Budget cuts were a top concern for Arlington鈥檚 city council Tuesday as it works to set priorities at a quarterly meeting.
The city is looking at a $25.1 million gap in funding after changes at the Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD), which decided it will not reassess the value of homes in the county for two years.
The projected increases in property value are a major way the city plans for its future budgets, and it鈥檚 left Arlington and other cities scrambling to cut budgets.
City Manager Trey Yelverton told the city council and heads of city departments that cuts are inevitable, including to staffing and pay.
鈥淓veryone in this room will tell you they need more, not less,鈥� Yelverton said. 鈥淏ut we have to make cuts and that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing.鈥�
Budget shortfall
The city is expected to fall short of its budget requirements by tens of millions of dollars in 2026. The expected shortfall in property taxes is a part of it, not only due to changes in the appraisal schedule but in property value protests.
Yelverton said the city wants Arlington property to be properly valued and protests are a big part of ensuring that. But it becomes difficult for the city to budget when leaders can鈥檛 estimate how much assessed value will decline from protests.
Those protests lead to a value loss around $1 billion, Yelverton said.
Mayor Jim Ross blamed the Tarrant Appraisal District for the trouble the city is facing but that Arlington leaders have a responsibility to make it work.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e doing crazy stuff with our property appraisals. But I don鈥檛 have control over those things, and we do have control over this,鈥� Ross said.
四虎影院 reached out to a TAD spokesperson for comment.
Facility closures
The city is also looking at closing a library branch, the Bob Duncan Center, Meadowbrook Center and parks administration building.
The three named buildings are nearing the end of their projected lifespan and closing them would only accelerate plans by a few years at most, Yelverton told the mayor and council.
Nora Coronado, the city鈥檚 asset management director, said in many cases parts needed for repairs aren鈥檛 being produced anymore. Many are expensive and difficult to find while other parts needed for repairs simply can鈥檛 be found.
Andrew Piel and Rebecca Boxall, council members representing Districts 4 and 5, respectively, objected to closing the Bob Duncan Center. Events hosted there keep the center profitable and both council members said the center is important to the community.
鈥淪hould we shut down Bob Duncan even though it鈥檚 in the black or do we just give you the authority to shut it down the moment something happens that鈥檚 expensive to repair?鈥� Piel asked Yelverton.
The city manager told Piel that鈥檚 something he鈥檒l explore, but that it should be possible.
But, Yelverton said, it鈥檚 only a matter of time before the building has to be closed. Foundation issues plague the Bob Duncan Center, he said, with the northeast corner of the building sunken four inches.
It鈥檚 the same for Meadowbrook 鈥� it will need to be closed soon because it sits in a floodplain. It floods and, like the Bob Duncan center, needs repairs that either can鈥檛 be done because the parts don鈥檛 exist or are too expensive because the parts are so rare.
The inability to make affordable repairs at the parks administration building had it slated to shutter soon, too. The building leaks, causing more damage, and patching leaks and fixing other damage is getting too expensive.
鈥淒o we kind of Band-Aid along or do we go ahead and reduce some costs by closing the facility?鈥� Yelverton asked the council.
He suggested closing most facilities that are at the end of their practical life would be the smart move financially. Structural repairs can have shorter benefits as a building ages, meaning more frequent and more expensive repairs to help the structure limp along.
Closing a library branch wouldn鈥檛 be due to the age or damage to the building, but a way to cut the costs of maintaining the building, paying for utilities and staffing the library branch. City staff hasn鈥檛 identified which specific branch it might ask the city council to close.
Other spending cuts
Several departments in the city are being asked to cut back on staffing.
Many of the cuts are to positions that are already vacant, like two code compliance officers and 10 support staff positions in the police department. Others, like three part-time HR positions, would be layoffs or transfers and some full-time positions would become part-time.
Yelverton suggested the city council release around $4 million in emergency funding to prevent staffing cuts for a year. He said it isn鈥檛 a permanent solution but would give city employees time to transfer to other positions or find another job before their positions are cut.
Pay reductions could also be used to save jobs while cutting costs. No specific details were presented on which positions would experience reductions or how much the pay cuts would be.
City spokesperson Susan Schrock said that while pay cuts could be an option, it's not one city leaders are seriously considering at this moment.
Increasing revenue
Naming rights at parks, leasing park space for a restaurant or concession stand and introducing advertising opportunities across the city would be another option.
James Orloski, the director of parks and recreation, said corporate sponsorships already help offset the cost of operating Arlington鈥檚 parks. Texas Health sponsors some facilities in parks like restrooms, and there could be more opportunities like that.
High Level Promotions, a marketing firm that specializes in obtaining sponsorships and naming deals for cities, has expressed interest in working with the city. It would connect the city with companies that want to get their name on buildings, park benches, parking lots and other facilities.
Orloski said previous city councils have rejected similar offers, but that it could be a way to get more money. This city council didn鈥檛 seem opposed.
鈥淭he bottom line is bringing partners to the city who can offset the burden to the general fund,鈥� Orloski said. 鈥淚t could result in less public space, but it would keep things running.鈥�
Piel said he liked the idea but wanted to be careful with what companies they accept partnerships with and what facilities they allow to be named. The name should be appropriate for the facility and would have to be from a company that wouldn鈥檛 be too controversial.
He used the ACTIV Center, a senior adult recreation center where the council met for the session, as an example.
鈥淚t has to be tasteful,鈥� Piel said. 鈥淭he Texas Health ACTIV Center is a lot better than the ACTIV Center Presented by Viagra.鈥�
Increasing fees could help, too. Those fees are collected for things like renting space in a park, getting permits for events like parades and, on a larger scale, from companies that use Arlington roads like Oncor and Republic Services through franchise fees.
A program asking residents and businesses to adopt medians could help, too.
For businesses, it provides advertising on a street sign. For the city, it brings in $1,000 for a two-year agreement and offsets maintenance costs.
Arlington still has more than $3 million to cut from the future budget, Yelverton said. Increased revenues will help reduce the predicted budget deficit, but he believes staffing cuts are still inevitable.
This story has been updated to include a comment by city spokesperson Susan Schrock.
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