City of Fort Worth implements priority based budgeting

The City of Fort Worth is implementing an innovative budgeting method for departments to better prioritize and follow how taxpayer dollars are spent to provide goods and services to our residents.

Following a pilot program last year, nine city departments are using priority based budgeting to look at their Fiscal Year 2025 budgets in a new way. A sample of these departments presented the beginnings of this work to City Council in early budget work sessions.

Why it matters: Traditionally, budgets have been developed at the line-item level, which allows for tracking and invoicing of specific expenditures, such as office supplies, contracts and payroll. However, this method doesn't always provide a clear understanding of the bigger strategic impact.

How it works: Priority based budgeting reorganizes and reframes the budget to focus on City programs and the dollars it takes to operate. Fort Worth is turning to this method as a way to enhance financial transparency and provide additional layers of data for decision-making.

The bottom line: When this process is complete, City leaders can view financial resources in terms of programs, assessing their total cost, staffing levels, and strategic priority alignment regardless of the budget account in which those dollars reside.

The big picture: This detailed examination of each position, contract, service, and supply cost provides a higher level of strategic insight into the City's investment in each program.

Go deeper: Through priority based budgeting, programs are evaluated against multiple criteria, including the degree to which the program is mandated, its revenue-generating potential, the portion of the City's population it serves, and how well it supports Council priorities.

• Approaching the budget this way provides City staff and the City Council a better way to evaluate opportunities and make decisions on annual budget allocations.
• Nine City departments are going through this process. All City departments will be added to this process over the next few years.
• The City Council will receive a recommended budget in August and vote on a final budget in September. The City's fiscal year runs Oct. 1 to Sept. 30. · Residents can provide feedback on the budget online on the City's website.