Fort Worth’s mayor and city council are on their way to a pay raise
Fort Worth voters are supporting a proposal to raise the mayor and City Council members’ pay.
Proposition G had 55.29% voting in favor versus 44.71% voting against, according to unofficial results from Tarrant County
The measure will raise the mayor’s pay from $29,000 to $60,000 and council members’ pay from $25,000 to $50,000.
District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck called the result, “a step in opening the doors of service to by removing a major impediment to serving.”
“I want to thank the voters of Fort Worth in recognizing that the role of this positions has grown with the city and chose to compensate council accordingly,” Beck said in a text to the Star-Telegram.
Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Flores said in a text to the Star-Telegram that Mayor Mattie Parker and his fellow council members work hard and commit a lot of time to representing their constituents.
“Fortunately, voters recognized this and supported a pay raise for mayor and council that better reflects this,” he said.
In a post on Instagram, Mayor Mattie Parker said the pay raise will allow more residents to have the opportunity to serve.
This was the third time in the last decade voters have been asked to increase council pay.
Voters in 2016 soundly defeated a measure that would have raised council member pay to $45,000 and mayoral pay to $60,000. The margin was roughly 2-1 against the pay raise.
In 2022, voters were asked to raise the mayor’s pay to $99,653, and council member pay to $76,727. That measure was also defeated, but by a much smaller 52.40% to 47.60% margin.
Council members and Mayor Mattie Parker have long argued the pay raise is needed to make serving on council more accessible to the average Fort Worth resident.
They say the time commitment is much longer than a standard full-time job, and the pay should be adjusted to reflect that.
However, opponents of the measure have argued that public service shouldn’t be a money making enterprise, and cautioned against raising the pay at a time when the city’s financial future feels uncertain.
City manager Jay Chapa announced a hiring freeze in March amid a projected budget shortfall.
The half of the city’s eight other charter measures appear to be on their way to defeat.
Proposition H would remove the ability for city department heads to have a hearing in front of the city council to protest being fired. According to unofficial results from Tarrant County, 48.54% voted in favor, while 51.46% voted against.
Proposition K would remove the requirement that public service corporations file written reports with the city. According to unofficial results from Tarrant County, 44.78% voted in favor, while 55.22% voted against.
Proposition L would allow companies looking to use city streets to have their applications approved administratively instead of through a city council vote. According to unofficial results from Tarrant County, 49.24% voted in favor, while 50.76% voted against.
Proposition M would remove the requirement that the city manager get city council approval to add or remove a city department. So far 42.16% voted in favor, while 57.84% voted against, according to unofficial results from Tarrant County.
“Tonight, Fort Worth voters sent a clear message: transparency is not negotiable,” said E.J. Carrion, a leader and spokesperson for the community activist group the 817 Gather, in a text message to the Star-Telegram.
“We believe that efficiency in government must never come at the price of the community’s voice,” he said.
This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 7:08 PM.
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