Emily Wolf | Fort Worth Report

Jail deaths were not independently investigated by Fort Worth police, records show. A potential loophole in Texas law made the scenario possible.

Months after passing sweeping changes to its reappraisal plan, the Tarrant Appraisal District board will meet March 12 to discuss whether some of those changes should be walked back. The meeting follows outcry from school district leaders who say the policies could lead to funding cuts.

Experts say tracking police chases fosters transparency and can indicate whether certain pursuit policies are effective. So why don’t more states do it?

Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously to accept a $650,000 settlement with Blue Sky Surveying & Mapping Feb. 25, ending a multiyear dispute over the accuracy of a survey the city relied on for its new City Hall project.

As schools and cities prepare for the financial impact of TAD’s new reappraisal plan, State Rep. Chris Turner has filed bills to stymie the plan’s rollout.

Less than 24 hours after the city opened up applications for its utility bill payment assistance program, it closed the application portal. A message on the application portal informed residents that the program, administered by the Community Action Partners division, has reached its application limit for February.

Last May, Fort Worth City Council members unanimously approved a plan to dissolve the region’s longtime EMS provider, MedStar. The city opted to switch to a fire-based EMS system, housed within its fire department.

In its first meeting of the new year, the Tarrant Appraisal District’s board of directors swore in four newly elected members and quickly got to work changing its policy manual.

All 11 Fort Worth City Council seats are up for election this year. And residents are guaranteed at least one new face on council, after District 5’s Gyna Bivens announced she isn’t running for reelection after 12 years in the seat.

To prepare for the 89th regular session of the Texas Legislature, lawmakers have started prefiling bills they hope to see reach the governor’s desk this summer. Among them are a series of bills designed to change key aspects of how Texas appraisal districts function.

Appraisal district board members voted 6-3 against renewing their membership at a Dec. 13 meeting, citing the association’s legislative agenda and the testimony of its legislative chair, Brent South, to lawmakers.

The moves are the latest step in an ongoing process to establish a fire-based EMS system in the city.