Fort Worth\u2019s Audit & Finance Committee<\/a> provided an update on the city\u2019s budget at a June 2 meeting<\/a>. <\/p>\n The briefing was a review of the monthly financial report for April 2026. The focus was on the general fund with special attention given to revenue. Cristi Lemon, assistant director of the FWLab<\/a>, provided the update and noted that property tax has been adjusted downward an additional $4 million. She explained the downward adjustment is \u201cvalue loss resulting from litigation and arbitration.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sales tax revenue improved with an uptick of $2 million, but while that offsets the loss in property tax revenue, the city continues to operate with a shortfall.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are seeing some loss in revenue, about $11.4 million we expect to receive in revenue below what was budgeted,\u201d Lemon said.<\/p>\n City expenditures were reduced by $6.4 million over the past month. This was achieved by analysts working closely with city departments to identify discretionary cuts. The city\u2019s ongoing hiring freeze<\/a> was also implemented to slow spending.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAnd as we continue to have separations and vacancies, we\u2019re starting to see some results from that hiring freeze,\u201d Lemon said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Salary and benefits continue to remain over budget with the primary cause being police and fire overtime. Fleet costs for the fire department are also higher, contributing to the overage. The police department was able to cut expenses by $2.8 million, and the fire department cut about $850,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n Three smaller departments were 1%-3% over budget: human resources, economic development and the municipal court. Lemon explained that smaller departments have a difficult time absorbing costs when there are unexpected expenses. As for the municipal court, the department has been using additional part-time and temporary judges.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re still $3 million over budget, and we\u2019ll keep working on it this next month. \u2026 With the discretionary spending cuts and the hiring freeze, we\u2019re hopeful that we can bring that closer to budget,\u201d Lemon said.<\/p>\n Audit & Finance Committee<\/p>\n Documenter: Patrick Banis<\/p>\n Date: June 2, 2026<\/p>\n Learn more about this meeting by clicking here<\/a>. For the agenda, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n