City Council members voted unanimously at their Feb. 8 meeting to call the bond election as well as ordering special elections to fill an unexpired council term and to include 13 proposed city charter amendments on the ballot.
The bond election would fund a variety of projects, including street improvements, mobility projects, parks and recreation upgrades, and preservation of open space.
Among the proposed projects are a replacement to Fire Station No. 37 at 4721 Ray White Road in Keller and the land acquisition, design and construction of a new library in far northwest Fort Worth.
The bond measures, if passed, would not increase the city’s property tax rate, according to the presentation to council.
The May ballot will also include a special election to fill the unexpired term of District 4 Council Member Cary Moon, who is stepping down to run for state legislative office. District 4 includes the area of northeast Fort Worth.
Whoever is elected will serve on council until the term expires with the May 2023 election, according to city documents.
The deadline for candidates to file for a place on the ballot is 5 p.m. March 7.
Also on the ballot will be 13 proposed amendments to the city charter, which outlines the city’s rules for governance.
Among the amendments is a proposal to increase the annual pay for the mayor and City Council members. The proposal calls for setting the mayor’s salary at half of the average annual base rate salary for all city department heads. Council members’ pay would be set at half the average annual base rate salary for assistant department heads in the city, according to the ballot measure.
Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke said during the Feb. 8 meeting that the proposal would index the salaries, meaning they could go up or down based on changes to city employees’ pay. Based on current rates, the mayor’s annual salary would be $99,653, and council members’ would be $76,727, according to Cooke.
If approved, the salaries would be set each year as part of the city's budget process and go into effect beginning Oct. 1, according to discussions.
Council members currently earn $25,000 a year, and the mayor earns $29,000 a year, according to the current charter. The measure will be listed as Proposition F on the ballot.
The $560 million bond election consists of five separate measures:
- Proposition A calls for nearly $369.22 million for streets and mobility infrastructure improvements;
- Proposition B calls for nearly $123.96 million in parks and recreation improvements;
- Proposition C proposes about $12.5 million for public library improvements;
- Proposition D calls for nearly $39.32 million in police and fire public safety improvements; and
- Proposition E calls for $15 million for natural areas and open space.
City officials said there will be several meetings scheduled before election day to help educate voters about all of the items on the ballot.
Early voting will begin April 25. Election day is May 7.
See the language below for the 13 proposed charter amendments that will be labeled Propositions F through R on the May 7 ballot.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct an error. The mayor's annual salary is $29,000.
