City to hold bond and charter election on May 2

The City of Fort Worth will hold bond and charter elections on Saturday, May 2. The ballot will include six bond propositions and nine proposed charter amendments. Each will be voted on separately. Residents in District 10 will also vote in a special election to fill a vacancy created by Councilmember Alan Blaylock’s resignation.

2026 bond program

The City’s bond program is one way of funding larger capital such as roads, parks, public libraries and public facilities. Fort Worth has historically held bond elections every four years.

The six propositions on the ballot represent an $845 million bond package. If approved by voters, the bonds would provide funding for streets and mobility infrastructure including roadways, sidewalks, bridges and intersection improvements. They would also support expanded parks and recreational spaces, improvements to public library facilities, public safety buildings, and upgrades to animal care and shelter operations.

The City of Fort Worth’s first affordable housing bond proposition would provide funding aimed at creating new affordable homeownership and rental opportunities, specifically for households earning up to 120% of the area median income. Activities 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.

Propositions include:

Proposition A: Streets & Mobility Infrastructure: $511,480,700 (60.5%)

Proposition B: Park, Recreation and Open Space Acquisitions and Improvements: $185,140,000 (21.9%)

Proposition C: Public Library Improvements: $14,586,000 (1.7%)

Proposition D: Affordable Housing: $10,000,000 (1.2%)

Proposition E: Police, Fire and Emergency Communications Facilities: $63,919,300 (7.6%)

Proposition F: Animal Care & Shelter Improvements: $59,874,000 (7.1%)

The proposed bond program is a result of significant resident input combined with City staff’s data-driven approach to prioritizing projects. A robust community engagement program allowed residents to provide feedback on bond proposals. Engagement methods included online webpages, in-person and online meetings in every council district, comments submitted to staff and an interactive budget tool called BalancingAct that allowed residents to create their own custom bond program.

Some notable engagement metrics include:

18,220 website views across several platforms

260 attendees at 11 council district meetings

1,109 YouTube views; 13,758 YouTube impressions

177 BalancingAct submissions

329 submitted comments

View the 2026 Bond Program Feedback Dashboard.

New ballot language

There is new language at the start of each bond proposition that says the following: “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE.”

This new language is mandated by the state for each bond proposition, regardless of whether the bond proposition is expected to increase taxes.

The City of Fort Worth has structured the 2026 bond package to work within the existing City property tax rate. The bonds are planned to be fully repaid without increasing the City property tax rate, even if all of the proposed bond propositions were to pass. However, the City is still required to include the state-mandated language on the ballot.

2026 charter amendments

In addition to the bond propositions, there are also nine proposed amendments to the City charter on the ballot. The City charter is a foundational legal document that outlines how the City operates. Like the bond election, voters may vote for or against each proposition individually.

The charter propositions include:

Proposition G: increasing the mayor’s pay from $29,000 to $60,000 annually and other councilmembers' pay from $25,000 to $50,000 annually.

Proposition H: removing non-binding charge and hearing requirements that are inconsistent with both the city manager’s personnel responsibilities and the City Council's authority.

Proposition I: eliminating redundant charge and hearing requirements.

Proposition J: allowing the City budget to be adopted at the same meeting as a budget hearing as allowed under state law.

Proposition K: removing a requirement for public service corporations to submit an annual report to the City since that information is readily available from the state and via the internet.

Proposition L: allowing a grant of privilege for use of the surface of City streets to be approved without a separate ordinance for each grant of privilege being required.

Proposition M: allowing greater flexibility in creating, abolishing and reorganizing City departments without an ordinance being required.

Proposition N: eliminating a conflict with state law regarding timelines of special elections to fill vacancies.

Proposition O: clarifying that claims can be paid based on appropriately detailed documentation other than just a “purchase order.”

What happens next?

Public education meetings will take place March 25-April 18.

March 25, 6 p.m., City Hall

March 30, 6 p.m., Betsy Price Community Center

April 2, 6 p.m., Southwest Community Center

April 11, 10 a.m., Handley Meadowbrook Community Center

April 13, 6 p.m., Diamond Hill Community Center

April 16, 6 p.m., R.D. Evans Community Center

April 18, 10 a.m., Worth Heights Community Center

The 2026 bond and charter elections take place on Saturday, May 2, with early voting available from Monday, April 20, through the following Tuesday, April 28.

April 2 is the last day to register to vote.

Learn more

fortworthtexas.gov/2026bond

fortworthtexas.gov/2026charter