Plano council raises property tax rate, adopts $798M budget
Plano residents will see higher property tax bills after City Council members voted to raise the city’s property tax rate by just over 4% at their Sept. 8 meeting.
What happened: Staff initially proposed a rate of $0.4406 per $100 valuation on Aug. 26, before approving the lower rate of $0.4376 per $100 valuation The approved rate is higher than the current rate of $0.4176 per $100 valuation.
What you need to know: With the new rate, the average Plano homeowner will owe $1,978 in city property taxes—about $234 more than last year. However, Plano residents may still see higher bills regardless of the new rate due to rising property values.
Looking ahead: The new budget and tax rate take effect Oct. 1, marking the start of the city’s 2025-26 fiscal year.
First phase of FIFA World Cup 2026 ticket sales starts Sept. 10
FIFA announced the initial ticket draw will start Sept. 10 at 10 a.m. CT and run through 10 a.m., Sept. 19, for Visa customers only. Visa is a corporate partner for the World Cup, according to a news release. The World Cup will run from June 11 to July 19, 2026. Arlington's AT&T Stadium is slated to host games.
The details: According to the website, Visa cardholders can log in during that time frame and enter the drawing by using their FIFA ID. If selected, fans will get an email notification Sept. 29 and will be given a designated time and date to log in and purchase tickets as early as Oct. 1. Tickets will start at $60 and go up to $6,730 for the finals, but according to a news release, a successful draw application does not guarantee that tickets will be available for purchase during the time slot. If selected, fans can buy up to 40 tickets to different games, with a maximum of four per game, for all 104 games.
Cellphone ban, library materials: 8 new Texas laws impacting public schools
When Texas students returned to school in August, some substantial changes awaited them.
The overview:
House Bill 2 increases state funding for public schools by $8.4 billion.
House Bill 1481 prohibits students from using cellphones and other personal communication devices throughout the school day.
Senate Bill 12 requires parental consent for students to receive "medical, psychiatric and psychological treatment" on campus.
Senate Bill 13 gives parents and school boards more oversight of library materials.
House Bill 6 gives teachers more discretion to remove repeatedly disruptive or violent students from class.
Senate Bill 10 requires most schools to display donated posters of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.
Senate Bill 11 allows districts to set aside time for students and staff to pray or read religious texts at school.
Senate Bill 965 codifies school employees' rights to "engage in religious speech or prayer while on duty."
The context: The sweeping changes come after lawmakers passed what state leaders have called “transformative” education laws during this year’s regular legislative session, which ended June 2.
