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Today's Richardson Review
Richardson City Council Meeting September 28th, 2026
Justin Neth
Welcome to this week’s Richardson Review, where we take a look at the decisions made at this week’s Council meeting and how they impact you!
This week’s Council meeting theme is “transition.” It’s not just the weather outside that’s changing. Your Place 3 councilmember has also changed as of Monday, Sept. 28th! After hearing from two residents regarding zoning compliance concerns, Council officially took the final action to fill the Place 3 vacancy left by Councilman Dan Barrios.
After Councilman Barrios recused himself from the final vote on the appointment as required by our city charter, Council unanimously appointed Daniel Burdette to serve in the Place 3 seat until May 1st, 2027. Council and the community in attendance honored Councilman Barrios’ service to our city, thanking him and recognizing his unwavering passion for serving residents.
Councilman Barrios leaves behind a legacy of standing up for what he believes is right, even if no one else stood with him. But he also leaves behind an example of how to cooperate and work with people you might not always agree with. One councilmember even compared him to the Game of Thrones character, Stannis Baratheon, who famously proclaimed, “I will not become a page in someone else’s history book.”
Councilman Barrios concluded his final remarks with a quote to encourage the Richardson community and those who represent us. From Methodist movement founder John Wesley, “Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.”
After officially taking his Oath of Office, Councilman Daniel Burdette thanked his parents for setting the example of true servant leadership, and his wife, Catherine, for her unwavering support and enthusiasm. He is eager to serve the residents of Richardson and hopes his fellow Place 3 applicants will remain involved.
The new Council then got immediately to work approving $375K in arts grants to 22 organizations and nearly $1.5M in annual contracts for several areas of city services. Council also approved a settlement that establishes lower-than-proposed Atmos rate increases. Residential customers will see a 14% increase and commercial customers will see a 10% increase in gas bills. It could have been even higher if Richardson hadn’t partnered with other cities to achieve the lower rate increase!
Thanks for reading this week’s edition, and please visit the Richardson Review here for more detailed analysis of these meetings: https://justinneth.substack.com/
Richardson City Council Meeting September 21st, 2026
Justin Neth
Welcome to this week’s Richardson Review, where we take a look at the decisions made at this week’s Council meeting and how they impact you!
The quote of the week for this week’s meeting was offered by Place 4 Councilman Joe Corcoran. From Man of La Mancha, “When life itself seems lunatic, who knows where madness lies? Perhaps to be too practical is madness. To surrender dreams — this may be madness. Too much sanity may be madness — and maddest of all: to see life as it is, and not as it should be!”
This is a good reminder that we can always strive to do better for our city, and this seems to fall in line with what many in our community agree with. The September 21st Council meeting included written or spoken remarks from 32 residents! Whether advocating for their preferred Place 3 applicant or encouraging opportunities for fiscal responsibility, these 32 residents all advocated for decisions they sincerely believe are best for Richardson.
After presenting a special proclamation for RISD Superintendent Tabitha Branum, Council got to work making the necessary approvals to officially adopt the FY 2027 budget and tax rate. As a reminder, this budget largely focuses on ensuring we have the absolute best people possible working for our city and adopting multi-year strategies to address infrastructure needs in a way that is sustainable for future years.
Conditions are only getting tighter as the Federal Reserve recently raised the benchmark rate from 3.75% to 4%. Construction cost indexes also continue to rise. All the ongoing geopolitical and supply chain concerns highlight the importance of focusing on future financial sustainability, and the strategies adopted in this budget will certainly be tested as economic factors remain unpredictable. Perhaps most impressively, Richardson is achieving all of this without raising the tax rate, which got a nice round of applause from those in attendance at the Sep. 21st meeting.
Council also had another major task in this meeting. The final three applicants were interviewed to decide who should be the lone finalist to fill the Place 3 vacancy left by Councilman Dan Barrios’ resignation. Those final three applicants were Daniel Burdette, Jordan Noret, and Jeff Davis. These three applicants all have extensive records of serving the community in various ways through nonprofits, city boards and commissions, and neighborhood leadership.
Council’s questions focused on how each applicant would go about making decisions. Council tested their knowledge of the budget and 2026 Bond Program. Council even asked for specific stances on various topics such as public safety and housing affordability. In the end, after deliberating for nearly an hour, Daniel Burdette was declared the lone finalist to
serve in the Place 3 seat until next May. He will take his oath of office at the Sep. 28th Council meeting.
Thanks for reading this week’s edition and please visit the Richardson Review here for more detailed analysis of these meetings: https://justinneth.substack.com/
Richardson City Council Meeting September 14th, 2026
Justin Neth
Welcome to this week’s Richardson Review, where we take a look at the decisions made at this week’s Council meeting and how they impact you! Every meeting starts with hearing from the public, and Richardson definitely showed up on Sep. 14th. Between written and spoken comments, 19 people expressed their opinions on the tax rate, Place 3 appointment, Flock cameras, Amazon drones, and more.
And this was an important meeting for input. Council first held a public hearing on maintaining the current city property tax rate of .54218 per $100 for the next fiscal year. The current proposed FY 2027 city budget supports a 5.5% pay increase for public safety personnel and increased support for the city’s self-funded employee health insurance plan. These helps ensure that Richardson continues to be attractive to the highest quality city employees in an extremely competitive region.
This isn’t easy to accomplish in 2026. Costs continue to increase for the City of Richardson and the many geopolitical factors at play right now make this a very tough budget year to predict. There are also concerns that the state legislature could continue to restrict how a city can achieve revenue growth each year.
To ensure a balanced budget, Council has had some tough decisions to consider. One of those decisions has been to reduce the annual Wildflower Festival from 3 days to 2 days. This savings, in addition to support from DART’s 6-year General Mobility Program and the elimination of several positions that have been frozen since the COVID-19 Pandemic, ensures that the FY 27 budget is a balanced budget with no shortfall.
This budget also includes increases in water and sewer charges, drainage fees, and solid waste fees. The estimated annual impact of these increases for the average taxpayer is $230 for FY 2027. You still have a chance to express your opinion on this budget on Sep. 21st. Council will officially adopt the budget and tax rate that evening after conducting a public hearing.
Council also continues forward in the process of appointing someone to the Place 3 Council seat due to Councilman Dan Barrios’ resignation earlier this year to run for U.S. Congressional District 32. At the Sep. 14th meeting, Council selected three finalists from the pool of eight applicants they interviewed in August.
Council’s finalists selection prioritized applicants who have demonstrated their dedication to community involvement, servant leadership, and familiarity with the needs of Richardson. The three finalists to be interviewed on Sep. 21st are Daniel Burdette, Jeff Davis, and Jordan Noret. Council will officially designate a lone finalist on Sep. 21st who will be sworn in to serve on Sep. 28th until next May. If you have any input to offer on this selection, Sep. 21st is your chance.
About the author
Justin Neth has been covering Richardson City Council meetings and keeping Richardson informed since 2021. The Richardson Review now covers City Council, City Plan Commission, Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee, Cultural Arts Commission, Library Board, Zoning Board, Parks & Rec Commission, Community Inclusion & Engagement Commission, TIF Board, Animal Services Advisory Commission, and the 2025 Charter Review Commission meetings. This publication focuses on factual summaries of these public meetings, prioritizing information over opinion. The Richardson Review uses some AI tools to enhance and expand coverage and provide video summaries. Thank you for being informed. Please share with your neighbors!