Fort Worth's budget picture darkened considerably this month after the Tarrant Appraisal District delivered updated numbers showing the city's certified tax rolls grew just 0.89% this year — far short of what the city had planned for. The result: the projected general fund shortfall for fiscal year 2027 jumped to $77 million (officially $76.8 million), up $27 million from the $49 million gap city staff had estimated as recently as June.
City staff presented the revised figures to the City Council at an afternoon budget workshop, and the message was blunt: the city will have to cut spending further, raise more revenue, or some combination of both. Every one-cent increase in the property tax rate would generate roughly $11 million in additional revenue, though city officials have said they are not currently considering an increase of that scale.
What changed between June and August comes down to Tarrant County's property tax rolls coming in far lower than projected. A wave of successful property tax protests — filed both by individual homeowners and by agents representing larger portfolios of properties — shaved billions off the county's taxable value base. The Tarrant Appraisal District's 2024 shift to reappraising residential properties only every two years, rather than annually, has also added volatility: commercial valuations rose this cycle, and valuations on new residential construction increased, but values on existing homes actually dropped, dragging down the net result city budget planners were counting on.
City management has directed departments to prepare budget submissions reflecting both 1% and 3% reductions from the prior year's spending levels, a sign that cuts across city services are likely on the table as the council works toward adopting a final FY2027 budget later this year.
District 8 Council Member Chris Nettles summed up the mood among council members bracing for a difficult budget season: "This is going to be a hard budget cycle," he said. "We knew this going into this budget cycle that would be different, going from $50 million to about $77 million in the deficit."
For Fort Worth homeowners and business owners, the budget gap raises the two questions that always follow a shortfall of this size: which services get scaled back, and does the tax bill go up. City leaders have signaled they want to avoid a steep rate increase, but with a hole this size, some mix of cuts and revenue increases appears likely once the council finalizes the budget in the coming weeks. Residents who want a say in that outcome can attend upcoming budget workshops and public hearings, which the city is expected to schedule as the FY2027 budget process moves forward.