Dallas and Fort Worth face multimillion-dollar deficits
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Dallas and Fort Worth are anticipating multimillion-dollar budget shortfalls this year — but the World Cup may help bridge the gap.
Why it matters: Residents could see reduced services as the cities try to balance their budgets.
- Both cities say lower-than-expected sales tax and property tax revenue is partly to blame for their large budget gaps.
State of Fort Worth: The city is expecting a $49 million gap for the 2026-27 fiscal year's general fund and has asked department heads to cut their budgets by 1% and think of ways to save another 3%.
- Even with those reductions, the city may be left with a $27 million gap that needs to be filled before the 2027 budget is finalized this fall.
- "City staff will work throughout the summer to close the gap and balance the budget by early August," Fort Worth spokesperson Kevin Neal tells Axios.
State of Dallas: In early May, Dallas officials were expecting a roughly $30 million general fund shortfall this fiscal year. They are now projecting a roughly $17.5 million shortfall, per a May 22 memo.
- The city has frozen hiring in certain departments and is restricting overtime and non-essential travel.
- The city typically finalizes the budget by September.
Yes, but: Both cities could get a boost from World Cup visitors this summer through sales tax and hotel occupancy tax revenue.
- But Brady Kirk, an assistant finance director for Fort Worth, cautioned against banking on the unknown for the next budget.
- "As much as we're all hoping that we'll see some increased activity, we really wouldn't want to bake that into our growth assumption for next year," Kirk said at a May 19 budget meeting.
Zoom in: The Dallas Park and Recreation Board says the city manager asked it to cut $13 million from its 2026–27 budget, per a presentation last week.
- The department has cut 20 vacant positions and is considering a slew of changes, including cutting hours at pools and recreation centers and closing four facilities — though officials say that would only cut $8.9 million from the budget.
- The library system has also seen budget cuts in recent years.
What's next: Fort Worth's and Dallas' city councils are scheduled to hear updates this month about their budgets.
- The next fiscal year begins in October.
Editor's note: This story has been corrected to show Ft. Worth is expecting a $49 million gap for the 2026-27 fiscal year (not this fiscal year).