Maintaining a balanced budget is critical to the success of our city. It's important that we take care of our people and our things, not just for today, but for the future. I am dedicated to finding other available and secure financial tools to relieve the burden on you, our taxpayers and residents, as much as possible.

I am proud that I fulfilled that promise, and during my first term, I voted to LOWER your property tax rate for three consecutive years. Frisco has one of the LOWEST tax rates in the region! 

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First-Term Budget Highlights: 

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• Decreased the Property Tax Rate consecutively three times since 2022; now at $0.4255

• Maintained the $80,000 Senior/Disability Exemption 

• ​Voted to increase Homestead Exemption to 15%

• Implemented new Senior Tax Freeze

• Balanced Budget every year (easier said than done!)

• City of Frisco consistently holds a AAA Bond Rating

Sales Tax revenue is an essential funding source for many of our larger projects. How do we increase the Sales Tax revenue bucket? We must attract people to visit, spend, and stay in Frisco. As we move from the national stage to the world stage with the World Cup in 2026 and the PGA Championship in 2027, I want to ensure our residents reap the benefits of all the commercial activity and dollars boosted by tourism, and we continue to secure Frisco's position as a premier destination for tourism, meetings, and events. 

Visit Frisco Highlights: 

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• Created a Tourism Public Improvement District (TPID) to increase marketing funding for Frisco as a tourism destination

• Visitor spending in Frisco resulted in $2,400 tax relief per household 

• Economic Impact: Reached a record $96.9 million in FY2024, marking a 14% growth compared to FY2023.

• Hotel Occupancy Tax Revenue: Hit an all-time high of $13.1 million in FY2024

• Welcomed 7.5 million visitors and record $2 Billion Visitor Spending in FY2024

• Event Bookings: Achieved a record 259 events, a 5% increase year-over-year.

• 15.6K tourism-supported jobs in 2024

• Launched Frisco Live, a Spotify playlist to support our local musicians 

• Awarded Silver at the International Content Marketing Awards for the campaign Golf Girl Games, putting Frisco on an international stage. The campaign resulted in 3.5 million people reached and $3.9 million in earned media value. 

• Hosted several First-Time Events: PGA Senior Championship, PGA Junior League Championship, East-West Shrine Bowl, Big 12 Pro Day, Academy of Country Music Awards

• International events relocations to Frisco: Dallas Open and International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 Men's World Championship

As a former public school teacher, I am thrilled that Frisco can now provide an education for a child from Pre-K through a 4-year university with UNT's opening! Although the City of Frisco is an entirely separate governing entity than the Frisco Independent School District, I am committed to supporting our students and residents of all ages.

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Education Highlights: 

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• Opened UNT Frisco, a Tier 1 Research University and an "Innovation Engine" creating unique internships with Frisco employers and partnerships with Collin College

• Opened the new Frisco Library, the 6th largest library in Texas with a record-breaking 1.2 million visitors and 3.42 million books checked out in 2024

• Served as a Frisco ISD Independent studies mentor

• Served as Business Incubator mentor with FISD students launching small businesses

• Launched Women Influencing the Next Generation (WINGS) program as its inaugural speaker for an Eagle Scouts project

• Liaison to the Mayor's Youth Council, spearheading the first MYC elections for a Student Mayor and Council for leadership

• Speak to Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, Eagle Scouts, Young Men's Service League, Junior Frisco Women's League, Youth Entrepreneur Society

• Panel speaker for Jane Nelson Institute for Women’s Leadership Summit and TCU Women in Leadership Symposium

Every great city has a vibrant downtown, and Frisco's has felt disjointed for many years. Revitalizing our downtown is now a Top 10 Council Priority, which is why we're investing over $70 million to improve our Rail District. The goal is to transform downtown into a walkable destination for the community to enjoy local food, retail, music, and culture for hours, all in the heart of our city.

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Rail District Highlights: 

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• Adopted new Rail District Brand logo 

• Creating 4th Street Plaza (our first “living room” in downtown)

• More walkability with wider sidewalks

• Voter-approved and funded parking garage 

• Connecting the Economic Development Corporation to the Rail District, filling the gap between corporate and local business to assist with Marketing and provide Type A Grants

• Pilot program of small business Type B grants by the Community Development Corporation to help with facade improvements 

• New full-time Downtown Liaison to serve our businesses and residents

• Approved partnership with Rollertown Brewery to create a family-friendly hub on Main Street 

• Exploring smart microtransit options to build more accessible and efficient transportation without the high infrastructure cost for rail

Frisco puts Public Safety first, dedicating over 50% of our budget to our Police and Fire Departments. We prioritize equipping our teams with the best tools, training, and compensation to attract and retain top talent.
 

