FY 2026 Budget

The FY 2026 Operating Budget was initially presented by the City Manager to Arlington's City Council on August 5, 2025, and was adopted on September 16, 2025. The video below provides a quick overview of the FY 2026 Budget.  To view the entire FY 2026 Adopted Budget and Business plan, click on the link below.  For more information on what went into developing the FY 2026 Proposed Budget, take a look at the "Piecing it Together" features further down the page.  Scroll to the "Archives" section at the bottom of this page to review presentations and other documents related to the FY 2026 Budget.

• FY 2026 Adopted Operating Budget and Business Plan(PDF, 24MB)

Preparing the Budget

Each year, the City of Arlington works diligently to create a budget that supports City services, is fiscally responsible and focuses on the City Council’s priorities. For Fiscal Year 2026, several unique challenges are influencing how City staff are approaching the budget:

• ARPA Funding: After COVID, the City gradually eased expenses covered by ARPA funding back into the general fund. FY2026 is the last year of this process.
• Senior Tax Freeze: Arlington’s increasing senior population enjoys a senior tax freeze once they turn 65, meaning even if their property increases in value, the City portion of their tax bill will stay the same.
• Conservative Valuations: Arlington is projecting growth in property values lower than recent historical norms and notably lower than adjacent counties.
• Property Tax Protests: The City has seen significant loss in property value through protests, particularly in multi-family residential and commercial properties. The historical loss during the protest period has been between 0.5% and 1%. Last year, the loss was 3%. 
• New Reappraisal Plan: Following a freeze this past year, Tarrant Appraisal District’s plan is to not reappraise residential properties for two years means Arlington can assume there will be no increase in property values for that period of time.

As City staff works to craft the FY2026 budget, they are keeping the City Council’s new priorities in mind:

• Enhance Mobility
• Grow Our Economy
• Preserve Financial Stability and Resilience
• Strengthening Our Communities

Piecing It Together

Through August, our “Piecing it Together” budget series will provide a high-level overview of the unique situational and economic factors impacting Arlington’s budget this year. Have a question or topic you’d like to see included? Send us a message.