Fort Worth City Council Unanimously Adopts $3.33 Billion FY 2027 Budget as USACE Selects Contractors for 1.5-Mile Panther Island Bypass Channel

City Council Unanimously Approves $3.33 Billion Fiscal Blueprint

FORT WORTH, Texas — Addressing unprecedented demographic expansion as the municipal population officially crossed one million residents, the Fort Worth City Council voted unanimously in late September 2026 to adopt a $3.33 billion municipal operating and capital budget for Fiscal Year 2027. The adopted fiscal blueprint, which takes effect on October 1, represents an increase of more than $241 million over FY 2026 to reinforce core municipal services, emergency frontline staffing, and roadway modernization across Tarrant County.

Council members set the municipal property tax rate at $0.705650 per $100 of taxable valuation. Finance department officials confirmed that because median residential assessed values adjusted downwards, typical homeowner property tax obligations will decline by approximately $8.19 annually, balancing municipal service demands with residential affordability safeguards.

USACE Moves Panther Island Flood Bypass Channel to Active Construction

Parallel to the budget approval, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) reached a monumental milestone in the Central City Flood Control Project. Contracting officials completed evaluation phases for the construction of the signature 1.5-mile North Bypass Channel, selecting primary heavy civil contractors to begin channel excavation and hydraulic gate assembly.

The bypass channel serves as the foundational civil engineering component of the broader Panther Island redevelopment, rerouting flood surges along the Trinity River to unlock hundreds of acres of prime waterfront real estate for walkable, mixed-use residential, commercial, and recreational development adjacent to downtown Fort Worth.

Capital Investments in Neighborhood Streets and Multi-Modal Transit

The FY 2027 budget also channels robust funding into Trinity Metro transit partnerships, localized arterial resurfacing, and municipal stormwater channel maintenance across North Fort Worth and the historic Southside. Council members initiated discussions regarding a specialized Public Improvement District (PID) to maintain public esplanades, pedestrian bridges, and river promenades surrounding the future island.

Mayor Mattie Parker commended the unanimous council action, underscoring that disciplined financial management coupled with transformative civil infrastructure secures Fort Worth's reputation as one of the nation's most resilient and rapidly advancing metropolises.