Irving managers present structurally balanced FY26 budget and hold tax rate steady

City officials presented the Irving FY2025–26 proposed budget at a retreat, describing it as structurally balanced and focused on funding public safety, capital projects and employee compensation. Brett Starr, the city’s chief financial officer, walked the council through tax-rate mechanics and scenarios, saying the administration is proposing to maintain the current total rate at 0.5891 per $100 of valuation, split 0.4294 for maintenance and operations and 0.1597 for debt service.

The budget documents include detailed, line‑item books staff said are available to the public. City Manager Chris Hillman emphasized transparency and the use of conservative assumptions for revenues and vacancy savings: “We are proposing to keep the tax rate the same,” he said while outlining tradeoffs the council can make if priorities shift. Staff highlighted that the general fund shows increased revenue from property and sales tax but noted legislative and economic risks — including business personal property exemption changes and potential limits on voter‑approval thresholds at the state level.

Starr and finance staff modeled three scenarios — adopting the no‑new‑revenue rate, the voter‑approval rate and the adjusted voter‑approval rate — and explained how each would affect city revenues and the average homeowner’s bill. The administration also proposed a multi‑year approach that banks unused increments under state rules to preserve future flexibility.

Council adopted a resolution setting an amount‑not‑to‑exceed authorization of 0.5891 so the budget process can proceed. The item passed unanimously. Next procedural steps include public hearings and final adoption scheduled in September 2025.