Proposed Fort Worth budget boosts funds for streets, police officers

The City Council got its first look Tuesday at a proposed fiscal 2016 budget that calls for more money to fix streets, build community centers and parks, buy more library books and start a sixth police division to improve response times.

Overall, the council will consider a nearly $1.6 billion budget, a 3.8 percent increase from fiscal 2015. Of that, $610.9 million is in the general fund, the portion of the budget that covers police and fire services, community services and other city operations. The proposed general fund budget is up 3.6 percent from $589.4 million in fiscal 2015.

Some city employees are slated to receive pay raises that range from 2.5 to 6 percent depending on a new compensation structure that will take effect in the new fiscal year. After that, raises will be merit-based. Police officer and firefighter salaries are negotiated under contracts.

No major program or service cuts are proposed, although not all department and community agency requests were accepted.

City Manager David Cooke said budget planners considered $75 million in requests but could include only about $25 million worth.

Mayor Betsy Price said that the proposed budget “is not perfect” and that some “tough choices” were made but said: “It’s an excellent proposed budget and a move toward more and more services for our citizens. We’ve had a goal of working toward a sustainable, transparent budget.”

Councilman Jungus Jordan said, “In the 11 years I’ve been on the council, this is the best starting position we’ve ever been in.”

The city will start the fiscal year with 6,449 employees, including the police and fire departments, a net increase of 42 employees after a major reorganization of city departments.

The city expects property and sales tax revenues, and other revenues such as permit fees and fines, to go up $21.3 million in the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, Cooke said.

For the ninth consecutive year, the city’s property tax rate will stay at 85.5 cents per $100 of assessed valuation. If homeowners’ valuation didn’t rise this year, they can expect to pay the same property tax on the city portion of their bill.

Residents will, however, likely see a hike in water and sewer rates under proposed changes in usage charts.

The city will hold public hearings at its night council meetings for the remainder of August and in September. It is scheduled to adopt the fiscal 2016 budget Sept. 15. The council will also hold workshops Aug. 20 and Aug. 21.

No department deficits

This is the first full budget prepared by Cooke, who joined the city in June 2014. The new budget reflects a shift by Cooke, who wants to restore the city’s reserve fund to a healthier 16 percent and commit more money to improve the city’s infrastructure and public safety, while making sure no department runs at a deficit.

“We have been balancing the budget over the last few years on using reserves because revenues weren’t enough to cover the expense side of the budget,” Cooke said. “Thank goodness we had reserves. We used reserves to get through the recession, but on a go-forward basis we’re not continuing that practice. This is the year we’re starting to fix those negative balances.”

The city expects to end its fiscal 2015 on Sept. 30 with about $6.8 million on hand, which will be placed in the reserve fund, Cooke said. At the end of fiscal 2016, the fund balance is expected to be $85.4 million. The goal is $101.8 million.

Of the property tax rate, 17.91 cents will continue to go toward paying off the city’s debt, or about $84.5 million in fiscal 2016.

Cooke wants to bump up by 1 cent the amount of tax rate going toward capital projects, or an additional $4.6 million. That would boost the amount the city spends on such things as fixing potholes, streetlights and traffic signals, and maintaining streets and some parks, to about $21.8 million in the coming year.

“Everybody knows we need to be spending more on capital projects,” Cooke said. “We need to spend more money on infrastructure we have and to create more money for infrastructure we need. It’s still not enough, but it’s a move in the right direction.”

Public safety boost

The city will spend $397.4 million, or 65 percent of the general fund budget, on public safety, up from 61 percent in fiscal 2015. The Police Department’s budget will rise 12 percent to $229 million. The added dollars will help pay for the new Bob Bolen Public Safety Training Center and add 39 officers, with 25 assigned to a new sixth division.

The sixth division, expected to improve response times citywide and particularly in far north Fort Worth, will be phased in over three years with a total of 96 new officers, the budget proposes. Money is also being earmarked in the Crime Control and Prevention District for the eventual construction of a precinct in far north Fort Worth.

“Everyone of our districts benefits from the sixth division,” Jordan said. “This gives us more officers on the street.”

The Fire Department’s budget will also rise more than 12 percent to $132.4 million, which includes reinstating 14 positions that were once paid by the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grants, or SAFER, a federal program started in 2005 to help communities enhance their local fire departments. Fort Worth last received a two-year $3.3 million grant in February 2014 to hire veterans.

Parks and recreation will see a 3.2 percent increase to $45.7 million and the library a nearly 5 percent increase, to $20.1 million, which restores cuts made during the economic downturn.

New community centers, the Victory Forest Community Center and Chisholm Trail Community Park, as well as the Fort Woof West Dog Park, will come online in 2016. The city also wants to expand the Silcox Animal Control facility by 100 kennels.

Cooke also wants to spend about $118,000 to replace the carpet and chairs in the council chambers in City Hall. The carpet was last replaced in 1988, but the chairs date to when the City Hall was built in 1970. That work should be completed by the end of the year, he said.

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Proposed Fort Worth budget boosts funds for streets, police officers."