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Mayor Mattie Parker, left, looks at City Manager David Cooke during a budget work session Aug. 13, 2024. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DavidCooke_Aug13_CamiloDiaz4191-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DavidCooke_Aug13_CamiloDiaz4191-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Within 10 days of hearing City Manager David Cooke’s budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, Fort Worth City Council members have requested a lower tax rate, along with other budget amendments to relieve financial stress on residents. In a joint Aug. 23 letter to Cooke, Mayor Mattie Parker and the rest of council requested that the city’s tax rate remain below the no-new-revenue rate and stay flat at 67.25 cents per $100 valuation. Cooke’s proposal of 67.73 cents per $100 valuation would have raised the city’s tax rate for the first time since 1995. “Our residents continue to voice growing concerns around their property tax burden and overall housing affordability,” the council’s letter to Cooke stated. “Given the economic uncertainty surrounding inflation and cost of living, we believe we must continue our over decade long effort at lowering the property tax rate while also providing superior services to our community.” The upcoming budget is the last that Cooke will oversee before retiring in February after a decade as city manager, the longest tenure in Fort Worth’s history. Cooke said the property tax increase, which would fuel a $1.062 billion general fund budget, was necessary to cover an unexpected drop in property value growth and increased costs for police and fire, performance pay increases, pay-as-you-go fund increases and the switch from MedStar to a fire-based EMS system. The conflicting views between Cooke and council come as council members face election in 2025. Parker, who supported Cooke’s efforts to pass a higher effective tax rate last year, has not yet announced if she intends to run for a third term as mayor. Council member Michael Crain told the Report he believes maintaining a flat tax rate is “the right thing to do,” and he’s proud that his fellow council members could agree on that. He noted that he has long-sought to reduce the tax rate throughout his tenure on the council. “I think I’ve been clear over the last several years — I’ve not voted for the tax rates because I have not believed that city management has scrubbed the budget as best they can,” Crain said. “In the uncertain times we are in right now, it wasn’t the right time to (raise taxes).” Crain, Alan Blaylock and Charlie Lauersdorf were the only council members to vote against the adopted tax rate last year. The city lowered the rate by four cents, but that still resulted in higher tax bills for residents. Last year, the mayor defended raising the tax rate above the no-new-revenue rate, saying the move set the city up for success in the future. This year, she said, she’s proud of the council for uniting to push for a rate below the no-new-revenue rate. “With growing concerns about property tax burdens and housing affordability, we must remain committed to lowering the property tax rate while also maintaining superior city services,” Parker wrote on social media Aug. 23. Crain added that he and the rest of council see the financial burden residents are facing with inflation and economic uncertainty, and they want to help alleviate that. That’s also why they’re requesting that Cooke revise the proposed budget to bring the city’s minimum wage up from $15.45 to $18 per hour. The letter stated that council carefully considered the “necessity of taking care of our workforce and remaining a competitive and preferred employer” before agreeing to ask for a minimum wage increase. Council members Elizabeth Beck, Chris Nettles and Jared Williams previously said they support advocates who protested outside of City Hall asking for a $20 minimum wage in June. City management proposed a minimum wage of $16.07. “There obviously was an effort to get to $20, but I think … $18 was the compromise that was made in order for all of us to be on board,” Crain said. In addition to the tax rate and minimum wage proposals, council members wrote in the letter that public safety “must continue to be a high priority.” They said they support the variety of priorities regarding public safety in Cooke’s current budget proposal. Council also requested that the budget allocate “vital street maintenance funds necessary to preserve the infrastructure of our growing city.” They supported the budget proposal of adding $9 million toward street maintenance through an increase in pay-as-you-go funds. The pay-as-you-go funds allow the city to pay for projects with cash, rather than taking on debt. Earlier this year, city staff proposed imposing a new fee on property owners to fund street maintenance that would have increased residents’ city service bills by an average of $110 per year. The fee would have helped address a projected $66 million annual gap between the funding necessary for improvements to Fort Worth’s roads versus the amount of money on hand. In May, staff tabled the proposal, saying they would evaluate other funding options. Crain said imposing that fee on residents would not have been the right decision. “Across the board, the City Council understands what’s right and what’s best for Fort Worth, and we’re going to continue to take care of our residents and provide the safe, clean city that they expect,” Crain said. City Council is scheduled to meet for budget work sessions on Aug. 27 and Sept. 5 and 6. They will hold a public hearing to gather resident input on the proposed tax rate Sept. 17 before voting on the final budget and tax rate the same day. Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or @bycecilialenzen. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.