Arlington Keeps $0.6298 Tax Rate in $766M FY27 Budget

ARLINGTON — Arlington City Council voted to keep the city’s property tax rate at $0.6298 per $100 of assessed value while adopting a $766 million Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget, according to a Sept. 16, 2026 city release. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1, 2026.

The rate matches FY26. Council also said it will fully fund allowed property tax exemptions, including the senior tax freeze, homestead exemption, and senior and disabled exemptions. Small utility increases are built in for water and wastewater and for garbage and recycling, with no change to the stormwater fee.

Where the $766 million goes next year

Planned investments highlighted by the city include:

• An additional $5.4 million for street maintenance, a 25% increase over FY26, bringing the street maintenance budget to $27.1 million. Funding comes mainly from the voter-approved quarter-cent Street Maintenance Sales Tax, with General Fund support as well.
• $1.1 million to add 10 patrol vehicles to the Police Department fleet.
• $4.6 million in information technology work, including the first phase of a three-year project to replace the computer-aided dispatch system used for 9-1-1 police and fire calls, plus Municipal Court audiovisual upgrades and park parking-lot cameras.
• Transitioning 41 firefighters and 24 police officers from grant funding onto the General Fund payroll.

The budget also restores some FY26 cuts: Animal Services returning to six-day public hours later this fall, a $100,000 increase to the Public Library collection budget, and the employee annual picnic.

Utility rates and the city’s combined bill claim

For the average residential water and sanitary sewer user, the monthly bill rises 6.37%, from $80.10 to $85.20. Residential garbage collection increases 3.5%, from $22.71 to $23.49 per month. The stormwater fee stays flat and generates about $29 million a year for drainage and waterway work.

Despite those utility bumps and appraisal-district valuation declines, the city says the average homeowner will see a decrease of 40 cents a month, or $4.81 for the year, when City of Arlington property taxes, water and sewer fees, and garbage and recycling fees are combined versus FY26. That combined figure is the city’s claim, not an independent Never Late News audit of every homestead.

Related Never Late News coverage in the North Texas civic finance cluster includes Fort Worth’s $3.33 billion FY2027 budget and tax-rate vote and the Fort Worth $511.5 million streets bond.

Stakes for Tarrant County taxpayers

Arlington’s hold-the-rate approach lands beside Fort Worth’s larger FY2027 package across the same metro. Readers comparing Tarrant County city bills should separate three layers: the property tax rate, utility fee schedules, and one-time or restored service lines such as Animal Services hours and library collections.

Street maintenance at $27.1 million, with a $5.4 million year-over-year bump, is the clearest mobility spend in the release. Public-safety staffing shifts from grants to the General Fund also matter for long-term budget pressure once grant cycles end.

Why this matters now

October 1 starts the new fiscal year. Homeowners will see the flat $0.6298 rate on the property-tax side while monthly utility statements reflect the water/sewer and garbage changes. The city’s −$4.81 combined annual claim gives a single number to test against household bills once appraisal notices and utility statements arrive.

For Discover readers following North Texas civic finance, Arlington’s package is a rate hold paired with targeted service restoration and a sizable street-maintenance increase, not a across-the-board cut story.

How Never Late News reported this

Never Late News based this report on the City of Arlington’s official Sept. 16, 2026 news release announcing the $766 million FY27 operating budget, the unchanged $0.6298 property tax rate, full funding of senior freeze and homestead and senior/disabled exemptions, the street maintenance increase to $27.1 million (+$5.4 million / 25%), the 10 patrol vehicles ($1.1 million), the $4.6 million IT package including CAD phase 1, the move of 41 firefighters and 24 officers from grants to the General Fund, the water/sewer and garbage rate table, and the city’s combined −40 cents per month / −$4.81 per year average homeowner claim. Primary source: Arlington City Council Adopts FY27 Budget, No Property Tax Rate Change. We did not invent interviews or independently verify every average-bill calculation for this draft.

Corrections and reader feedback

If you spot an error in budget totals, tax or utility rates, staffing figures, or dates, email editor@neverlatenews.com with the correction and a source link. Never Late News corrects factual mistakes promptly and notes substantive updates when the City of Arlington revises budget documents.

About Never Late News: Never Late News is a US local and civic news site covering budgets, taxes, schools, housing, and public services with people-first reporting. This article carries the byline Jessica J. Eaton.