Page 12 - City of Arlington FY19 Adopted Operating Budget

Manager’s Message

Support Youth and Families
The Library continues to expand and grow to support the needs of the community. In FY 2018, the new Downtown Library
opened to great acclaim. $95,265 is included in the budget to fully restore the part-time and utility funding that was eliminated
when the old Central Library closed in late 2014.

In support of youth and families, the Police Department is adding 3 Police Officers and 1 Police Sergeant to its School Resource
Officer partnership with the Arlington Independent School District. In addition to the purchase of a vehicle, the net recurring
increase is $84,762.

Other Investments

In addition to addressing the priorities, the FY 2019 Budget also includes additional funding for the day-to-day operations and
maintenance of the City.

Funding for other non-public safety related issues includes $70,886 for Property/Casualty Insurance Premiums, $98,086 for
Tarrant County Tax Collection and TAD increase, and $200,709 for Janitorial Contract Increases. Funding is also included to
mitigate the Fleet Property Site $525,000 and for the Fleet Maintenance Contract Increase $174,000.

Revenues

The housing market in the city has slowed slightly, with total home sales through the first 6 months of 2018 down 9% from the
same period in 2017. However, the average sales price for homes has increased from $217,463 in June of 2017 to $235,382
in June of 2018, and the average home in Arlington sells in under two months. The unemployment rate in Arlington has been
lower in each of the first six months of 2018 than it was in the corresponding months in 2017, and unemployment rates in the
city have remained well below state and national levels. The foreclosure rate in Arlington is 0.5%, meaning that one out of every
2,005 mortgaged homes in the city ends up in foreclosure, compared to one foreclosure out of every 1,756 homes nationally.
In Arlington, the number of foreclosures has decreased from an average of 19.3 foreclosures per month in FY 2017 to an
average of 14.7 foreclosures per month through the first nine months of FY 2018.

General Fund
The economic recovery has brought a significant increase in the General Fund’s ad valorem revenue. The July 2018 Certified
Roll includes an overall growth rate of 9.8% for FY 2019; this is the third consecutive year of assessed value growth exceeding
9%, after years of stagnant or moderately growing values. We anticipate approximately 3.1% growth in sales tax revenue above
our FY 2018 estimate.

This budget decreases the current property tax rate by .5 cents from 63.98 to 63.48 cents per $100 of property value, which is
the third consecutive year of decreases. For FY 2019, the effective tax rate is 60.05 cents. The effective tax rate is the tax rate
that would collect the same amount of money that the City collected last year on property that existed in both years. The average
homesteaded taxable value in Arlington has increased by 9.1% over FY 2018 levels, so the average homeowner will pay slightly
more in property taxes for City services than last year. The average homeowner will see an increase of about $5.64 per month,
or $67.66 per year, in property taxes. Other revenues are relatively stable compared to last year.

Tax Policy
The City of Arlington provides a variety of types of relief to its citizens with regards to property taxes. The City offers the largest
homestead exemption by state law of 20% of the value of the property. The City also offers exemptions for Seniors, Disabled
Vets, Disabled Persons, Surviving Spouses for both Armed Service Members and First Responders killed in action, as well as

2019 Adopted Budget and Business Plan vii City of Arlington, Texas