Fort Worth City Council appears on track to double funding for affordable housing outlined in the city’s 2026 bond program, but members couldn’t agree on how — or whether — to invest in public art.
A new proposal would allocate $10 million toward the proposition dedicated to affordable housing projects, up from the previously proposed $5 million, according to a Jan. 27 staff presentation to council members.
The additional $5 million came from a roughly $65 million general purpose bond refund the city received in December, bringing the bond program’s previous capacity from $840 million to $845 million.
Although the majority of council members supported the increased dollars for housing, Tuesday’s meeting saw a last- minute debate over the bond dollars proposed for public art projects.
“We’ve been talking about this bond now for over a year,” Mayor Mattie Parker said during the meeting. “As much as I think this is a healthy discussion, it does feel very last minute, and it feels like we did not offer some of this to the public.”
The public-facing process of developing the bond program kicked off in March when staff presented an initial list of projects to council members. Throughout the fall, staff hosted 11 public meetings across the city to gather feedback from residents on which projects and infrastructure needs to prioritize in the bond.
Council members initially expected to have the list of bond projects finalized by the end of December and planned to formally call the election by the end of January. Under state law, they have until Feb. 13 to call the election for May.
Municipal bonds are debt securities issued by cities and typically used to finance capital improvements like facilities and roads. They are not tied to tax rate increases, which are decided in the city’s budgeting process.
Under the current proposal, the bond is divided into six propositions: streets and mobility infrastructure, parks and open spaces, public safety, animal care and shelter facilities, public libraries, and affordable housing. Each proposition will appear as a separate item on the May 2 ballot for voters to decide.
A city ordinance mandates that a portion of each proposition’s funding — 1% of the street and maintenance proposition and up to 2% of all other propositions — be used to fund public art projects.
Under the current bond proposal, $10.8 million would go to public art.
Earlier this month, a majority of council members agreed more dollars should be allocated to the housing proposition, after housing advocates urged them to increase funding. As they’ve workshopped the bond over the last several months, council members have repeatedly floated the idea of reducing bond dollars for public art projects.
During Tuesday’s meeting, city staff presented two ideas to free up some of the dollars previously earmarked for public art:
Place a 1% funding cap for public art on all bond propositions. That would free up about $2.9 million, which staff suggested reallocating toward the streets proposition.
Create a new bond proposition just for public art, instead of carving out a percentage from each proposition. That would allow voters to decide whether to fund public art through the bond.
Council members were split on taking funding away from public art, with Jeanette Martinez, Mia Hall and Deborah Peoples arguing that residents in their districts want to see art installations across their neighborhoods.
“If you think about travel to other cities or countries that you’ve been to, what is one thing you remember?” said Martinez, who represents parts of east and southeast Fort Worth. “I always remember the art. Maybe because I love art, but I just don’t think it’s worth (taking funding away).”
Council member Charlie Lauersdorf, who represents parts of north Fort Worth, said he supported creating a separate proposition for art, adding that it would allow voters to prioritize what projects they want or need.
“I don’t think we’re asking the question, ‘Would you rather have public art or better streets, better sidewalks, better public safety, etc.?’” Lauersdorf said. “When you ask that question, and specifically in District 4, it’s always going to lean toward streets and sidewalks, which we know we all need more of.”
Council member Elizabeth Beck, who represents downtown and the Near Southside, and Alan Blaylock, who represents the city’s far north, said they want to see the public art ordinance revised to better distribute projects across the city.
Beck said that while she supports funding public art, the current ordinance includes caveats that “hinder us from having transformative art projects,” including requirements on where the installations can be and how the funds must be distributed.
Of the affordable housing propositions, the city still plans to devote $5 million to single-family homeownership initiatives, said April Rose, senior capital projects officer, specifically through partnerships with organizations like the Fort Worth Community Land Trust. Of this, $1 million will go to acquiring land and properties, and $4 million will go to renovating those properties.
This could support about 20-25 single-family homes for buyers who earn between 80% and 120% of the area’s annual median income of about $92,000, according to a December city presentation.
The new $5 million could be invested in other forms of affordable housing, Rose noted, including building and improving affordable multifamily housing for rent and providing short-term housing.
Cecilia Lenzen and Drew Shaw are government accountability reporters for the Fort Worth Report. Contact them at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.organd drew.shaw@fortworthreport.org.
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