Fort Worth’s city manager has presented a budget plan for the next fiscal year. Jay Chapa has proposed a $4.4 billion budget for 2025-2026.

The plan would include a $3.1 billion operating budget and $1.4 billion for capital projects. Chapa says the plan would reduce the property tax rate a quarter of a cent to 67 cents per $100 of assessed value.

That would lead to the average homeowner saving $20 next year, but Chapa has also proposed increased fees for water, wastewater, stormwater and trash. He says the average homeowner would pay a total of $37 more next year.

“One of my goals was to have as little an impact to the taxpayer as possible since we’re proposing several different increases on the fee side,” Chapa says.

The city had projected a potential shortfall, and Chapa says each department had been asked how they could trim three percent from their budgets. He says that saved about $12 million, but this summer, appraisal values came in $4 billion higher than expected.

Chapa says the city could expect about $20 million more as a result, so he then decided against some cuts that might have caused operational problems for departments.

“Putting resources in the correct places was one of the big things we had to deal with as we move forward,” Chapa says.

He says increased fees will help maintain the city’s infrastructure as the population has now increased past one million people.

Slightly more than half the general fund expenditures are for police and fire followed by Transportation and Public Works. The budget includes an addition two school resource officers for Fort Worth Police and eight neighborhood police officers.

Public safety accounts for 68% of the increase in the general fund. The budget includes an additional $35.7 million for public safety as a result of the ambulance provider, MedStar, being folded into the Fire Department’s budget and the creation of an emergency management and communications department.

A public hearing on the budget proposal and tax rate is scheduled September 16 followed by the city council’s vote.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Alan Scaia