Fort Worth’s looming 2027 budget gap just ballooned from a painful problem into a full-blown scramble, with city staff now projecting a $77 million shortfall. The reset comes after certified property values grew far less than officials expected, leaving council members to choose between deeper cuts, a higher tax rate or a heavier draw on city reserves.
The city received certified tax rolls from Tarrant, Denton, Parker and Wise counties after earlier projections assumed 2% to 3% growth. Instead, values increased about 0.89%, according to the Fort Worth Report, which first reported the revised budget outlook.
Property values missed the budget’s growth target
The certified rolls put Fort Worth’s total property valuation at roughly $130.2 billion, while existing residential values declined and commercial property and new construction provided much of the growth. That matters because property taxes make up about 57% of the city’s general fund revenue, making even a modest miss difficult to absorb.
City staff now project about $627.5 million in property-tax revenue for the current fiscal year, or $13.86 million below budget. The general fund is also expected to bring in $9.39 million less revenue than planned, while expenses are projected at about $1.117 billion.
“I wanted to get level-set with you all, the media, the public,” City Manager Jay Chapa said as officials recalibrated the numbers, according to the Fort Worth Report. The revised $77 million gap is up sharply from the estimated $49 million shortfall discussed in June.
Tax-rate scenarios would hit homeowners differently
The city’s revenue presentation lays out several possible paths. A no-new-revenue rate of 67.0416 cents per $100 of value would generate about $624 million and put the city tax bill for an average home at roughly $1,561.57, while a 70.3525-cent rate would generate about $661.1 million and produce an average bill of $1,638.69.
The most aggressive scenario would add the city’s unused tax-rate increment to the voter-approved rate, creating a 76.9732-cent rate that could generate about $736.9 million. For an average home, that would mean a city tax bill of approximately $1,792.90, or $141.07 more than under the current scenario, according to the City of Fort Worth’s revenue update.
Budget proposal arrives next Tuesday
City Manager Jay Chapa is scheduled to present his recommended FY2027 budget and tax rate next Tuesday, according to the City of Fort Worth’s budget calendar. The City Council is scheduled to adopt the final budget and tax rate on September 15, after a public hearing.
Fort Worth has already asked departments to cut 1% from their target budgets and identify another 3% in potential savings, while a hiring freeze and discretionary reductions have produced roughly $10 million in projected savings. That earlier belt-tightening plan was outlined by Community Impact when the gap was still estimated at $49.3 million.
Some revenue lines are holding up
Not every part of the city’s revenue picture is sliding: sales-tax collections are projected at $263.5 million, about $500,000 above budget. The emergency medical services fund is also projected to receive $70.47 million in service charges, $5.26 million more than expected, although the fund’s total revenue and expenses are each near $93 million.
Those brighter spots may soften the landing, but they do not erase the central problem: Fort Worth is trying to maintain services for a growing city while its biggest revenue source is producing less than planners expected. Next week’s budget proposal will show whether officials try to close that gap with cuts, tax-rate authority, reserves or some combination of all three.
