DTX-DEN: Impact 8/27/2026

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UNT approves $1.4B FY 2026-27 budget, whittles projected FY 2025-26 shortfall from $45M to $19M

The University of North Texas unanimously approved a $1.4 billion budget ahead of the 2026-27 fiscal year, a 3.2% decrease from the 2025-26 fiscal year’s budget at an Aug. 13 board of regents meeting.

The overall impact to the fund balance will be a $21 million shortfall, which Greg Anderson, UNT’s deputy chancellor for finance and operations, said aligns with the university’s budgeting and intentional use of its reserves.

The details: At the meeting, Anderson presented a consolidated operating budget breakdown for its upcoming fiscal year, which showed a decrease from the previous fiscal year’s budget by $46.6 million, or 3.2%.

Total personnel costs saw a $6.5 million increase from last year’s budget and the maintenance and operation expenditures saw a $8.8 million dip from last year.

Zooming in: UNT President Harrison Keller also said at the Aug. 13 meeting the university brought down its projected shortfall for the 2025-26 fiscal year from $45 million to $19 million through various cost-saving measures.

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Key Information

Medical City Denton opens $15M inpatient rehabilitation unit

Medical City Denton announced its new rehabilitation unit opened in August.

What’s happening? The hospital held a ribbon cutting Aug. 5 for a $15 million, 18-bed unit dedicated to specialized care for adult patients recovering from surgery, illness or injury, according to a Medical City Denton news release.

The purpose of the new unit is to help and support patients regain strength, mobility and independence as they recover. The unit is located on Medical City Denton’s campus at 3535 S. I-35 E.

Tailored rehabilitation plans are implemented by doctors, nurses and therapists to patients who are recovering from medical events such as stroke, neurological disorders, traumatic injury, orthopedic conditions such as joint replacement or amputation, the release states.

Zooming out: The expansion is part of the Medical City healthcare system’s $1.7 billion investment into its hospitals and facilities over five years, according to the release.

The new rehabilitation center at Medical City Denton comes after the hospital opened its $8 million cardiac care unit in April.

Learn more.

Your Weekend To-Do List

Check out these weekend events across the metro area.

Movie night

North Texas Fair & Rodeo

Aug. 28, 7-9 p.m.
Frisco

Aug. 28-30, times vary
Denton

More info

Downtown McKinney scavenger hunt

Grapevine ghosts tour

Aug. 29, 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
McKinney

Aug. 28, 7 p.m.
Grapevine

More info

To submit your own event, click here.

Affecting All Texans

Texas Department of Insurance must work to reduce home insurance costs, Gov. Abbott says

The Texas Department of Insurance must take action to promote competition and “prohibit excessive or unfairly discriminatory rate setting" in the state's homeowners insurance market, Gov. Greg Abbott said Aug. 24.

The background: Texans are paying the fourth-highest home insurance premiums in the nation, Community Impact previously reported. State data shows that the average Texas home insurance premium nearly doubled from $1,791 in 2016 to $3,506 in 2025.

The details: Abbott asked the TDI to prohibit insurers from using the age of a home and homeowners' personal data when setting rates; create a task force targeting insurance fraud; study the impact of inflated insurance claims; and require insurers to consider a homeowner's participation in a roof fortification program when writing policies.

Another perspective: "Under Greg Abbott, Texas has been one of the most expensive states in the country to own and maintain a home," Gina Hinojosa, the Democratic candidate for Texas governor, said in a statement. "If Abbott really wanted to lower costs, he would have done it in the last 12 years."

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Gabby Bailey
Editor

Arlin Gold
General Manager

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