Forney adopts FY2026 budget, keeps employee pay changes and raises no-new-revenue tax rate

The Forney City Council on Sept. 16 adopted the city———year 2026 budget and set a property tax rate while approving changes to water and sewer fees and personnel agreements.

Council approved an ordinance adopting the FY2026 budget after agreeing to reclassify roughly $804,092 in revenue so the budget could be adopted "as presented" without reducing the proposed cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and merit pay elements for city employees. Council then set the city—s combined tax rate at 0.421431 per $100 of assessed value.

The budget action: Councilmember James Traylor moved to adopt the budget with the revenue adjustment; Zann Schlenzker seconded. In a recorded roll call on the ordinance, Mayor Pro Tem Greg Helm, Traylor, Councilmember Cecil Chambers, Councilmember Sarah Salgado and Schlenzker voted yes; Councilmember Jay Weatherford voted no. The motion carried. The budget ordinance was assigned No. 2522, as read into the record.

Why it matters: City staff said the FY2026 spending plan incorporates a revised recommendation from the North Texas Municipal Water District to raise water rates 7.5% (down from an earlier 8.8% projection). Council and staff said the revenue reclassification would let the city keep the proposed COLA and merit structure intact while lowering the portion of revenue derived from property taxes.

What the council approved - FY2026 operating budget and appropriations (ordinance No. 2522): adopted with the revenue-side amendment described above. Recorded vote: Helm, Traylor, Chambers, Salgado, Schlenzker — yes; Weatherford — no; mayor did not vote because there was no tie. - Tax rate ordinances (ordinance No. 2523): Council separately adopted two motions that together set the tax rate. The maintenance and operations (M&O) rate motion (moved by Helm) and the interest-and-sinking (I&S) rate motion (moved by Weatherford) were approved by voice/roll call; the tax ordinance fixing the rate at 0.421431 per $100 was read and adopted by the council in the same meeting. Votes on both motions were recorded in favor by all council members present. - Master Fee Schedule amendment: Council approved updates to the city—s Master Fee Schedule to reflect the water and sewer rate changes (the staff presentation cited the NTM Water District—s 7.5% recommendation). The ordinance number for the fee schedule amendment was read into the record during the meeting; council approved the change by show of hands. - Meet-and-confer agreements: Council approved FY2026 meet-and-confer agreements with the Forney Police Association and the Forney Professional Fire Fighters Association; the staff summary said the primary changes concerned pay plans and promotional processes. Both were approved by show-of-hands votes.

Public comment and council debate: During the public hearing on the proposed budget, municipal employees and supporters urged the council to preserve annual raises and health benefits. Ashley Langford, introduced as a city employee of five years, urged council not to reduce yearly raises or HSA contributions, saying raises are "not luxuries" but necessary to keep up with living costs. Another resident urged a built-in COLA for public safety staff. Council discussion focused on the length and scope of historic COLA and merit decisions, local inflation data for the Dallas-Fort Worth area, turnover costs, and the balance between conservative revenue forecasting and the need to fund public-safety capital projects such as a new fire station or justice center.

Budget mechanics and risk: Staff said sales tax and development-related revenues are volatile and that several large retailers (references during the meeting included Costco and HEB) were expected to come online later in the year; those future receipts were not built into the fiscal-year projection. Councilmembers discussed using capital contingencies or delaying lower-priority capital items (for example a $700,000 CIP line item discussed during the meeting) if revenues underperform. Staff reported general-fund reserves and contingency funds that could be used if necessary.

Next steps and effective dates: The adopted budget is effective Oct. 1, 2025. The tax ordinance adopted at the meeting will be applied to the 2025 tax year, fiscal year 2026. Staff will publish required notices and implement the fee schedule changes to align with the adopted budget and the North Texas Municipal Water District—s new rates.

Ending note: Council and staff repeatedly framed the evening as a balancing act between retaining and rewarding municipal employees, preserving benefits, maintaining conservative fiscal stewardship, and planning for multi-year capital needs such as public safety facilities.