Fort Worth's City Council convened on a recent Tuesday, diving into the figures of the past fiscal year as City Manager David Cooke delivered an unaudited peek at the General Fund's performance for FY24. The nuts and bolts of the matter: revenues and expenditures danced to about $273.7 million, with an impressive ending fund balance ringing in at approximately $332.5 million, a notable uptick from the previous year's $306.3 million. The specifics of these figures, detailed in a City of Fort Worth news release, indicate a city in a position of relative financial comfort.
Drilling into the numbers, the city's surplus interest earnings amounted to $29.7 million in FY24, a hefty sum compared to an average interest rate of 1.15% in FY20. The city's financial strategists suggest applying this windfall to mitigate risk funding deficits and shore up funding for capital projects running a deficit. On the books, the unassigned fund balance now stands at 22%, which equates to a cool $232.6 million, reflecting a $14.6 million climb over the last fiscal year.
Digging further into the fund balance breakdown, we see $5.3 million non-spendable on inventory, with previously committed funds from FY23 totaling $26.5 million. Department rollovers saw a new commitment of $3.6 million, while assignments were designated at $64.4 million. What’s drawing eyes is the unassigned slice of the fiscal pie, at that robust $232.6 million mark. The city's recommended balance recommitments aren't being taken lightly, supporting items from FY23's close, tackling sales tax repayments, and earmarking funds for the Juneteenth Museum and department rollovers.
With the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) debut slated for a Feb. 18 showcase, front and center before the Audit Committee and City Council, these preliminary figures are about to get a rigorous once-over, sharpening the fiscal lens for FY26's budgetary horizon.
