Fort Worth Earns Highest Financial Transparency Designation in Texas

The City of Fort Worth was awarded all six Transparency Stars possible through the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts' Transparency Stars program.

The city published a blog post with details about the achievement on Tuesday. According to the post, Fort Worth is now the largest of 14 cities in Texas to have earned that designation.

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Fort Worth joins Tarrant County and Tarrant Regional Water District on the list.

The Transparency Stars program recognizes local government entities for "going above and beyond in their transparency efforts by providing clear and meaningful financial information online through documents, visualization, and other formats," the post states.

The comptroller's office conducts regular reviews of each awardee to ensure ongoing accuracy and completeness. Fort Worth received its sixth and final Transparency Star for Economic Development on April 30.

The award criteria included documentation of the following metrics:

• Number of tax abatements and Chapter 380 agreements granted during the most recently completed fiscal year
• Estimated taxes abated or forgone in the first year of current active agreements as total and per capita amounts
• Estimated taxes abated or forgone for life of current active agreements
• Number of jobs created or retained by agreements to date
• Total capital investment received for agreements to date

Fort Worth previously secured five Transparency Stars, including:

• Traditional Finances Transparency Star, awarded June 30
• Debt Obligations Transparency Star, awarded Aug. 31
• Public Pensions Transparency Star, awarded Aug. 31
• Open Government and Compliance Transparency Star, awarded Sept. 30
• Contracts and Procurement Transparency Star, awarded April 13

Visit the city's website for more transparency information.