Fort Worth City Council says it will ‘reduce the property tax burden’ for homeowners
Fort Worth could keep its streak of property tax rate-cutting alive this budget season.
In a joint letter sent to city manager David Cooke on Friday, Mayor Mattie Parker and the council called for either freezing or lowering the city’s current tax rate in response to resident concerns about inflation and housing affordability.
It comes roughly a week after Cooke proposed a tax rate that would generate the same amount of revenue in 2025 from properties that were on the rolls in 2024. However, the so-called “no-new-revenue” rate proposed would raise the city’s tax rate for the first time in 30 years.
Cooke’s proposed rate is 67.73 cents per $100 of value, which is higher than the current rate of 62.75 cents per $100 of value. The city estimates this would lead to a $60 increase in the average Fort Worth homeowner’s property tax bill.
The owner of a $300,000 home with a homestead exemption would pay $1,625.52 in city property taxes under the higher rate proposed by Cooke.
If the city keeps its tax rate the same, the owner of $300,000 home with a homestead exemption would pay $1,614 in city property taxes.
In addition to lowering the tax rate, the council called on Cooke to maintain funding for public safety and road maintenance while increasing the city’s entry-level wage to $18 per hour.
The proposed budget includes $3.5 million in startup costs for the city bringing emergency medical services in-house as well as other public safety priorities the council doesn’t want to see cut, according to the letter.
The council’s letter also calls for keeping the additional $9 million in road maintenance funds from the proposed budget, arguing the money is needed to keep up with rapid growth. The transportation and public works department estimates the extra money will save taxpayers roughly $50 million when it comes time to replace the roads.
The entry-level wage increase of $18 is less than the $20 per hour advocated for my some council members. However, the joint letter argued this would balance the strain on the budget with the need to take care of the city’s workforce.
The city currently pays entry-level workers $15.75 per hour.
The letter called for raising the wage in February 2025 to give city departments time to complete their merit-based raise process. That’s also around the time when Cooke plans to step down after serving as city manager for more than 10 years.
“We are confident that your final budget as our City Manager can showcase your diligence and creativity to adjust based on our requests for prioritization and Mayor and City Council,” the letter said.
Representatives for the city did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Council member Alan Blaylock posted the letter on Facebook and celebrated that the entire council is in agreement.
“Thank you for helping deliver this win for Fort Worth,” Blaylock said.
This story was originally published August 23, 2024 at 3:30 PM.
.jpg)