Trends

The mark of a thriving community is its ability to evolve and adapt to change, to respond to challenges and plan for the future. In 2017, the City of Arlington has again proven it is a thriving community. Fiscal Year 2017 had its challenges, but it was a year of mostly positive financial outcomes for the City. While still following a growth trend, sales tax revenues were slightly under the adopted budget for the year by $ 446,724(. 7 %). Sales tax revenues were higher than the prior year’ s monthly collections in eight of 12 months, which represents an increase of 2.8 % above FY 2016 sales tax receipts.

Sales Tax Revenue

Sales Tax Receipts Growth from 2015-2016

Sales Tax Receipts Growth from 2016-2017

No matter where you looked in 2017, the metroplex was growing and Arlington was no exception. Residential and commercial construction in the City continued to increase, as evidenced by plat, plan and permit activity exceeding budget by $ 1.6 million. Activity in the Entertainment District brought strong growth in Hotel Occupancy Taxes( HOT). FY 2017 HOT receipts were 6.3 % higher than experienced in FY 2016. Court fines and forfeitures negatively impacted the budget in FY 2017, as citations written declined by 11 % and ended the year almost $ 700,000 under budget. However, these losses were somewhat mitigated by constructionrelated activity and interest revenues. The General Fund ended the year under budget in revenues and expenditures, and all funds had positive ending balances.

Notable Accomplishments

• In a November 8 Special Election, Arlington voters approved a measure to contribute up to $ 500 million toward the cost of a new retractableroof ballpark for the Texas Rangers. This project represents the next chapter in a partnership with the Rangers that spans more than four decades. Construction on the new ballpark began in 2017.

• Texas Trust Credit Union, a $ 1-billion financial institution, chose Arlington for its new headquarters. The newly renovated office park, which opened on Interstate 20 in May 2017, includes two 37,000-square-foot buildings. More than 100 employees work at the Texas Trust site, which can accommodate up to 150, giving the credit union plenty of room to grow as it serves more than 84,500 members.

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• Bell Helicopter, which has conducted flight testing, research and development at the Arlington Municipal Airport for nearly 50 years, signed a long-term lease with the City in October 2016. The company’ s original lease, approved in 1967, was set to expire. The new lease agreement will also bring in additional revenue to help support operations at the Arlington Municipal Airport. Bell Helicopter is the largest and longest leaseholder at the airport.

$ 60,000,000 $ 50,000,000 $ 40,000,000 $ 30,000,000 $ 20,000,000 $ 10,000,000

Sales Tax Revenues FY 2003- 2017

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• The City of Arlington is part of a Texas-wide group that recently was designated an autonomous vehicle( AV) proving ground by the U. S. Department of Transportation. A total of 10 pilot sites across the U. S. were designated in January 2017, selected from a pool of more than 60 applicants. According to the U. S. Department of Transportation, the goals of the AV proving ground designations are to foster innovation to safely transform personal and commercial mobility, expand capacity and open new doors to disadvantaged people and communities. The

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