Fort Worth 2026 Bond and Charter Election Presentation - March 25, 2026
Fort Worth 2026 Bond and Charter Election Presentation - March 25, 2026
The City of Fort Worth held the first public education meeting on the proposed 2026 bond program and charter amendments at 12:30 PM on March 25, 2026. The meeting provided an overview of the $845 million bond package (Propositions A–F), proposed charter amendments (Propositions G–O), and the upcoming election schedule. Staff presented the final project list, which was approved by City Council on February 10, 2026, and answered questions from the public. The bond election is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, 2026, with early voting from April 20 to April 28, 2026. The last day to register to vote is April 2, 2026.
Bond Program Overview
- The 2026 bond program totals $845 million, an increase from the $840 million proposed during the first phase of engagement, due to an additional $5 million added to Proposition D (affordable housing) based on public feedback.
- The city structured the bond package to avoid a tax increase by using a portion of the existing property tax rate (14.75 cents per $100 valuation) dedicated to debt service.
- Public engagement for the bond program included 329 submitted comments, over 260 residents attending 11 district meetings, 18,220 website views, and 1,109 YouTube views.
Bond Propositions
- Proposition A (Streets and Mobility Infrastructure): $511,480,700 for 12 major roadways, neighborhood street rehabilitation ($328 million), intersections, bridges, traffic signals, street lights, sidewalks, and school-zone safety improvements.
- Proposition B (Parks, Recreation, Open Space): $185,140,000 for land acquisition, facility improvements, trail enhancements, a new outdoor pool, athletic complex renovations/expansion, open space, and replacement of an aging community center. Includes $10.5 million for the Botanic Gardens.
- Proposition C (Library Improvements): $14,586,000 for relocation and renovation of library facilities.
- Proposition D (Affordable Housing): $10 million (new proposition) for home ownership and rental housing for households earning up to 120% of area median income. Activities include land acquisition, construction, infrastructure, home repair programs, loans, and grants. The city expects to leverage additional funds from other sources. Specific allocations for homeless vs. working families were not yet determined.
- Proposition E (Police, Fire, Emergency Communications Facilities): $63,919,300 for new construction and renovations.
- Proposition F (Animal Care and Shelter): $59,874,000 to replace the Chuck and Brenda Silcox Animal Care and Adoption Center with a modern facility including expanded veterinary services, natural light kennels, and upgraded play yards.
- Each proposition includes funding for public art (up to 1% for Proposition A, up to 2% for others; Proposition D has 0% for public art).
Charter Amendments (Propositions G–O)
- Proposition G: Increase mayor’s pay from $29,000 to $60,000 and council pay from $25,000 to $50,000, effective at the start of FY2027 (estimated fiscal impact $285,000).
- Proposition H: Remove public hearing requirements for terminated department directors.
- Proposition I: Remove redundant hearing requirements for council appointees (city manager, city attorney, city auditor, city secretary).
- Proposition J: Remove separate budget hearing requirement (currently budget adoption hearing must be at a different meeting than the budget hearing).
- Proposition K: Remove annual reporting requirement for public service corporations (e.g., gas, electric, water) as most regulatory authority has shifted to the state.
- Proposition L: Remove ordinance requirement for granting privileges (e.g., solid waste haulers).
- Proposition M: Remove ordinance requirement for city department reorganization by the city manager (council may still create departments by ordinance).
- Proposition N: Align vacancy timelines with state election code; changes the date by which vacancies may be filled by special election from 90 days before the general election to after the last day to order a special election for the November uniform election date.
- Proposition O: Modernize language for paying claims – replace “supporting purchase order” with “appropriate written documentation.”
Public Comments & Testimony
- A resident asked about the number of outstanding bond payments and why the arts allocation is not a separate ballot item. City Manager J. Choppa explained that bonds are typically 20-year terms, and the city structures debt to avoid a tax increase. The public art allocation follows an existing ordinance, and could be brought to council separately.
- A resident questioned how the $10 million for affordable housing would be allocated between homeless and working families. Neighborhood Services Director Casey Thomas responded that specific allocations were not yet determined, but the focus would be on home ownership and rental housing, guided by the city’s housing affordability strategy.
- A resident asked about the specific locations of street improvements. Staff replied that the bond booklet lists major roadways with limits and neighborhood streets; project status can be tracked on the city’s capital projects website.
