Plano unveils $788 million recommended 2025–26 budget; tax-rate ceiling posted at 44.06¢

The City of Plano presented a $788,000,000 recommended budget for fiscal 2025–26 that keeps the current tax rate while posting a higher legal ceiling and schedules public hearings before adoption. Mayor John Muns and Karen Rhodes Whitley, the city’s director of budget, led the presentation during a city telephone town hall meeting.

City officials said the recommended budget represents a 4% increase over the current adopted budget and continues to prioritize public safety and water and sewer services. “The recommended budget for next fiscal year which starts October 1 totals $788,000,000 and represents a 4% increase over this year's adopted budget,” Director of Budget Karen Rhodes Whitley said.

Why this matters: the city posted a tax-rate ceiling of 44.06¢ per $100 of assessed value as required under Texas truth-in-taxation procedures; the rate actually proposed in the recommended budget is the same as the current year, 41.76¢ per $100. The council will discuss the tax rate at a public hearing scheduled for Monday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. and is scheduled to adopt the operating budget, the community investment program (CIP), and set the tax rate on Monday, Sept. 8.

City officials told residents the recommended budget includes no new programs or services and focuses on maintaining and improving the city’s infrastructure while protecting the city’s AAA bond rating. “The budget focus this year is to maintain and improve our $2,800,000,000 growing infrastructure by ensuring our capital maintenance fund is adequately funded… and to continue to attract and retain our greatest asset, our employees,” Whitley said. She added that public safety and water and sewer account for $447,000,000, or 57% of the annual budget.

Staff also presented revenue assumptions underlying the budget. The city reestimated sales tax receipts at $125,000,000 for the current year and projected $123,000,000 in the budget for next year using a three-year average, less audit adjustments and plus inflation. Whitley cautioned that sales-tax growth may flatten: she said the city remains “cautiously optimistic” and that amounts above the three-year average would be used for one-time expenditures such as transfers to the capital maintenance fund or the rainy-day fund.

Whitley summarized taxable value projections from local appraisal districts: certified values from Collin and Denton central appraisal districts project total assessed property values of $65,000,000,000, including $650,000,000 in new property and an existing property increase of $1,700,000,000. She said the total change in the tax base is projected at $2,400,000,000. The budget presentation also noted the city offers a 20% homestead exemption and a $40,000 exemption for residents 65 and older, plus a tax freeze for qualifying seniors.

Officials urged residents to participate in the budget process. Whitley said the recommended budget was presented to city council July 30 and invited public participation at the Aug. 25 hearing and the Sept. 8 adoption meeting. For more detailed documents and updates the city directed residents to plano.gov/recommendedbudget and to public libraries for printed materials.

No formal votes were taken during the telephone town hall; the session was an informational presentation and Q&A. The city’s formal budget adoption and tax-rate decision remain scheduled for the council meeting on Sept. 8.