City frames "Garland on the Rise" strategic plan as a path to shift tax burden from homeowners

City Manager Mike Betts described "Garland on the Rise," a 10-year strategic plan the council adopted in June, and said it will guide efforts to redevelop commercial corridors, attract businesses and shift more tax support to people who earn and spend money in Garland.

Betts said Garland is essentially built out and cannot rely on new rooftops to grow revenue; instead the plan focuses on making existing land more productive by encouraging shops, restaurants and employers to locate in town. He argued that expanding Garland’s commercial tax base is the long-term solution for the city’s budget pressures and said the strategic plan builds on bond-funded projects that established a renewed downtown as an example for other areas.

Officials framed the strategic plan as complementary to the proposed tax-rate swap: the swap is intended to sustain service levels while the plan and economic development work change the revenue mix over time.