Arlington Mayor Jim Ross owes $174,945.93 to the IRS in back taxes, according to public records obtained by KERA News.
Ross told KERA he is already on a payment plan with the IRS after the agency began garnishing the $250 monthly stipend he receives from Arlington as mayor.
The unpaid taxes are from 2015 and 2019. A Notice of Federal Tax Lien from the IRS lists the amounts owed at $79,418.73 in 2015 and $95,527.20 in 2019. The notice was included in documents filed as part of a lawsuit for the unpaid property taxes.
Ross' back taxes were mentioned in a post by The Dallas Express, a conservative publication focusing on North Texas.
"It's not anything that I'm proud of," Ross told KERA News in a phone call Wednesday. "It's not that I hang a sign on me saying, 'Look at this. I'm having financial troubles.' But it comes when you are a full-time volunteer, and you get paid $250 a month to do what I do. ... I knew I was only gonna get $250 a month when I took it. And I took anyway."
Ross said he is also late on paying property tax for his home in Arlington, but the bill will be paid this month.
"It's just been overlooked, to be honest, because I'm focused on this other thing and I used to have a team that does this for me and I no longer do," Ross said. "I just realized that the property taxes hadn't been taken care of. I'm expecting the money to come in this month so that I can take care of those and I'll take care them as soon as that money comes in."
It’s not the first time Ross has faced trouble over taxes. When he was running for reelection in 2023, Ross said he was late paying his property taxes but was caught up.
"My office staff typically pays it but the person in charge is no longer with me, so it slipped through the cracks," Ross wrote in a 2023 text message to KERA News.
Ross told KERA the IRS originally began garnishing his wages from the city — the $250 a month he gets paid as mayor. Despite owning a restaurant and law firm, Ross said his only paychecks come from the city.
Ross left his business ventures in the hands of trusted employees when he was elected to council, he said. That allowed him to dedicate around 70 hours a week to his job as Arlington's mayor but meant no longer cutting himself a paycheck and even some downsizing.
His law firm went from 50 or 60 employees to four, including one attorney, he said. He said he couldn't be present as much as needed to manage a firm of that size.
Ross said troubles with his business, including the economic downturn during the pandemic, have created a difficult financial situation for him. He also said those challenges haven't impacted his work as mayor.
Ross, who was originally elected mayor in June 2021, is eligible to serve one more 3-year term under the city's term limits. He said he intends to run for reelection.
KERA News reached out to every member of the city council for comment and received responses from four. Raul Gonzalez, who represents District 2, and Bowie Hogg, the council member for District 7, declined to comment.
Council members Andrew Piel and Mauricio Galante told KERA News they agree that personal finances haven't stopped the mayor from doing his job effectively. They said Ross cares about the city and the people who call Arlington home.
'He puts his own interests last'
Piel, who represents District 4 and is ineligible to run for reelection under the city's term limits, said he regularly disagrees with Ross when the city council discusses policy issues.
He said he still believes Ross is a good mayor despite their disagreements, and the issues with his taxes haven't changed that opinion.
"If anything I think the only thing that he can be accused of is caring too much about the people of Arlington to the point where sometimes he puts his own interests last behind all the commitments he has to being mayor and the people of Arlington," Piel told KERA News.
Piel said he spoke with Ross about his tax situation when he first found out last week and expressed concerns about juggling duties as mayor and ensuring his businesses were successful.
"I feel like he understood my critique and understands that you have to be balanced in how you approach the position of mayor and make sure you look after your own interests, and not just the interests of the people of Arlington," he said.
Galante, who represents District 1, echoed the difficulty of running a business while serving as mayor or on city council.
He said he stepped away from his golf business, handing the reigns over to his wife, because being on Arlington's council is a full-time job that he, Piel and Ross all described as being basically a volunteer job.
That's because Arlington council members get $200 a month while the mayor gets $250 per month.
Galante was endorsed by Ross in his campaign for council and said he likes the mayor, but that wouldn't stop him from calling him out if he was doing something wrong or performing poorly in his office. He said he has openly disagreed with Ross before and isn't afraid of speaking up when he thinks something is wrong.
"We're good friends, but he knows I am not the person that is going to tell him what he wants to hear," Galante told KERA News in an interview. "I am the person who is going to tell him what he needs to hear. My sole job here is to protect and promote the people of Arlington."
Galante said he hasn't seen any change in Ross since he was elected to council and doesn't believe trouble with the IRS has impacted the mayor's work in any way.
Ross said he doesn't believe his tax situation has affected his ability to do the job.
He pointed to economic growth in the city, with six companies moving their global or North American headquarters to the city, including the tech and transportation companies like Mozee, an autonomous vehicle producer, and OverAir, the company producing flying taxis Ross hopes to see in the skies above Arlington next year.
That, Ross said, has brought thousands of good, high paying jobs to the city.
He also pointed to a 5% decrease in overall crime from 2023 to 2024, according to crime statistics from Arlington police.
Managing city finances
Galante said folks unfamiliar with the way a city government is run might have concerns about Ross' ability to manage the city's finances. He's not worried about that and said it's important to understand the full process of setting the budget.
The city's budget is created by staff trained in how to manage a city's finances. While crafting the budget, Ross and the city council provide guidance. They can ask staff to look at ways to increase funding for projects, programs and services or to find ways to reduce or cut those expenses from the budget.
Galante said community input is also an important part of the process. The city solicits that input through town halls, public forums and opportunities for the community to address the council during meetings.
After that, Ross and the eight council members vote to approve or reject the proposed budget. Ross' vote carries the same weight as each of the council members. It's up to nine elected officials, including the mayor, to make those financial decisions.
Galante said he trusts Ross' judgment, but the city doesn't rely on the mayor's opinions alone when setting budgets, creating policies or approving expenses.
Piel said he feels the issue was already put to bed when Ross worked out a way to pay the money owed.
"I don't want to say it's not a serious matter because whenever you have a dispute with the IRS, it is a serious matter," Piel said. "I feel like it's already resolved with the payments."
Budget woes
Arlington is facing a $25 million budget gap in 2026, in large part due to the Tarrant Appraisal District's decision not to reappraise property taxes next year or in 2027, according to city officials.
Galante said that decision by TAD hurts the city's coffers because updated home values help cities like Arlington keep up with inflation and other economic changes.
But the budget hasn't been negatively impacted by Ross' finances, Galante said.
Ross has called for cuts to spending, praised city staff for its work to reduce the budget and asked them to find ways to avoid or reduce any tax increases that may be necessary to balance the city's budget.
The city has proposed around $19 million in cuts to the budget, slashing funding for programs and services along the way, to avoid passing on the cost to taxpayers. Arlington may pull $4 million from the city's reserve fund as a way to avoid laying off 40 employees.
The money, which City Manager Trey Yelverton called a "challenge grant," would allow the city to fund those positions for one more year, during which those employees can either apply for other vacancies in the city or look for employment elsewhere. He's described it as a "humane" method for laying off employees.
At the end of the challenge grant's year, Yelverton said those positions would be fully cut from the city. The council would not be able to renew that funding to sustain the jobs after the year ends.
With more than $2 million left to cut, the city is looking at reducing employee and retiree benefits, foregoing the usual 3% raise and hiking taxes by up to 1 cent for every $100 of valuation. The average property tax bill on an Arlington home would go up about $6 a year, according to Yelverton.
Got a tip? Email James Hartley at jhartley@kera.org. You can follow James on X @ByJamesHartley.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
