Everman city manager lays out budget priorities, regional partnerships and federally funded Safe Streets project at community forum

City Manager Craig Spencer addressed a community town-hall on Everman's budget priorities Wednesday evening, telling residents the council has pushed for lower property taxes and that the city expects to lower its total tax rate to below $1.00 per $100 valuation this year.

Spencer, who led the presentation and introduced staff tables for one-on-one conversations, framed the strategy around regional partnerships and targeted investments. "We've brought all the staff in here to work with you 1 on 1," he said, explaining the format for the meeting and urging residents to use the city app and staff tables to report specific problems.

Why it matters: Spencer said the council set a five-year directive to reduce Everman's high property-tax rate and credited development and partnership funding for getting the city close to that goal. He emphasized that much of the recent infrastructure work relied on outside funding rather than solely on local tax dollars.

Major announcements and projects

- Property tax goal: Spencer said Everman had previously had one of the county's highest rates and expects to reach a rate below $1.00 this year, attributing the improvement to new development and staff efforts. He said the city has worked to reduce the rate while also addressing service gaps.

- Safe Streets federal grant: Spencer said the Everman Safe Streets project is in the engineering phase and is funded through a federal grant that will create a network of sidewalks connecting parks and schools, from Pittman Park to Everman High School and along routes to Shelby-area schools. "Overall, [it's] a $9.4 million investment from the feds," he said, adding that the North Central Texas Council of Governments approved additional funding to cover Everman's match so "this is coming to us at a completely no cost." The project remains in engineering and will move into construction once permitting and design steps are complete.

- Road and flood work: Spencer described utility and road work on Wichita Street and a planned widening on Forest Hill Drive. He said the North Central Texas Council of Governments approved an additional $13.2 million to address bridge and flooding issues along Forest Hill Drive; he characterized these projects as fully funded through federal grant dollars and not requiring city contributions.

- Streets investment: Spencer said more than $40 million worth of street projects have been touched (repaired, rebuilt or repaved) over the past five years, and he explained that much of that investment came from partnerships and external funding rather than direct city payments.

- Animal services and shelter: Spencer said the city hosts Municipal Animal Services in partnership with Forest Hill, which expanded animal-control staffing from two to four officers under manager Ray Renschler. He said council has prioritized building a new animal shelter and staff are pursuing partnerships to fund and move the project forward; he anticipated announcements in the coming months. Spencer also highlighted a recently purchased mobile adoption trailer and urged volunteers: "Even if it's just a couple hours a week ... we want you to sign up to volunteer."

- Library and senior partnerships: Spencer said Everman contributes $20,000 a year to the Forest Hill Public Library District to cover Everman residents' library card memberships. He also described plans to partner with a Forest Hill senior center (run by Meals on Wheels) to provide weekday space and services for local seniors.

- Economic development and businesses: Spencer said Everman is experiencing its fastest economic growth in city history for the third consecutive year and cited recent business openings including Chicken Chill, a new McDonald's, Everman Liquor Store and an On the Patio restaurant (pending state approval). He urged residents to spend locally, noting that the city recaptures a small share of each consumer dollar spent within the city.

- Digital services and resident reporting: Spencer described a new city website, a mobile app for reporting potholes and other problems (which routes issues to the responsible department and provides tracking and email notifications), and an online permitting portal intended to reduce in-person visits.

Event and civic outreach

Spencer previewed Celebrate America Fest (weekend event) with more than 80 vendors, 20 food trucks, a crafts fair and evening live music, closing with a fireworks display around 10:00 p.m. He encouraged residents to follow city social channels and to visit the staffed tables to discuss specific concerns about the upcoming budget.

What wasn't decided: The session was informational and no formal votes or ordinances were taken during the presentation; the meeting transitioned to a break and one-on-one staff conversations rather than council action.

Next steps: Staff will continue partnership discussions (animal shelter, senior services) and advance engineering work on the Safe Streets and street‑widening projects; the city manager invited residents to follow the city's online channels for future announcements.

Attribution: Direct quotes and specific project figures are drawn from Craig Spencer's remarks at the forum.