McKinney presents fiscal 2026 budget highlights; public hearing set for Sept. 2

City staff presented highlights of the proposed fiscal 2026 budget at the Aug. 19 McKinney City Council meeting and said the formal public hearing and adoption of the budget and tax rate will take place Sept. 2.

Mark Holloway, the city’s chief financial officer, summarized the proposal and budget assumptions. The proposed tax rate is 0.412284, which Holloway called a “three-tenths of a cent” decrease from the fiscal 2025 rate. General-fund revenue for fiscal 2026 is projected at about $232.2 million; Holloway said roughly 52% of that is expected to come from property taxes and about 20% from sales taxes.

Key budget items: Holloway said the draft budget includes step increases for sworn and non‑sworn personnel and adds about 27 full-time positions spread across general government, development services, public safety and public works. On utilities, staff intends to continue the city’s water-line replacement program; Holloway said treated water loss has fallen from roughly 28% in prior years to about 7% because of ongoing repairs. He also said water and wastewater rates will increase in part because of pass-through costs from the North Texas Municipal Water District.

Public process: Holloway described the Aug. 8 budget workshop where council members reviewed rates and staffing. The city will hold the official Sept. 2 public hearing on the fiscal 2026 budget and the tax rate; council could adopt both on that date.

What wasn’t decided: The Aug. 19 session provided citizen input but was not the official budget hearing. No final votes on budget adoption or tax rate occurred during the Aug. 19 meeting.