Fort Worth Kicks off Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget Process

This week, the City of Fort Worth kicked off the Fiscal Year 2026-27 Budget process with a series of work sessions. Here's what residents can expect going forward.

The city published a blog post with information about the FY 27 budget forecast on Wednesday. According to the post, the city will need to overcome a $49.3 million shortfall to deliver a balanced general fund budget. The total expected revenue for the fiscal year is $1.13 billion and total expenses are expected to equal $1.18 billion.

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In 2026, the adopted general fund budget totaled $1.105 billion. This included a quarter-cent reduction in the property tax rate, full-year operation of emergency medical services, sustained Pay-Go funding for infrastructure, and expansion of high-impact neighborhood programs like the Mobile Tool Shed.

Each year, city management asks departments to develop budgets based on a target, with several predetermined costs already included. The prior year's adopted budget is the starting point, then one-time costs are reduced from the target, prior year commitments are carried forward, and indirect or administrative costs are allocated to each department.

The last component is the salary and benefits projection, which includes retirement, health insurance, and the pay-for-performance program. The general fund target budget has gown by 4.74% (roughly $52 million) since last year.

To reduce projected expenses, all departments are directed to balance to a 1% reduction in their target budget and identify another 3% in potential cost-saving options. A 1% reduction would allocate $7.8 million toward the shortfall, leaving a $27.4 million gap remaining.

City staff will work throughout the summer to close the gap and balance the budget by early August. On May 1, departments submitted preliminary budgets that are currently under review. Budget projections will be updated as new tax revenue data is released throughout the summer.

The city manager's recommended budget will be presented to City Council in August. Community events will take place in August, and council members will vote on budget adoption in September.

The city will soon launch a budget priorities survey to get community feedback on priorities and trade-offs that could help balance the budget. That information will be shared with staff and City Council before the vote to finalize the budget.