Page 32 - City of Fort Worth Budget Book

Executive Message Budget Message

GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES

General Fund Expenditure Budget
FY2024 FY2025 Percent Dollar
Adopted Rec. Change Change
$ 1,013,812,390 $ 1,062,507,450 4.8 % $ 48,695,060

For FY2025 General Fund expenditures are held in line with revenues. The City strategized to streamline
spending, assessing priorities across the organization, and identifying cost savings while also positioning Fort
Worth as a leading destination for living, doing business, and recreation. Variances or fluctuations in budgeted
categories may be greater than in prior years due to this strategic implementation. However, despite identified
savings, some costs continue to increase due to a variety of factors, including rising costs of supplies and
contractual services, additional facilities becoming operational, improving equity of city services, and enhancing
public safety.
Salary and Benefits Changes. The following salary and benefits changes are included in the FY2025 Budget:

• Police Civil Service employees will receive salary increases in accordance with the Meet and Confer
Bargaining Contract
• Fire Civil Service employees will receive salary increases in accordance with the Collective Bargaining
Agreement between the City and the Fort Worth Professional Firefighters Association

• Pay for performance for general employees is budgeted at four percent (Ranges 0-7% with anticipated
average cost of 4%)
• Pay structure adjustment of 4% for general employees and implementation of Benchmark Salary Survey
recommendations; both adjustments are distinct from pay for performance
BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

The City continues to work towards property tax rate which encourages commercial development and decrease
the tax burden to residents and businesses. To that end the City of Fort Worth property tax rate is proposed at the
no-new-revenue rate of $0.6773 per $100 of assessed value, a rate which, according to the Texas Comptroller
would not increase taxes on existing properties. There is still a slight increase in levy of 6.7% in the General Fund
based on the increase in property values, with the majority of that increase attributable to new construction
growth.

The City maintains and purchases capital items through the use of PAYGo capital funding. The property tax rate
committed to PAYGo increases a half cent for FY2025, from $7.0 cents to a $7.5 cent allocation. The rise in new
construction and property values allows the City to increase the funding dedicated to capital while limiting the
funding available for operations. PAYGo capital funding increases by an additional appropriation of $10.4 million in
FY2025, much of which will fund improvements in Fort Worth’s streets.

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