Matty Parker’s priorities for 2025 also include keeping transport and tax rates on hold.
FORT WORTH, Texas — Fort Worth is currently the 12th largest city in the United States, with a population of approximately 1 million people, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Fort Worth is the fastest growing city of more than 50,000 people, with an average of 59 people moving there each day.
For Mayor Matty Parker, that means opportunity.
The Republican believes city government is on the right track for 2025, and her priorities include transportation improvements to ease congestion. That includes thinking differently about the future of transportation.
“We plan to expand TEXRail from downtown to the medical district. We are committed to completing these plans and fully funding that project. This is important to us,” Mayor Parker said on Inside Texas Politics. “But we also have to consider the legacy system of TRE (Trinity Railway Express). Let’s double track it. Put new rolling stock on that system.”
The mayor’s other priorities include a smooth transition for city manager, with Jay Chapa replacing outgoing David Cook.
She also wants city leaders to better understand how the upcoming legislative session will impact cities like Fort Worth.
And Parker contends that the city can continue to keep some of its property taxes flat in 2025, keeping them below the rate without any new revenue.
“We are seriously focused on how to keep property tax rates low to provide excellent city services on behalf of our residents, and we hope that we can do that again every year. The goal is always to keep it compressed as much as possible,” she said.
One of the contingencies the city must prepare for, the mayor said, is school choice and the passage of an Education Savings Account (ESA program) by lawmakers.
And she said she’s encouraging everyone in Fort Worth, from city leaders to the superintendent, to stop worrying about school vouchers and focus on what’s important, and that public education will soon become a reality. That could mean trying to secure more adequate funding for schools, although he acknowledged that this message doesn’t apply to all school districts. agree.
“I think school vouchers, ESA, will pass this session. All the writing is on the wall,” the mayor argued. “So I look forward to working with Fort Worth ISD leaders from all 12 school districts within the city to advocate for what it takes to be a successful traditional public school.”
