Arlington City Council Approves FY26 Budget, Property Tax Rate

Published on September 17, 2025

FY26 Budget and Business Plan

By Susan Schrock, Office of Communication

Following two town hall meetings and a public hearing, the City Council voted Sept. 16 to approve Arlington’s $750.7 million Fiscal Year 2026 operating budget.

The budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, includes spending cuts, new fees and fee adjustments, and a three-cent property tax rate increase to close a $20 million budget shortfall.  The approved budget also includes increases in residents’ water and sanitary sewer rates, the garbage collection rate and the stormwater fee.

Budget Cuts

Residents will see some impacts to city services due to budget constraints in FY26. The Council approved $7.7 million in budget cuts, which included:

  • eliminating 42 vacant positions, ranging from deputy city manager to administrative aides. These eliminated positions are across multiple departments, including Parks & Recreation, the Library, Animal Services, Police, Planning and Development Services, Document Services, Real Estate, IT, Municipal Court and Finance. 
  • closing the Action Center hotline on Saturdays. Residents can still call 817-459-6777 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday to report concerns or ask questions about city services. The Action Center has been open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays to answer calls related to Code Compliance, Animal Services and Municipal Court. Reports can also be made online at www.arlingtontx.gov/askarlington.
  • closing Arlington Animal Services on Mondays. The City’s animal shelter has been open six days a week, closed only on Sundays.
  • reducing community park mowing.
  • limiting the City’s Handitran rideshare public transportation service to the City of Arlington limits. The service area had extended up to 1.5 miles outside of the City limits. Handitran has provided transportation to residents 65 and older and to those with disabilities since 1981.
  • eliminating the employee annual picnic.
  • reducing the City’s fleet.
  • eliminating two city holidays for city employees (Presidents Day and Good Friday).
  • restructuring some operations, which could mean the elimination of 22 additional employee positions in FY27.

In addition to budget cuts, the City has identified approximately $2.3 million in financial restructuring opportunities and approximately $5.7 million in new fees and fee adjustments to help balance the FY26 budget.

Property Tax Rate

The Council adopted a property tax rate of $0.6298 per $100 of assessed value, returning Arlington’s property tax rate to approximately what it was in 2019 and 2020. The three-cent rate increase, which would mean a $4.90 a month increase for the average residential property owner, would generate about $11.1 million in revenue for essential city services such as police and fire protection, public works, parks and recreation, and libraries.

Fee Adjustments

The Council approved fee increases for commercial and residential water and sanitary sewer fees to help pay for $13.9 million in additional costs to produce and deliver clean drinking water and to treat wastewater - largely pass-through costs from Tarrant Regional Water District and the Trinity River Authority. Even with these increases, Arlington’s water and sewer rates would remain among the lowest in the North Texas region. 

Water and Sanitary Sewer Fees:

For the minimum residential user: a 6.54% increase to their monthly bill, resulting in an increase from $33.34 to $35.52

For the average residential user: a 7.94% increase to their monthly bill, resulting in an increase from $74.21 to $80.10.

Garbage Collection Fee: The residential garbage collection rate will increase 4.17%, or 91 cents per month.

Stormwater Fee: The City will complete its final scheduled stormwater rate increase of 50 cents per month. The stormwater fee generates approximately $27 million a year to help Arlington reduce the existing potential for stormwater damage to public health, safety, life, property and the environment through mitigation projects as well as to preserve, protect and enhance the city’s waterways.

Resident Impact

Approved fee and property tax rate increases mean that the average homeowner would see an increase of $12.20 a month, or $146.43 for the year, in City of Arlington property taxes, water and sewer fees, garbage and recycling fees and stormwater fees combined. 

Fiscal Year 2026 Budget Page

Tagged as:
Back to top