The Fort Worth City Council approved a nearly $1.8 billion dollar budget last night for the next fiscal year.
The fast-growing city of nearly 900,000 earmarked cash to open two new libraries, a new fire station, a new animal shelter and new parks. New police officers, firefighters and code enforcement agents will be hired.
Mayor Betsy Price says she’s proud of the budget.
"Is it perfect? No, it’s not. No budget is. As you know from your home budget there is always room for improvement, but it is a budget that delivers great service to our citizens while still lowering our tax rate three and three-quarters cents," Price said.
The budget drops the city’s property tax rate for the fourth year in a row, though homeowners are still expected to see higher property tax bills because of growing home values. City services will also cost more under the new budget.
Three council members opposed the new budget. One of them, Cary Moon, said the city should find ways to address issues and serve residents with more thoughtful approaches to problems – not by spending money.
"More dollars don’t fix a process. Process has to fix the process. More people don’t fix process. Process has to fix the process," Moon said.
The budget also included funding for a new police monitor – a civilian city staffer who will review cases of police misconduct.
