Glendale adopts $1.41B 2026-27 budget: more police downtown, fire engines, road projects

Glendale City Council unanimously adopted a $1.41 billion FY 2026-27 budget, with the new fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. In the adopted plan, the city says it’s prioritizing public safety (including additional downtown police staffing and new fire engines), transportation and street projects for drivers, and support for the workforce that delivers day-to-day services.

Public safety: more officers for downtown and continued crime-lab work

For police services, the city says it will hire eight new officers to serve downtown. The City of Glendale links the staffing plan to U.S. Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grants, and says the officers will respond during special events and patrol using electric bicycles, stand-up electric scooters, and patrol vehicles, with the unit based out of the city’s Main Police Station.

The city also says the adopted budget continues development of a crime lab designed to expedite evidence processing. The city describes the crime lab as being housed on the same 5-acre campus as the Property and Evidence Building on West Myrtle Avenue.

Fire department priorities: moving Fire Station 154 and adding screening funding

On the fire side, Glendale’s adopted budget includes funding for relocating Fire Station 154. The city says Fire Station 154 will move from its current location on West Peoria Avenue (just east of 45th Avenue) to a new location near North 47th Avenue and West Sunnyslope Lane.

The city says the existing fire station will remain open until the new station is completed sometime in early 2028. Glendale also says plans are underway for a new fire station at the northwest corner of West Glendale Avenue and North New River Road, across from the Glendale Regional Airport—intended to serve the city’s Sports and Entertainment District and growth west of Loop 101.

Glendale City Council also increased funding for an occupational cancer screening program for firefighters to a total of $400,000, according to the budget release.

Road and commute impacts: reconstruction, turn lanes, and signal upgrades

Glendale’s Transportation Department budget highlights pavement management, street reconstruction, and intersection safety upgrades. The city’s budget release lists examples including:

Reconstructing 75th Avenue from Glendale Avenue to just south of Northern Avenue, and between Deer Valley and Beardsley roads.
Adding a right-turn lane at the intersection of 59th and Northern avenues to allow drivers heading south on 59th Avenue to turn right onto Northern.
Installing a second left-turn lane for drivers heading west on Greenway Road to turn left onto 67th Avenue, and making traffic-signal improvements at that intersection.
Providing about 40 more streetlights in areas that need more lighting.
Installing bus pull-outs on eastbound Glendale Avenue (just east of 59th Avenue, in front of the new City Hall) and on Union Hills Drive (just west of 55th Avenue near the Foothills Recreation and Aquatics Center, or FRAC).

Because these projects are budgeted as planned work, the practical timing for changes on the ground can still depend on design, permitting, and procurement as the fiscal year moves forward.

Property taxes: what the city says, and what residents should check

In remarks tied to the budget, Mayor Jerry P. Weiers said the city is maintaining its commitment to fiscal responsibility by not raising property taxes for the eleventh consecutive year. The council action used to adopt the final budget, Resolution R26-64, is described in the City Council agenda materials as setting the revenue and the amount to be raised by direct property taxation.

Still, residents typically see tax bills shaped by multiple taxing jurisdictions. Even if Glendale’s message is “no increase” for its own stance, the total amount you pay can differ depending on your district and other assessments.

What to watch next

With the budget adopted, the next steps are execution: implementation schedules for roadway and intersection work, milestones for Fire Station 154’s relocation, and ongoing updates related to police staffing and the crime-lab development. For the most direct tracking, residents can monitor Glendale’s budget postings and council/finance updates as FY 2026-27 gets underway.

Sources

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