New Street Maintenance Fee Proposed for Businesses in Fort Worth

In early March, during a Fort Worth City Council work session, City staff and consultants outlined a proposal to fund long-term street maintenance in Fort Worth. The proposed street maintenance fee would be a new fee for residents and businesses on their City of Fort Worth utilities bill, alongside other fees such as stormwater, trash pickup, etc.

According to the presentation, Fort Worth’s “PayGo” dollars will not be enough to fund street maintenance needs in the coming years, which have ballooned due to population growth and inflation. An estimated $66.1 million per year will be needed over the next five years, in addition to existing PayGo dollars to meet the City’s street maintenance needs.

To meet the demand, several options were presented:

5.4 cent per $100 valuation property tax increase
$59.4 million reduction in general fund expenditures next fiscal year
- Note: The City of Fort Worth’s FY 2024 adopted general fund budget was $1.01 billion, making the $59.4 million roughly 5.9% of the general fund budget
Sales tax revenue, which would require a general fund revenue offset to maintain the Crime Control and Prevention District, transit funding, etc.
Adoption of a street maintenance fee as a dedicated revenue source specifically for street maintenance

The rest of the presentation focused on the proposed street maintenance fee, defined as “a charge to property occupants for their proportional share of the cost to maintain the street system.” The fee is calculated based on a formula of vehicle trips and land use.

Cost for Businesses

What would the cost be for different Fort Worth businesses? It depends on the type of business and its physical size. The proposal outlined the following costs for different property owners:

Land Use Category	$/Month
Single-Family Residential	$9.22
Multi-Family Residential (per unit)	$5.65
Office/1,000 sq ft	$9.08
Retail/Commercial/1,000 sq ft	$12.06
Dining/1,000 sq ft	$15.80
Industrial/1,000 sq ft	$2.67
Institutional/1,000 sq ft	$2.71

What does that look like in practice for different types and sizes of business?

Office

Building Size	Cost per Month	Cost per Year
10,000 sq ft	$90.80	$1,090
50,000 sq ft	$454	$5,448
100,000 sq ft	$908	$10,896
500,000 sq ft	$4,540	$54,480
1,000,000 sq ft	$9,080	$108,960

Retail/Commercial

Building Size	Cost per Month	Cost per Year
10,000 sq ft	$120.60	$1,447
50,000 sq ft	$603	$7,236
100,000 sq ft	$1,206	$14,472
500,000 sq ft	$6,030	$72,360

Dining

Building Size	Cost per Month	Cost per Year
1,000 sq ft	$15.80	$190
5,000 sq ft	$79	$948
10,000 sq ft	$158	$1,896
25,000 sq ft	$395	$4,740
50,000 sq ft	$790	$9,480

Industrial

Building Size	Cost per Month	Cost per Year
10,000 sq ft	$26.70	$320
50,000 sq ft	$133.50	$1,602
100,000 sq ft	$267	$3,204
500,000 sq ft	$1,335	$16,020
1,000,000 sq ft	$2,670	$32,040

Institutional (churches, schools, etc.) costs would be comparable to the industrial costs, as the rates only vary 4 cents per 1,000 sq ft.

What’s Next?

The City indicated the next several months will involve stakeholder input on the initial proposal, which would be presented to the City Council in August. Then, the final proposal would potentially be considered by the City Council in October, and, if approved, fee collection would begin. The full presentation can be viewed on the City of Fort Worth’s website.