Within 10 days of hearing City Manager David Cooke鈥檚 for the upcoming fiscal year, Fort Worth City Council members have requested a lower tax rate, along with other budget amendments to relieve financial stress on residents.
In a joint Aug. 23 letter to Cooke, Mayor Mattie Parker and the rest of council requested that the city鈥檚 tax rate remain below the no-new-revenue rate and stay flat at 67.25 cents per $100 valuation. Cooke鈥檚 proposal of 67.73 cents per $100 valuation would have raised the city鈥檚 tax rate for the .
鈥淥ur residents continue to voice growing concerns around their property tax burden and overall housing affordability,鈥� the council鈥檚 letter to Cooke stated. 鈥淕iven the economic uncertainty surrounding inflation and cost of living, we believe we must continue our over decade long effort at lowering the property tax rate while also providing superior services to our community.鈥�
The upcoming budget is the last that Cooke will oversee before after a decade as city manager, the longest tenure in Fort Worth鈥檚 history.
Cooke said the property tax increase, which would fuel a $1.062 billion general fund budget, was necessary to cover an and increased costs for police and fire, performance pay increases, pay-as-you-go fund increases and the switch from MedStar to a fire-based EMS system.
The conflicting views between Cooke and council come as council members face election in 2025. Parker, who supported Cooke鈥檚 efforts to pass a last year, has not yet announced if she intends to run for a third term as mayor.
Council member Michael Crain told the Report he believes maintaining a flat tax rate is 鈥渢he right thing to do,鈥� and he鈥檚 proud that his fellow council members could agree on that. He noted that he has long-sought to reduce the tax rate throughout his tenure on the council.
鈥淚 think I鈥檝e been clear over the last several years 鈥� I鈥檝e not voted for the tax rates because I have not believed that city management has scrubbed the budget as best they can,鈥� Crain said. 鈥淚n the uncertain times we are in right now, it wasn鈥檛 the right time to (raise taxes).鈥�
Crain, Alan Blaylock and Charlie Lauersdorf were the only council members to . The city lowered the rate by four cents, but that still resulted in higher tax bills for residents.
Last year, the mayor above the no-new-revenue rate, saying the move set the city up for success in the future. This year, she said, she鈥檚 proud of the council for uniting to push for a rate below the no-new-revenue rate.
鈥淲ith growing concerns about property tax burdens and housing affordability, we must remain committed to lowering the property tax rate while also maintaining superior city services,鈥� Parker wrote on social media Aug. 23.
Crain added that he and the rest of council see the financial burden residents are facing with inflation and economic uncertainty, and they want to help alleviate that. That鈥檚 also why they鈥檙e requesting that Cooke revise the proposed budget to bring the city鈥檚 minimum wage up from $15.45 to $18 per hour.
The letter stated that council carefully considered the 鈥渘ecessity of taking care of our workforce and remaining a competitive and preferred employer鈥� before agreeing to ask for a minimum wage increase. Council members Elizabeth Beck, Chris Nettles and Jared Williams previously said they support advocates who protested outside of City Hall in June. City management proposed a minimum wage of $16.07.
鈥淭here obviously was an effort to get to $20, but I think 鈥� $18 was the compromise that was made in order for all of us to be on board,鈥� Crain said.
In addition to the tax rate and minimum wage proposals, council members wrote in the letter that public safety 鈥渕ust continue to be a high priority.鈥� They said they support the variety of priorities regarding public safety in Cooke鈥檚 current budget proposal.
Council also requested that the budget allocate 鈥渧ital street maintenance funds necessary to preserve the infrastructure of our growing city.鈥� They supported the budget proposal of through an increase in pay-as-you-go funds. The pay-as-you-go funds allow the city to pay for projects with cash, rather than taking on debt.
Earlier this year, city staff proposed imposing a new fee on property owners to fund street maintenance that would have increased residents鈥� city service bills by an . The fee would have helped address a between the funding necessary for improvements to Fort Worth鈥檚 roads versus the amount of money on hand.
In May, staff , saying they would evaluate other funding options. Crain said imposing that fee on residents would not have been the right decision.
鈥淎cross the board, the City Council understands what鈥檚 right and what鈥檚 best for Fort Worth, and we鈥檙e going to continue to take care of our residents and provide the safe, clean city that they expect,鈥� Crain said.
City Council is scheduled to meet for budget work sessions on Aug. 27 and Sept. 5 and 6. They will hold a public hearing to gather resident input on the proposed tax rate Sept. 17 before voting on the final budget and tax rate the same day.
Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or .
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