Fort Worth city council members make push for affordable housing
Christianne Simmons, who is in charge of the bond program budget, briefed council members on updates to the bond program, and District 9 council member Elizabeth Beck requested that affordable housing be added to the proposal. City council members are reviewing bond proposals to place on the 2026 ballot.
Fort Worth is one of the nation's only major cities that doesn't include affordable housing in their bond program, Beck told the Star-Telegram.
Residents earning the city's median income of $64,576 in 2021 could not afford to buy a median-priced home in Fort Worth, according to a 2023 report on the city's housing crisis.
Major cities across Texas, like Austin, Dallas and San Antonio already have affordable housing bonds.
If the bond aligns with affordable housing bonds in other cities, it would:
Provide funding for homeowners to fix their home.
Create, maintain and renovate rental homes.
Provide funding for permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness.
Buying land for home production.
Fund the production of affordable houses.
In 2024, the Neighborhood Services Department of Fort Worth requested $100 million to support strategies to fight the housing crisis for the 2026 bond program. Its request included support for people experiencing homelessness, acquiring land for developments, subsidized apartments and down payment assistance.
In 2024, council members supported the idea, and many agreed with Beck on the proposition during the work session on Tuesday.
District 8 council member Chris Nettles requested data from the number of times the public has inquired about housing support.
Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker echoed the council members' concerns. 'The whole entire city of Fort Worth is grappling with this issue.'
The affordable housing bond would be a separate proposition, Simmons said. Council members discussed where to pull the funds from, and Beck recommended taking $1 million from each of the other five propositions.
Nettles requested that the affordable housing bond be articulated clearly to the public as a separate proposition.
The Tarrant Appraisal District's estimates also came in higher than anticipated, increasing the bond budget by $40 million, to $840M, Simmons told the council.
Simmons recommended that the $40 million be allocated to the streets and mobility proposition, with $20 million to bridges and $20 million to neighborhood streets.
Overview of the bond program
Of the $2.42 billion requested from city departments, FWLab, a department of the city whose Budget Division is responsible for the bond programs, proposed $840 million in funding, according to Tuesday's proposal presentation.
Most notably, the bond program includes funding for the renovation of three public libraries, the creation of a fire station in far southwest Fort Worth and the acquisition of 13 properties, according to the initial program proposal.
There are currently five propositions in the program, including:
Proposition A: $516.5 million to streets and mobility infrastructure improvements.
Proposition B: $185.1 million to parks and open space improvements.
Proposition C: $14.6 million to public library improvements.
Proposition D: $63.9 million to public safety improvements.
Proposition E: $59.9 million to animal care and shelter facility improvements.
Proposition A will carry out four major roadways designed with 2022 bond funds and expand Bonds Ranch Road at three locations.
This is a $148 million increase in bond funding for streets and mobility compared to the $369.2 million in the 2022 bond.
However, impact fees and the state and county are contributing additional funding of nearly $200 million to the major roadway projects.
The program allocates $14 million to Proposition C. The bond program proposed $13.7 million for public library improvements to three locations:
Southwest Regional Library, which opened in 1987.
East Berry Library, which opened in 1967.
Diamond Hill Library, which opened in 1989.
Proposition D includes $19.4 million for a new fire station in south Fort Worth, and $28.3 million will go to renovating a building into a new 911 call center.
City Council plans to build a new animal shelter to replace the Chuck Silcox center, the presentation states.
The 2026 bond program is $280 million more than the 2022 bond program. The population of Fort Worth is one of the fastest growing in the country, even surpassing 1 million earlier this year.
Council members will finalize the project list in the fall, Simmons said. After hearing from the public and conducting community engagement, voters will go to the polls in May 2026 to consider the proposals.
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