Garland city manager previews FY2026 budget, schedules June 21 workshop; council survey to be sent June 9

City Manager Judd Rex previewed Garland—s fiscal 2026 budget process at the June 2 City Council work session, saying the council will hold a pre-budget workshop on June 21 and staff will send a prioritization survey to council members on June 9.

The survey will ask council members to rank the city—s 10 strategic focus areas three ways: by importance, by funding need and by how well the city is delivering on each area. "Like last year, we'll ask you to rank them in 3 ways," Judd Rex said. Staff will use Mentimeter for the exercise and proposed a one-week window for responses.

The exercise is intended to help the council align limited resources with long-term goals as staff prepares the proposed budget, Rex said. "This annual session kicks off our formal budget planning process for fiscal year 2026 and gives us the space to step back, look at the big picture, and frame important decisions that are coming ahead," Rex said.

Why it matters: Rex told the council the general fund faces significant operational pressures, particularly for the police and fire departments and for staffing and operating several large facilities remaining from the 2019 bond program. He also said staff will present plans to implement the 2025 bond propositions voters approved and that the city will refine whether to propose a 2026 tax-rate swap between the maintenance and debt-service portions of the tax rate.

Survey mechanics and timetable: Budget staffer Leticia described how the survey will work. Council members will reorder the focus areas for priority, use a slider to rate current performance on a 1-to-10 scale, and allocate 100 points across the focus areas for resource guidance; no single focus area may receive more than 30 points. "So for the survey window, we would propose to open this up for a full week, a Monday to Monday," Leticia said. Staff proposed sending the survey to council inboxes on Monday, June 9.

Key budget dates staff outlined: the proposed budget will be presented Aug. 4; the city will hold a special budget workshop Aug. 16 and may hold an additional meeting Aug. 26 if needed; public hearings and adoption of the budget and tax rate are scheduled for Sept. 2. Rex noted that final, certified property values from the Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) are typically received in late July and can affect tax-rate calculations.

Rex said the fiscal planning will include discussion of a possible November 2026 tax-rate election to shift some tax rate from the debt-service side; staff will bring more specific figures after DCAD certification. He also said staff will present plans for debt issuance and project spend-down tied to the 2025 bond propositions approved by voters.

The session included no formal Council votes on budget items; staff asked for council input through the planned survey and scheduled workshop dates. Rex closed his briefing by inviting council questions and discussion at the June 21 workshop.

Next steps: Staff will send the survey to council on June 9, summarize responses for the June 21 pre-budget workshop, and continue budget development through late summer toward the Aug. 4 presentation and Sept. 2 adoption schedule.