City staff brief Garland All Abilities Committee on Nov. 3 tax-rate election and what a 'yes' or 'no' means

City of Garland staff told the All Abilities Committee that the city called a November 3, 2026 election because the counciladopted tax rate exceeds the state-mandated voter-approval rate.

Matt, the city presenter, said the adopted tax rate is 0.679900 per $100 of taxable value while the city's voter-approval rate is 0.643254. He noted the adopted rate is lower than last year's 0.689746 but still exceeds the voter-approval threshold, which by Texas law "triggers" the election. "We have to call the election to ask the voters for that extra 3.6646¢," he said. He emphasized the briefing was informational only: "We're not gonna be advocating or anything for this election. This is just informational, just to give information to you so you're an informed voter."

Staff walked the committee through sample impacts for a $200,000, $300,000 and $400,000 taxable-value home and demonstrated the city's tax-impact calculator on votegarland.com, advising residents to use the tool because individual appraised values affect outcomes. The presenter also explained that a lower tax rate does not guarantee a lower tax bill if a home's taxable value rises.

The presenter said if voters reject the proposition the city would revert to the voter-approval rate and the council would need to adopt budget amendments removing or reducing items funded by the difference between the adopted and voter-approval rates. Staff said they will host town halls early in October and posted FAQs, polling locations and early voting dates on the voter site.