Dallas County Commissioners adopt Parkland’s $3.14 billion budget, keep tax rate at $0.212 per $100

Dallas County Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously approved the Dallas County Hospital District (Parkland Health) fiscal year 2026 operating budget and adopted a tax rate of $0.212 per $100 of taxable value for tax year 2025.

The vote approved a $3,139,930,000 FY2026 operating budget and an ongoing capital budget of $132,900,000. Parkland staff and the commissioners repeatedly emphasized that the adopted tax rate is the same rate Parkland set the prior year.

The fiscal significance for homeowners, however, comes from several other statutory changes. "This rate that we're talking about, just for people to know, is the same rate that Parkland charged last year," Commissioner Elba Garcia said in discussion on the floor, adding that changes enacted at the state level shifted tax burden and caused the dollar amount paid on a median homestead to rise even with an unchanged rate.

County Judge Clay Jenkins read the required taxpayer impact statement into the record: "The fiscal year 2025, tax year 2024 adopted tax rate of 0.212 per $100 of value on the median homestead taxable value of $231,335 resulted in a $490.43 tax on the median homestead. The proposed fiscal year 2026, tax year 2025 budget based on a proposed tax rate of 0.212 per $100 of value on the median homestead taxable value of $247,900 would result in a $525.55 tax on the median homestead. The adoption of a balanced budget funded at the no new revenue rate of 0.199303 per $100 of value on the median homestead taxable value of $247,900 would result in a $494.07 tax on the median homestead." The statement was published as required under Texas law.

Parkland staff summarized the board action on the record: "Staff has proposed and the Board has approved a tax rate of 0.212 per $100 valuation for tax year 2025 and the proposed fiscal year 2026," a Parkland representative told the court during the public hearing.

The court took two separate, formal votes. Court Order 40 adopted Parkland's FY2026 budget (motion by Commissioner Summer, second by Commissioner Price) and passed unanimously. Court Order 41 adopted the tax rate; Commissioner John Wiley Price moved adoption of the 0.212 tax rate and Commissioner Garcia seconded; the motion passed unanimously.

In public comment there were no public speakers who objected at the hearing; county staff noted the Parkland documents, including the taxpayer impact statement and related disclosures, are posted on Parkland’s website. Commissioners and staff also emphasized the difference between the nominal tax rate and the aggregate tax dollars collected after state-level tax changes, such as shifts to business personal property taxation that reallocated more of the burden to residential taxpayers.

What happens next: adoption of the budget and tax rate completes Parkland’s FY2026 budget cycle under county and state procedures. Commissioners said they would continue to monitor the effect of state policy changes on local taxpayers and stressed that the Parkland rate adopted on Tuesday is unchanged from last year.

Key vote: Court Orders 40 and 41 — approved unanimously.