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Traffic backs up in the northbound lanes of U.S. 75 on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in McKinney.<\/p>\n
Smiley N. Pool\/Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
In Collin County<\/a>, the principles of fiscal conservatism have collided with the reality of explosive growth.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the last decade, the county\u2019s spending grew slower than the growth of population and inflation, according to the conservative think tank Texas Public Policy Foundation.\u00a0<\/p>\n Collin County added more people<\/a> than all but one county in America this year, spelling increased needs for public services and infrastructure maintenance.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n That has pushed leaders to consider raising property taxes \u2014 even as lowering rates has been the norm for over a decade in many of the county\u2019s boomtowns.<\/p>\n Related: As protesters gather outside, life inside a Plano mosque carries on<\/a><\/p>\n J.H. Cullum Clark, an economist at the George W. Bush Institute, said local governments face a mix of ongoing inflation and \u201cexplosive population growth.\u201d Property values are not going up in many cases, and support from the federal government is waning, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe fiscal situation of localities everywhere has gotten worse,\u201d he said. \u201cLocal governments only have two choices \u2026 [to] raise tax revenues by one means or another, or to reduce spending.\u201d<\/p>\n Plano<\/a>, Frisco<\/a> and McKinney<\/a> all voted to keep their tax rates flat for the next fiscal year, rates which are still expected to bring in more revenue as the region grows. But leaders say they won\u2019t be able to keep rates this low forever and are cutting costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThe state wants us to kind of stay within the same revenues that we have now,\u201d said Teodoro Benavides, professor at The University of Texas at Dallas and former Dallas city manager. At the same time, \u201cyou don\u2019t want to be raising your rate because you want to stay competitive.\u201d<\/p>\n The pressure has pushed some local governments to break from tradition: Collin County commissioners recently voted<\/a> to raise the property tax rate for the first time in more than 30 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plano\u2019s warning\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2025, Plano raised the tax rate<\/a> for the first time in 16 years, citing slowing growth, pressure from proposed state legislation that would make it harder for local governments to raise taxes and rising costs of maintaining aging infrastructure.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Plano\u2019s budget director, Karen Rhodes-Whitley, said this summer that raising the tax rate \u201chelped us tremendously,\u201d especially as Plano voters passed a bond election that has put pressure on the city\u2019s debt. \u00a0<\/p>\n While the Plano City Council voted to keep the rate steady this year<\/a>, officials warned of what\u2019s to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe can get by this year with holding the tax rate firm,\u201d said Plano City Manager Mark Israelson at a council meeting in August. \u201cBut in the future \u2026 there will likely be more than one need to adjust the tax rate.\u201d<\/p>\n Breaking decade-long records\u00a0<\/p>\n Collin County commissioners said the tax increase for the upcoming year was necessary to fund staff to maintain infrastructure and avoid a backlog at courts and county offices. Commissioner Darrell Hale gave the example of the jail, where detainee healthcare costs tripled to $24 million in the last decade.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe were digging for every dollar we could,\u201d Hale said of the budget.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: Fast-growing Collin County calls $817.5 million bond election for November<\/a><\/p>\n County Judge Chris Hill, the sole member of the five-member commissioners court to vote no on the increased tax hike, proposed keeping employee salaries flat to maintain the existing rate. But other officials said uncompetitive salaries would jeopardize employee retention, a headache the county can\u2019t afford as it grapples with growing demand for services.\u00a0<\/p>\n McKinney and Frisco cut costs, avoid hike<\/p>\n McKinney and Frisco leaders decided to keep the current property tax rate in the upcoming fiscal year, going against the recommendation of city staff to raise it. In McKinney, officials cited a decline in average home values<\/a> in the argument to raise the rate. Frisco officials emphasized inflation<\/a> and property tax exemptions that were eating into the city\u2019s revenue.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It was the first time in a decade that McKinney did not lower the rate while Frisco avoided what would have been the city\u2019s first tax rate hike in 18 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n