Financial Look Back at 2016
Trends
Continuing to build on the prior year ’ s growth trend , Fiscal Year 2016 was a year of positive financial outcomes for the City of Arlington . Headlines about the strengthened economy , lower unemployment rate and booming housing market in Texas were hard to miss . Traditionally , the Texas economy has been stronger than the national economy , and the Dallas- Fort Worth Metroplex is stronger than the state . The same held true in 2016 .
5 % growth
Sales Tax Revenue
5.5 % growth
Sales Tax Receipts Growth from 2015-2016
Sales Tax Receipts Growth from 2014-2015
Sales tax revenues , while slightly under the adopted budget for the year by $ 482,267 , continued to show strong growth above the prior year ’ s receipts , up 5 percent compared to 2015 . This growth was only slightly less than the 5.5 percent growth seen from 2014 to 2015 .
The City continued to benefit from major events held at AT & T Stadium and another strong season by the Texas Rangers , as the team compiled the best regular-season record in the American League and made the 2016 MLB play-offs . Sales tax revenues were higher than the prior year ’ s monthly collections in 11 out of 12 months .
No matter where you looked in 2016 , the Metroplex was growing and Arlington was no exception . Residential and commercial construction in the City continued to grow , as evidenced by license and permit activity exceeding budget by $ 1.12 million .
Activity in the City ’ s Entertainment District brought strong growth in Hotel Occupancy Taxes ( HOT ). Our 2016 HOT receipts were 7.3 percent higher than experienced in the previous year . Court fines and forfeitures negatively impacted the budget in 2016 , as citations written declined by 7 percent and ended the year $ 1 million under budget ; however , these losses were mitigated by building permit and construction-related activity . The City ’ s General Fund ended the year under budget in revenues and expenditures , and all funds had positive ending balances .
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Notable Accomplishments
• The City of Arlington and the Texas Rangers announced plans for Texas Live !, a 100,000-square-foot entertainment complex , along with plans for a 300-room upscale hotel with 35,000 square feet of convention space near Globe Life Park . Texas Live ! will feature multiple best-in-class restaurants , retail and entertainment venues , plus a signature event space . The facility will also create approximately 1,800 total jobs .
• TexasLive ! represents the next chapter in a partnership with the Texas Rangers already spanning more than four decades . In November , voters further solidified that partnership by approving a measure to contribute up to $ 500 million toward the cost of a new retractable-roof ballpark and surrounding development for the team .
• In downtown , work began on 101 Center , a mixed-use project including high-end residential units over groundlevel retail with restaurants and loft office space . The $ 49-million development is a partnership between the City and a private development group . A new piece of public art was also unveiled . The Downtown Arlington Management Corporation , Arlington Tomorrow Foundation and private donors underwrote the cost of the DREAM sculpture at 200 West Abram Street . Five letters – each measuring 12 feet tall , 4 feet deep and up to 10 feet wide – made of heavy sheetmetal steel form the word “ dream .”
• This fall , City Council authorized the acceptance of a $ 75,000 grant from the U . S . Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services for the development of a Smartphone app for officers and residents . The Police Department proposed the officer app for internal use as well as a public app for a mobile platform to complement the department ’ s web page redesign . The apps will increase the department ’ s capacity to keep officers informed of critical topics while on patrol and help reach citizens on a new technology platform .
• In 2016 , Money Magazine recognized the City as the Best Big City in the South and one of the Top 6 Best Big Cities in the entire country . The article lists Arlington ’ s numerous large employers , including GM and Texas Health Resources , as well as the City ’ s proximity to highpaying job opportunities . Arlington , with a population now topping 380,000 , is also “ a sweet spot for parents looking for affordable homes and top-ranked schools .” This includes the standout public charter school Uplift Summit International Preparatory , named one of the top 20 most challenging high schools in the U . S . by the Washington
Post .
6 | Popular Annual Financial Report