Fort Worth city council members want you to increase their pay by more than 200%
Fort Worth voters will decide whether to give their mayor and city council a pay raise.
The council voted to put the pay raise on the May 7 ballot along with a packet of 12 other city charter amendments, and five bond measures.
The proposition would tie the mayor’s pay to half the average salary of department heads and the council members’ to half the average of the city assistant department heads. That comes out to $99,653 for the mayor, up from $29,000, a 244% increase. The pay for council members would be $76,727, up from $25,000, an increase of 207%.
The increase would cost taxpayers $484,469.
The new pay wouldn’t kick until Oct. 1, 2022. By that time, the city will have completed its fiscal year 2023 budget process and have more clarity about the average salaries of city department and assistant department heads.
The city has a council-manager form of government. The city council hires the city manager to run the city and oversee the departments.
Mayor Mattie Parker and District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck said these positions require a significantly larger investment of time.
Speaking at Tuesday’s council meeting, Beck framed the pay raise as a way to make city council more accessible and inclusive of a broader array of Fort Worth residents.
Right now only those who are independently wealthy, retired, or have jobs with really flexible schedules can afford the privilege of being on city council, Beck said.
Fort Worth residents had an opportunity to raise council and mayoral pay in 2016 to $45,000 and $60,000. However, 15,000 Fort Worth residents voted by a 2 to 1 margin to oppose the pay raise.
Fort Worth lags far behind other large Texas cities when it comes to how much it pays its mayor and city council.
Dallas pays its mayor $80,000 annually and council $60,000 annually.
San Antonio pays its mayor $61,725 annually, and council $45,722 annually.
Arlington ranks towards the bottom when it comes to paying its mayor and council. Arlington’s mayor gets an annual salary of $3,000 and its council gets $2,400 annually.
Parker acknowledged the uphill battle she and the council will face convincing voters both to turn out and to vote in favor of the pay raise.
“I think we’re worth it,” she said.
This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 9:28 PM.
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