Denison's proposed FY2026 budget shows a $117,151 deficit and a higher tax rate

Denison's proposed operating budget for the 2026 fiscal year projects a $117,151 General Fund deficit, with planned spending outrunning revenue and a property tax rate above the level the city adopted a year earlier, according to budget documents the city has posted for public review. The figures concern Denison's municipal budget for the 2025-2026 cycle, not a Gainesville or Cooke County matter, and they bear on what Denison property owners would pay and how the city would fund daily services.

Denison's budget page lists the working documents as the proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year and an amended budget for the 2025 fiscal year. The proposed budget puts General Fund revenue at an estimated $49,101,909 for the 2025 fiscal year and $51,625,850 for 2026. General Fund expenditures climb over the same span from $49,100,202 to $51,743,001. The difference between the two 2026 totals produces the proposed shortfall.

Those numbers show projected revenue rising rather than holding flat, while proposed spending grows by a larger amount. The record points to pressure from increasing costs, but it does not support a claim that General Fund revenue is unchanged from the prior year.

The proposed property tax rate for 2026 is 0.712158 per $100 of valuation, the budget document states. That rate sits above the adopted 2025 rate of 0.658060 and above the 2026 no-new-revenue rate of 0.640569, which is the rate that would raise about the same amount of property tax on existing property as the previous year.

The proposed budget identifies Bobby Atteberry as interim city manager and Renee' Waggoner as assistant city manager. Both titles appear in the management section of the document the city published.

Denison's financial transparency page gives a broader account for the 2024-2025 year, covering more than the General Fund alone. It reports total revenues of $157,170,165 and total expenditures of $117,177,703 across all city funds. Property taxes accounted for $20,586,854 of that revenue and sales taxes for $8,564,830, the page states. The city reported 356 full-time-equivalent employees.

Residents who want to track the budget through council meetings are pointed to two locations on the city's site. Denison directs the public to its CivicClerk portal for current agendas and minutes. The older Agenda Center carries legacy City Council listings that run through 2025.

The proposed 2026 budget and the amended 2025 budget both remain available on Denison's budget page for public review.