Garland voters are being asked to approve a 2026-27 property-tax rate of $0.679900 per $100 of taxable value under Proposition A, a measure city officials say is needed to pay for new police officers, firefighters, 9-1-1 dispatchers and other city services. Early voting opened Monday and runs through Oct. 30, with Election Day set for Nov. 3.
The city of Garland is asking residents to weigh in on the tax rate, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, which reports the money would go toward hiring in the police, fire, 9-1-1 dispatch and parks departments. The station notes the proposal would also increase funding for road construction and maintenance while maintaining existing city services. Voters will simply be asked to mark whether they are “For” or “Against” the proposition.
What the Higher Rate Would Pay For
According to the city's own breakdown on votegarland.com, the adopted budget sets aside $2,098,762 for 10 new full-time police officer positions plus four new vehicles. Another $1,128,160 is allocated for nine new full-time firefighter positions, and $756,424 is earmarked for eight new full-time 9-1-1 dispatcher positions. Together, those three line items account for 27 new public-safety hires.
The same city accounting shows the tax-rate election is projected to generate roughly $10,637,001 more in maintenance-and-operations revenue than the state's voter-approval rate would allow. Garland's adopted $0.679900 rate is actually about one cent lower than the city's 2025-26 rate of $0.689746 per $100 of valuation, the city notes, even though it still requires voter sign-off this year.
What Happens If Voters Say No
If Garland voters reject Proposition A, the consequences are spelled out under state law. Per a notice posted by the City of Garland, Section 26.07(e) of the Texas Tax Code dictates that the city's current-year tax rate would instead become the voter-approval rate of $0.643254 per $100 of valuation, rather than the higher adopted rate — a point the referendum-facts page also confirms.
The proposition arrives after months of budget work. The City Council received the proposed Fiscal Year 2026-27 operating budget during its July 6 work session, according to a notice from the city, kicking off several weeks of public discussion before the budget's adoption in August. That budget, totaling a combined $1.028 billion with a $271.6 million General Fund supporting day-to-day operations, proposed adding nine firefighters, ten police officers and eight emergency dispatchers, per the city's own summary.
A Similar Fight Playing Out in Dallas
Garland is not the only North Texas city putting public safety funding to a vote this cycle. Dallas voters are being asked to approve a separate $443 million bond package covering five public-safety projects, the same NBC 5 report notes, with the city's own estimate putting total repayment — including principal and interest — at about $629.6 million. That package would fund law-enforcement and public-safety training facilities, an emergency operations and 911 facility, a police evidence and forensic crime lab, and a replacement for Fire Station No. 4, according to the station's report.
Unlike Garland's rate-based proposition, the Dallas measure is structured as a bond, and the station reports that the city says its tax rate will not increase as a result of the bond program. Garland's measure, by contrast, is explicitly framed around the tax rate itself, with the proposed $0.679900 figure appearing directly on the ballot question.
Key Dates for Garland Voters
Early voting for the Garland proposition began Monday and continues through Oct. 30, the NBC 5 report states. Election Day falls on Nov. 3, with polling locations open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone already in line by 7 p.m. that day will still be permitted to cast a ballot, per the station's reporting.