The result? Frisco residents recently rated our overall sense of safety higher than 500 other communities nationwide, representing over 50 million people. It’s a testament to our unwavering commitment to keeping Frisco safe.

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Public Safety Highlights: 

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• Opened Police Department Annex for training, larger gym, work spaces, housing fleet, and more

• Received a $95,000 grant to train tactical teams for World Cup, working with FIFA and special ops

• Launched in-house Peace Officer Licensing Training, getting officers hired and trained faster

• Implemented the Flock Safety Camera System using license plate recognition to help reduce crime, covered by grant funds

• Multiple awards for the Innovative SAFER system (Situational Awareness for Emergency Response), a collaborative GIS system that exists between FISD, Fire, Police, Traffic Engineering, and IT to ensure the safety of all FISD students. SAFER received the Smart Cities Smart 50 award (2022), Innovations in GIS award by Esri (2023)

• Constructing Fire Station #10 now

• Fire Station #11 is in design (Build out is 14 stations)

• Our Frisco Fire Department is internationally accredited

• Increased the entry-level salary for firefighters at $86,000/year

• The FFD was the only fire department in Texas and one of just 6 nationally to be selected by the U.S. Fire Administration to roll out the newest cutting-edge fire technology called NERIS

• Fire Prevention Division was awarded the Platinum Level Award of Excellence by the Texas Fire Marshals’ Association (TXFMA)

  • Only 7 cities in Texas have achieved this award, and Frisco received the HIGHEST score ever recorded in the state

We are future-proofing Frisco by investing in Economic Development. By creating a culture of unrivaled performance, we are increasing the number of people who choose Frisco to live, work, and play.

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1st Term Economic Development Highlights: 

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• #1 Highest Performing EDC in the State of Texas based on project wins, economic growth, and budget

• Brought TIAA, our first Fortune 100 company, to Frisco and opened its new building

• Opened PGA HQ in Frisco 

• 26 HQ Project wins in FY 2024: 21 without incentives

• 70 Business Relocation/Expansion wins 

• 10,432 New and Retained Jobs 

• $2.1 Billion in new private capital investment 

• #1 Best Job Market in Texas in 2024 Smart Asset's study 

• #10 in Best Job Markets in the U.S. in Smart Asset’s study in 2024

• Secured Plug and Play: startup and venture capital ecosystem, focused on sports tech

• Texas Economic Development Council: awarded Excellence in Economic Development 2x

Have you played today? Our City Council wants to ensure that each resident enjoys a high quality of life in Frisco through arts, parks, trails, and recreation. Our goal is to have one continuous trail connecting Northwest Frisco to Southeast Frisco, and that no home is more than a 5-minute walk to a public park. In my first term, we opened several new parks and expanded opportunities for play, including pickleball. More to come!

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Play Frisco Highlights:

• Voted to approve a Vision for 1000-acre Grand Park and opened the first trail

• Approved the first Grand Park Art Trail "Nocturne"

• Design phase of “Civic Park” within Grand Park underway: includes 5-acre pond for kayaking, walking trails, and 7,500-seat capacity amphitheater 

• Implemented Lights Out Texas, a campaign of education, awareness, and action that focuses on protecting the billions of migratory birds traveling through Texas

• Opened Kaleidoscope Park in Hall Park: 6 acres of green space, playgrounds, art, dog park, and gardens

• Added 10 dedicated pickleball courts at Warren Sports Complex, 9 pickleball courts at Frisco Fieldhouse

• Opened Davis Park

• Opened Jones Park

• Approved Northwest Community Park design for our mountain bikers 

• Renamed Central Park to Kathy Seei Park in honor of Frisco’s first female mayor

• Implemented 

As Chair of the Governance Committee, I have championed greater opportunities for our residents to serve and implemented methods to increase transparency and accountability.

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Governance Chair Highlights:

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• Expanded the Public Art Board to become the Arts and Culture Advisory Board, moving from a singular focus of visual art in capital projects to encompass music, dance, theatre, and heritage

• Expanded the Urban Forestry Board to become the Natural Resources Board to accommodate greater interest in environmental sustainability

• Established the Hike and Bike Advisory Board

• Established the Multicultural Advisory Board to celebrate, educate, and advocate for our diverse cultures

• Created a new Annual Report process for all boards and commissions to increase transparency and accountability 

Public Works is the backbone of our community, ensuring our roads, parks, water systems, and public spaces are safe, clean, and efficient. Many times we take for granted what our Public Works Department does, from creating our road signs and maintaining infrastructure to managing waste and ensuring clean water.  Our Public Works indeed works! From the minute you wake up to the end of the day, we enjoy the benefit of the dedicated Public Works department.

