Page 47 - Hurst FY19 Approved Budget

HURST PROFILE

GEOGRAPHY

The City of Hurst is located in North Central Texas in Northeast Tarrant County
approximately 9 miles from downtown Fort Worth on SH 121, the Airport Freeway, and
approximately 18 miles from downtown Dallas. Hurst’s centralized location on Airport
Freeway provides quick access to both Dallas and Fort Worth metropolitan areas and is 15
minutes away from one of the world’s busiest airports, Dallas/Fort Worth International.

The City has a total land area of 10 square miles or 6,380 acres. Of the 10 square miles
of land area, 334 acres are used for municipal purposes. Current development statistics
estimate that Hurst is 97% developed with 222 acres of undeveloped land remaining.

HISTORY

The City of Hurst was officially founded in 1870 and named after the William L. Hurst
family. The family settled approximately one mile north of the present Highway 10
(Hurst Boulevard). When the railroad came through the settlement in 1903, the local
station was named Hurst Station, but growth slowed when the rail routes were changed
and routed through Arlington. In 1949, Hurst had its first post office when the Souder
family added a postal station to the corner of their grocery store, a service to 1,000
residents.

The City was incorporated as a general law city on September 25, 1952 with a total
population of 2,700. The community experienced a growth surge in the 1950s when Bell
Helicopter located on Hurst’s southeastern boundary and again in the 1970s with the
completion of D/FW airport in 1974. The 1980 census reported the population of Hurst
as 31,449. The 2000 Census Population Count was 36,273. The 2010 Census Population
count was 37,337. Current Population figures for Hurst total 38,410.

FORM OF GOVERNMENT

Hurst now operates under a home-rule charter adopted in 1956, which provides for a
council-manager form of government. The Mayor and six Council members are elected
at-large. The Council is responsible for all matters of policy and is also the authority for
levying taxes, securing revenues, authorizing expenditures of City funds, and incurring
City debts. The City Manager is directly responsible to the City Council, and each of
the City’s ten department heads report to him. An organizational chart is included in
the Introduction Section of the Budget. In addition, eleven boards and commissions
assist the City Council in deciding matters of policy and procedures and meet on various
issues throughout the year.

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