Garland managers pitch ‘tax-rate shift’ plan, calling FY26 a ‘bridge year’ ahead of Nov. 2026 election

City Manager Jed Judd and budget staff told the Garland City Council on Aug. 16 that the proposed FY2026 budget is a “bridge year” intended to hold services steady while the city prepares a November 2026 election to move revenue between tax-rate “buckets” rather than raise the overall rate.

“This is a bridge year, particularly for the general fund,” Judd said during the work session. He and budget staff described limited new ongoing spending and several one‑time uses of cash intended to smooth operations into the tax‑rate action planned for next year.

Budget Director Allison (last name not specified in the transcript) presented certified 2025 taxable values and the staff computation of the proposed tax rates: “Our proposed M and O rate for, 25.26 is 0.2886, with a proposed debt service tax rate of 0.4011 for a total combined proposed rate of 0.6897,” she said. Staff emphasized the proposal would keep the total rate level while using a future November election to move revenue from the uncapped debt service bucket to the operations and maintenance (M&O) bucket.

Why it matters: Garland officials said the city’s long-term revenue picture remains constrained by Texas’ SB2 property-tax limit, which caps increases in general‑fund (M&O) revenue at 3.5%…