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Public Works Highlights:

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• Legacy Road expansion complete

• Opened new Public Works building 

• New Water Tower

• Over $200 million invested in road expansion in northern quadrant 

• Visited our Transfer Stations and Waste Water Treatment plants at Stewart Creek and Panther Creek

• Visit to Wylie for North Texas Municipal Water District tour

• Panther Creek Parkway expansion underway

• Received the American Public Works Association (APWA) Accreditation, awarded to only a handful of cities in Texas

Did you know that the #1 reason people leave Frisco is for arts and culture? Retention of our creative consumers is an issue, which is why I spearheaded the effort to add the word “Arts” to our Council’s strategic focus areas in 2023 and tackle this issue head on. We have now entered the Renaissance Era in Frisco, forging a new path to include the arts as part of our unique identity and offer more creative options to keep our residents in Frisco.

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Frisco Renaissance Highlights: 

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• Host city for the Academy of Country Music Awards at the Star for three consecutive years, broadcast in 240 countries 

• Launched first citywide Cultural Affairs Master Plan

• Obtained the state designation of a Music Friendly Community

• Opened our first dedicated Grand Art Gallery in the Frisco Discovery Center

• First citywide International Fest

• Expanded the scope of the Public Art Board to the Arts and Culture Advisory Board,

• New Community Keys Program (pop-up painted pianos) and En Plein Air Art Exhibitions (merging arts and parks)

• Approved historic increase for arts tourism funding to $1.25 per capita to over 21 nonprofit organizations; this grant is funded by the Hotel Occupancy Tax (paid for by visitors, not residents)

• Center for the Arts: Secured Sustainable Business Plan, Maintenance and Operations Plan, and Partnerships with Broadway Across America (NYC), Broadway Dallas, and Prosper ISD. The facility includes both a commercially-viable 2800-seat theater and a smaller 300-400 seat community theater for our nonprofit organizations and Prosper ISD, as 7,000 students reside in Frisco and attend Prosper ISD.

Growth is coming to North Texas, and it's not stopping anytime soon. Our entire region is expected to have 12.5 million people by 2050. It is imperative that we manage that growth wisely and leverage the commercial tax base to alleviate the burden on our residents. Additionally, with only 14% of the Frisco's land left to develop, I am committed to taking the time to evaluate each opportunity carefully and ask, "Is this the highest and best use of the remaining parcel?" 

As a fiscal conservative, one guiding principle I have is that major developments should NOT be solely funded by taxpayers, but instead by other reliable revenue sources first. Here is a list of projects that I approved that have ZERO impact to your wallet as a resident taxpayer, but instead will be funded in part by sales tax revenue and also generate additional sales tax revenue for our city:

Development Highlights, at NO cost to Frisco taxpayer:
 

• The Mix Development (former "hole on the toll")

• Toyota Stadium improvements (city-owned building)

• Universal Kids Resort

• Fields West 

• Firefly Park 

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In addition, in my first term, our City Council made meaningful traction on 3 Legacy Projects that have been stagnant for 20 years:

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• Grand Park

• The Rail District

• Center for the Arts 

For me, every day is Veteran's Day, because without the sacrifice of our veterans, I wouldn't have the privilege of serving on Frisco City Council. My parents were just toddlers during the Korean War, and the bravery of our Korean war veterans quite literally saved their lives. I never miss a chance to thank our heroes and personally welcome our Vietnam Veterans home. 

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Serving our Frisco Veterans:

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• Council Liaison to the Frisco Veterans Advisory Council. Frisco is home to over 6,000 veterans, and the State of Texas has the largest Veteran population in the nation. I'm proud that Frisco is a Purple Heart City, working to make our city Veteran-Ready, not just Veteran-Friendly.

• Juror for the American Legion High School Oratorical Scholarship Program for Frisco students 

• Performed the National Anthem at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and other veterans events

• Consistently attended city events honoring veterans events and Mayors Veterans Socials

• Honored 2 Korean War Veterans with the Korean Consulate and the Veterans of Foreign Wars

• Represented Frisco in Arlington for their Korean War Veterans Memorial Dedication