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City of Mansfield Annual Budget and Service Program Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Table of Contents

THE CITY OF MANSFIELD, TEXAS

Strategic Fiscal Plan

History and Purpose of the Plan

Mansfield, Texas, is located in the southern sector of the fourth largest metropolitan area in
the United States of America. The City of Mansfield encompasses 36.69 square miles.
Current population estimates by City Planners suggest that the City is home to
approximately 91,336 people. In 1980, the City claimed 8,102 residents. Since 1980, the City’s
population has grown by over 83,200 residents. Mansfield, Texas is the third largest City in
the County, and is third only to Fort Worth and Arlington, Texas in Tarrant County.
Population growth is expected to continue in the Dallas-Arlington-Fort Worth region. The
Council of Governments, a coalition of local governments in the metropolitan area,
continues to project growth in the population of North Texas and specifically in Tarrant
County over the next three decades. Mansfield City Planners also project growth in the City
of Mansfield with an estimated population of 133,766 residents within the next ten years.

In the decade of the 1970s, community leaders recognized the demands of meeting the
needs of the new residents within the City of Mansfield, Texas. Infrastructure was aging and
unable to support the expectations of a new and increasing population. City resources
were limited, including limited professional staff, limited infrastructure, and limited funding
capacity. Land use was primarily agricultural. Community leaders gathered, raised taxes,
recruited, retained professional staff, and began building a community. Some of these
community leaders are still active in the community today.

In addressing the service demands of the community, the City of Mansfield jumped in front
of the expectations of growth in the decade of the 1980’s and began creating and adopting
several planning models to manage and guide in the development of the City’s
infrastructure to support the needs of the growing community and its demand for services.
These planning models included the Master Land Use Plan, the Master Thoroughfare Plan,
the Master Drainage Plan, the Master Water & Sewer Plan, the Master Parks Plan, and the
City’s Long-term Financial Strategic Plan. Planning models are generally based upon the
expectations of future populations and the expected use of infrastructure and services
necessary to support the expected populations. These models are carefully designed, and
some require the public’s involvement to ensure that these documents are consistent with
the interests of the vested stakeholders in the community. Plans change little year after
year because of the deliberative processes and the assumptions used in planning for future
land use and needed infrastructure. Generally, the primary planning model that drives the
rest of the planning models is the land use model because it determines population
densities, expected populations and land uses. Of course, these plans are reviewed and
modified by the City based upon changes in the use of the land or other reasons deemed to
be appropriate by the City. For example, in recent years, the land use focus has shifted
toward mixed-use developments and urbanization.

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