buy specialized stuff, police cars, fire trucks, the software that runs 911, and that stuff has gotten really expensive. Consider this. Five years ago, a patrol car cost around $51,000. What does it cost today? Try $83,000. One mile of rebuilt road, 1.4 million dollars in 2021, and today it's almost 1.8 million. Now that's not waste. That's just what it costs to keep a city running today. So here's a question we hear a lot. Okay, but when my budget gets tight, I cut back. Why can't the city? Folks, it's a fair question, and here's the thing.