Fort Worth is proposing a 3.2-cent raise to the property tax rate to close a projected $94 million shortfall for 2027.
The proposed tax rate is 70.2 cents per $100 valuation. City Manager Jay Chapa said Tuesday that the average homeowner would end up paying less in city property taxes next year because of flat appraisals.
Fort Worth would balance its $1.1 billion general fund, which pays for most basic city services, by raising the tax rate and certain fees, cutting expenses and shifting costs to other internal funds.
Chapa and city staff projected a tough budget season in part because of property tax appraisals that came in much softer than expected. That raised the likelihood that the city would have to raise its property tax and cut costs.
Chapa said the final budget shortfall, after the city staff completed its review and added new projected expenses, was $94 million — up from the $77 million he projected last week.
The staff was looking at “pretty hard community impacts like closing libraries, like closing community centers,” Chapa said. “Looking at the overall needs, I decided that we would move forward with a tax rate increase.”
The proposed rate would generate more than $18 million in property tax revenue.
Under the proposed rate, the average homeowner would see their city tax bill decrease $21.34 to $1,630.48, Chapa said. That’s because the average value of a home decreased to $232,000 from $246,000, he said.
“This is not a goal that we set off (toward), but … it actually came out right to what our current tax bill on the average home is,” Chapa told council members.
City staff attempted to close the budget deficit with expense cuts and other measures before turning to the tax rate, he added.
Council member Chris Nettles questioned the city’s yearslong push to keep the tax rate down, even though Fort Worth is one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities and its growth rate has put substantial pressure on city services. The 70.02 cents would take the city’s property tax rate to where it was in 2023.
“Did we not see any of this coming?” Nettles said. “Is this benefiting the city long term to keep cutting the tax rate each and every year?”
The soft appraisals in July changed the city’s budget calculus. Total valuations for tax purposes of property in Fort Worth were $130.2 billion, up from $129.1 billion for 2025, the staff said last week. The staff had projected a 2%-3% gain, not the 0.89% that it received.
City staff said volatility in the property tax valuations came from several sources, including the Tarrant Appraisal District’s change in 2024 to reappraising residential values every two years and significant growth in successful tax protests and litigation.
Commercial valuations rose, as did valuations for new residential construction, but existing residential valuations dropped.
“We had over $2 billion in new value to the tax rolls,” Chapa said. “Yet our overall valuations were essentially flat because of diminished existing valuations.”
The council scheduled an Aug. 26 public hearing on the proposed budget and a Sept. 15 hearing on the tax rate. The council would vote on the budget and tax rate immediately after that hearing.
Budget proposal
Chapa’s proposed general fund budget is up 4.6% from the current year. Projected property tax revenue is $659.6 million. Projected sales tax revenue is $276 million, up 4.94%.
Chapa’s budget proposal expands public safety, which is 57% of the general fund.
The budget calls for pay raises to police officers and a hypothetical pay increase for firefighters based on the projected outcome of ongoing contract negotiations, recruits 77 police cadets into training, and fully funds a 911 pilot project that includes translations in numerous languages.
The proposed budget provides pay raises for all general fund employees in April next year. It would maintain the city’s PayGo fund for infrastructure projects paid for out of property tax revenue.
“One of the goals we had was to not impact public safety,” Chapa said.
Among the most significant revenue cuts, the proposed budget eliminates 51 positions; freezes 91 vacant ones for a half year and 29 for a full year; reduces mowing on public property; and eliminates the fire department’s small HOPE Team for homeless outreach.
The proposed budget reduces funding for its Mobile Toolshed program by 25% and eliminates the city’s volunteer Code Ranger program.
Council member Elizabeth Beck questioned the elimination of Code Rangers and reduced funding for Mobile Toolshed.
“Code Rangers has a long-term impact on the cleanliness of our city,” she said. “I think those programs go a long way in also reducing the number of code violations we have. Are we shooting ourselves in the foot?”
As for the diminution of Mobile Toolshed, she said, “I think it cascades.”
The proposed budget also moves a vehicle replacement fund to the city’s debt-service from the general fund; moves hotel incentives to the city’s culture and tourism fund; and shifts airport rescue funds to the general fund from the aviation fund.
All general fund employees would receive a 3% raise next spring that would have a 1.5% impact on the 2027 budget. Chapa originally envisioned a higher raise.
Council member Deborah Peoples asked whether the proposed pay raises were enough.
“I’d hate to lose good city employees,” she said.
Most of the proposed budget increases center on public safety, and none of the personnel cuts includes police and fire. The proposed increases include:
- Firefighters pay increase “placeholder” of 8.5%, depending on what happens with the contract negotiations. “That could change once we go through the process,” Chapa said. The city’s firefighters union said in July it had reached an impasse with the city.
- Pay increase of 6% to police officers.
- 77 police cadets, with their training funded by Fort Worth’s Crime Control and Prevention District. The first cadets would be ready to enter the police department in 2028, and there will be no impact on the 2027 budget, Chapa said.
- $14 million contribution to the city employee health fund.
- Full funding of Axon 911 call system pilot that translates calls across more than 70 languages.
Other proposed spending cuts include:
- Continuing a shift started last year toward in-house management of capital projects and away from third parties.
- Paring the economic development incentive fund to $500,000 from $4.5 million.
- Decreasing training and travel.
- Nonessential contracts.
- Reduction in capital maintenance.
- Shifting of maintenance and related costs to other internal funds.
The city would maintain its debt service fund levels to ensure it’s able to continue offering capital improvement programs to voters, Chapa said.
Still, the uncertainty surrounding appraisals will likely mean the city’s next bond program will occur in 2031, not 2030, Chapa said, adding that the amount will also likely be significantly lower.
“We’d have to get more history behind us to have a better idea on how to project what we do on the debt service side,” Chapa said.
A number of city departments are recommending fee changes for fiscal 2027, the staff said. Those are the water, fire, parks, transportation and public works, public events, environmental services, aviation, development and municipal courts.
City staff plan to outline those proposals next week. Some are in Chapa’s proposed $3 billion-plus overall budget for the city.
Chapa’s proposed budget also authorizes the establishment of a street maintenance fee in 2028.
Scott Nishimura is senior editor for local government accountability and a Fort Worth City Hall reporter at the Fort Worth Report. Reach him at scott.nishimura@fortworthreport.org.
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