Fort Worth voters may soon get the chance to weigh in on the mayor and City Council members’ pay structure, term lengths and limits, and requirements for meetings through potential amendments to the city charter.
The proposed amendments include increasing council’s annual pay and extending members’ term lengths from two years to three or four. Term limits and staggered council elections could also be considered, according to a proposal city staff presented to council members Dec. 2.
The charter serves as the playbook for a city’s government structure as well as the powers and responsibilities of its elected officials, according to the National Civic League. Municipalities may call a charter election once every two years to ask residents to authorize or reject amendments proposed by their City Council.
The Fort Worth mayor and council members currently earn $29,000 and $25,000, respectively.
Fort Worth voters narrowly opposed a 2022 charter amendment that would have increased the mayor’s pay to half the average salary of city department directors and council members’ to half the average salary of assistant department directors. In 2016, about two-thirds of voters opposed bumping the mayor’s salary to $60,000 and council members’ to $45,000.
Fort Worth isn’t the only North Texas city that has struggled to get pay raises for council members approved.
About 58% of Dallas voters rejected a 2024 charter amendment that would have increased their mayor’s salary from $80,000 to $110,000 and council members’ salaries from $60,000 to $90,000.
Last year, Arlington City Council members decided not to move forward with a proposed amendment that would have increased their pay for the first time since 1980. That city’s mayor is paid $250 monthly and council members are paid $200 — amounting to $3,000 and $2,400 annually, respectively.
Fort Worth staff detailed a potential amendment to stagger council elections so the mayor and all 10 districts aren’t on the ballot at the same time. Another possible amendment would reduce the number of council members required to hold a public meeting from two-thirds to a simple majority or 60%.
Aside from those relating to council operations, other proposed amendments focused on removing or tweaking the city’s administrative processes.
Assistant city attorney Gavin Midgley told council members some of the proposals were held over from a 2016 task force’s recommendations, and others resulted from recent changes to state law.
For example, one amendment would allow city staff to create and approve the council’s meeting schedule, currently approved annually by council members. The council has faced tense public scrutiny since adopting next year’s schedule, which effectively reduces the number of opportunities for residents to speak to members at a public meeting.
Another proposed amendment would “remove requirement for ordinance to create, abolish or reorganize” departments the city isn’t required to have under its charter.
The deadline to call the charter election for May is Feb. 13. If council members opt not to go for that date, the next available options would be November 2026 and May 2027.
This spring’s ballot also will include at least one City Council seat as Alan Blaylock steps down to run for a seat in the Texas House representing Fort Worth.
“Adding a charter amendment wouldn’t be a significant cost to the city because we’re already holding an election,” Midgley told council members.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org.
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