The city of Fort Worth is proposing a tax rate increase and budget cuts to fill a $94 million gap in the city’s fiscal year 2027 budget.
In a budget worksession, City Manager Jay Chapa introduced a revised budget with an even bigger funding hole than previously predicted. Part of the solution includes a tax rate increase and several cuts to programs and positions across the city.
Chapa recommended a 3.2-cent increase to the city’s current property tax rate of $0.6700 per $100 valuation. Despite the increase, falling taxable home values mean the average homeowner will see a decrease in their tax bill, the city says.
However, due to changes in fees supporting the city’s infrastructure, the typical resident will end up paying $5.70 more per month for all city services.
The city’s budget is under pressure due to major changes in the county’s property tax policies and slowed property value growth, which increased just 1% citywide.
To close the $94 million gap, Chapa also proposed several cuts to the city’s budget, including eliminating 54 positions and freezing hiring for 121 positions for six to 12 months.
The city will also reduce pay-for-performance raises for existing employees from 5% to 1.5%.
However, the public safety portion of the budget will grow, in part by reassigning firefighters from the HOPE homeless outreach team back to firefighting duties.
Further, the budget creates 76 new patrol officer positions.
The final vote on the city budget is currently scheduled for Sept. 15.