Fort Worth is raising its property tax rate and the City Council has approved its budget for 2027.
The move to increase the property tax rate comes after certified property values from Tarrant Appraisal District were significantly lower than previously expected. The decrease forced the city close a $94 million budget gap.
Fort Worth’s new property tax rate
The new rate, approved by the Fort Worth City Council at its meeting on Sept. 15, is 70.565 cents per $100 of valuation. That is an increase of 3.565 cents from the current rate, 67 cents.
The owner of a $330,000 home with a homestead exemption, under the newly adopted tax rate, would pay roughly $1,862 in city taxes.
The city had previously proposed a tax rate of 70.2 cents per $100 of value and a total operating budget of over $3 billion.
Fort Worth City Manager Jay Chapa asked city departments to propose cuts to offset the $94 million deficit that included potentially closing the Alliance PetSmart Charities adoption center in north Fort Worth. But after recommendations from the City Council, the budget adopted on Tuesday included about $4 million in restored cuts.
Even with those restored cuts, the approved operating budget is still $3.33 billion, an increase of about $241 million from 2026..
The average annual household tax bill, according to a presentation shared by the city of Fort Worth in each council district, will be $8.49 more than the amount at 70.2 cents — which is still $8.20 less than the previous tax rate because of falling home values.
Budget approved — with some spats
The budget was unanimously approved by the City Council, but four council members — Michael Crain, Charlie Lauersdorf, Macy Hill, and Chris Jamieson — voted against the proposed tax rate.
“Fort Worth residents are already struggling with the rising cost of living, housing, groceries, and utilities,” Hill said. “Governments should not add to the financial pressure unless every single option has been exhausted.”
Ahead of the vote on the tax rate, council member Mia Hall asked what would happen if the council voted to approve the budget but not the tax rate.
“I would venture to say that I would use the term virtue signaling if you were to vote on the budget but not vote on the tax rate,” council member Elizabeth Beck said. “There was no willingness to have serious discussions about major service decreases on this dias, and so I will be supporting this tax rate because I don’t like to virtue signal.”
Council member Chris Nettles agreed with Beck, and called the idea of voting for the budget but not the tax rate “gaslighting.”
Mayor Mattie Parker, in comments before the vote on the tax rate, commended city staff members for their work on the budget and defended the city’s fiscal responsibility.
“Affordability in this country is the topic of conversation around every kitchen table, around every city, and it should be,” Parker said. “Inflation, the cost of living, your salaries are stagnant. All of those things we have to take into consideration, but we still have to be a top 10 city.”
Higher fees
The city also approved changes to several fees, including stormwater fees, water and wastewater charges, solid waste charges and an environmental fee.
The typical Fort Worth resident, according to the city, will pay about $7 extra per month in fees in the coming year.