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City leaders outline November 'swap-and-drop' tax-rate election to shift debt to operations
Summary
Assistant City Manager Matt Watts said Garland plans a November ballot measure to move roughly 3¢ from debt service to maintenance and operations to fund running costs for new facilities while attempting to lower the overall rate; exact figures and final council action were not yet set.
Assistant City Manager Matt Watts told the town hall that Garland's per-capita property and sales-tax base is about 40% below the metroplex average and that the city needs to rebalance revenue to cover ongoing operating costs for newly built facilities.
"We run a very thin shop," Watts said, and showed a per-capita comparison indicating Garland collects considerably less property and sales tax per resident than peer cities. He said staff plans a November ballot called a "swap-and-drop," which would move roughly 3¢ from the debt-service portion of the tax rate to maintenance and operations so the city can pay for staffing and operating costs tied to new animal shelters, the surf-and-swim facility and other amenities.
Watts said the plan is to ask voters to approve the swap while pursuing a lower overall tax rate where possible; he stressed the ballot language will technically show a tax-rate increase for the maintenance & operations line even as overall compression and a planned drop aim to reduce the total rate. "So while we there will be an election, and then on that ballot, it will say this is a tax rate increase," the council member explained, urging transparency and public conversations ahead of the vote.
City staff said they have not fixed exact numbers and will present more specifics before the election; residents were invited to ask follow-up questions and to meet with staff for details.
