Glendale council adopts lower property tax rate for fiscal 2027

The Glendale City Council voted unanimously on June 23 to adopt ordinance O26-25, setting the city's fiscal year 2027 property tax rates and declaring the ordinance an emergency measure so levy information can be transmitted to Maricopa County on schedule.

Levi Gibson, the city's director of budget and finance, told the council the primary property tax rate will be 0.3096 per $100 of assessed valuation and the secondary rate will be 1.0787 per $100. "The total property tax rate will decrease from 1.4538 to 1.3883 for fiscal year 2027," Gibson said during his presentation.

Gibson said the emergency declaration is procedural and required to ensure the county receives a certified copy of the adopted ordinance before the statutory deadline, allowing the county to compile the tax roll and produce bills. "The emergency declaration ensures there's no gap between council approval and the ordinance becoming legally effective," he said.

Councilmember Bart Turner moved to adopt the ordinance and Councilmember Diana Guzman seconded the motion. In a roll-call vote each councilmember recorded an affirmative vote and the ordinance passed.

Why it matters: the lower rate represents the council's 11th consecutive year of property tax rate decreases, according to staff. The change affects the amount levied by the city on the property tax bills residents will receive next fiscal year; the county processes and issues the bills based on the city's certified levy.

Next steps: the ordinance takes effect immediately under the emergency declaration so staff can transmit required documents to Maricopa County for the tax-roll compilation process.