Fort Worth approves $3.09 billion budget with lower tax rate, but higher fees
The Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve its 2026 budget, and voted 10-1 to lower the city’s property tax rate.
District 10 council member Alan Blaylock was the only no vote on the tax rate, reasoning that it was above the “no-new-revenue” rate that would have generated the same amount of tax revenue in 2026 from properties that were on the rolls in 2025.
The new tax rate of 67 cents per $100 of value is expected to save the average homeowner $20 off their annual tax bill, according to city staff.
It’s a 0.25 cent decrease in the rate from 2025, however, because it’s above the “no-new-revenue” rate, state law required the city to point out the new tax rate is effectively a 1.65% tax rate increase.
The owner of a $300,000 house with a homestead exemption will pay $1,608 in city property taxes this year.
The vote comes after initial concerns that changes to property appraisals by the Tarrant Appraisal District would reduce city revenues leading to either budget cuts or tax increases.
City departments were asked to cut their budgets by 1% in anticipation of the lower property values.
However, certified property values finalized in late July showed property values increased by 5.9%.
The $3.09 billion budget holds most department budgets steady, while increasing funds for police, emergency services, street maintenance and homeless clean ups.
The city is hiring an additional eight neighborhood patrol officers and two additional school resource officers, however, most of the increase in the police budget will go toward salary increases from the most recent police union contract.
The Transportation and Public Works Department is getting an additional $4.4 million for street maintenance. The department is also planning on bringing some street maintenance staff in-house to be able to more efficiently fix roads.
New fees
The city is increasing fees on stormwater, waste water, and trash pick up to help cover cost increases for providing those services. It’s the first time since 2003 the city has increased its solid waste fee.
The solid waste fee will go up $3 per month for the homeowners with the largest garbage cans. Those with the smaller 64-gallon garbage cans will only see their bill go up $2 per month
The city is also taking on an additional 75 cents per month to the environmental services fee. The additional revenue will pay for additional homeless camp and litter clean up crews as well as helping update some old equipment.
This story was originally published September 16, 2025 at 8:29 PM.
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