- A resident expressed opposition to golf course funding included in Proposition B, stating “we should sell them” and asked for the breakdown. Staff noted that golf course projects are listed in the bond book.
- A resident asked about the amount for the Botanic Gardens; staff responded $10.5 million.
Key Outcomes
- No votes were taken; this was an informational meeting.
- The final bond program and charter amendments will be presented at additional public education meetings across the city (six more meetings scheduled through April 18, 2026).
- A technical update on the public art ordinance will be presented to City Council in April 2026.
- Early voting begins April 20, 2026; election day is May 2, 2026.
Meeting Transcript
Okay. We're gonna go ahead and get started with the presentation. All right, is that better? Test test. Okay. Thank you. All right, great. Okay, if you have not seen yet, there are a couple of QR codes located on the screen. One is to the bond website. The second is to the bond book. If you're present here today, we do have some booklets that are available for you to take home with you today and share, as well as some charter details that will take us to the charter website. You can always visit Fort Worth Texas.gov, uh 2026 bond or 2026 charter if you'd like to know more. Okay. And with that, we'll go ahead and get started with the presentation. So thank you all so much for being part of the very first presentation related to the 2026 bond and charter election. We will walk through the purpose of our presentation today. An overview of the 2026 bond program, all the development, a program summary, and introduce the sample ballot of what to expect, as well as bond propositions. Uh move into charter amendments, in which we'll have Gavin Mitchley uh take over and then also share the upcoming schedule with an opportunity for question answers. Uh, we do have all of our technical experts here today, so uh all the various proposition teams um are available. So if you happen to have some really, really uh you know specific questions into project specifics, uh, they're more than happy to go and dive into all of that. So the purpose of today's meeting is really to provide information on the proposed 2026 bond program and charter amendments. This is really your opportunity to ask any questions regarding the two, as well as review further opportunities for public education. Okay. And so again, if you have not taken a photo of this particular QR code, it is located here. And if not, we'll go ahead and get started with a quick little video. So let's go ahead and hit play on that. Every four years, the city the city prepares a bond program. One way of funding large capital projects such as roads, parks, libraries, and public facilities that are appropriate for long-term financing. During this election, you might notice language on the ballot that says this is a tax increase. This is new language mandated statewide for all bond elections. However, here in Fort Worth, we've structured the bond package so that we don't anticipate a tax increase. The City of Fort Worth's 2026 bond program totaling 845 million is organized into several propositions. Each proposition outlines a set of projects that could be funded through bonds, pending voter authorization. Proposition A proposes 511 million dollars for streets and mobility infrastructure projects. The proposal includes funds for 12 major roadways. The largest amount of money in Proposition A, roughly 328 million will go towards rehabilitating our streets. Other funds will go towards intersections, bridges, traffic signals, street lights, adding sidewalks, and improving safety for street crossings around our schools. Proposition B includes 185 million dollars for parks, recreation, open spaces, including land acquisition, facility improvements, and trail enhancements. Park improvements may include renovations to existing community park areas, as well as development of new outdoor park amenities. Some projects in the proposition include a new outdoor pool, renovations and expansion of some athletic complexes, provide more open space areas throughout the city, and replacement of an aging community center. This will include remodeling three of our existing locations. Proposition D provides 10 million dollars for affordable housing initiatives across the city. This proposition would provide funding aimed at creating new affordable home ownership and rental housing opportunities, specifically for households earning up to 120% of the city's area median income. Activities under this proposition may include land acquisition and site preparation, construction of affordable housing, construction of infrastructure to support affordable housing, home repair programs, and loans and grants for affordable housing. Proposition E proposes 64 million for police, fire and emergency communications facilities, including new construction and renovations to existing buildings. These improvements support long-term operational projects for the public safety departments. Proposition F allocates 59.8 million dollars for a new upgraded facility for our residents and animals, which would replace the Chuck and Brenda Silcox Animal Care and Adoption Center. This proposition would fund the construction of an upgraded shelter with expanded veterinary facilities. Also including new modern kennels with natural light and upgraded play yards for animal enrichment. The bond election is scheduled for Saturday, May 2nd, 2026, with early voting available between Monday, April 20th and the following Tuesday, April 28th.
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