FORT WORTH, Trinity Metro’s board approved a fiscal year 2027 budget of about $204.5 million in spending on Monday around Sept. 22, 2026, cutting roughly $17.8 million from the FY2026 adopted plan while still advancing a Trinity Railway Express double-track project and a 2.1-mile TEXRail extension into the Near Southside/Medical District with a Mistletoe Boulevard station groundbreaking set for Oct. 29.
The agency’s FY27 Proposed Budget PDF shows revenues of $204,906,191 against expenditures of $204,507,612, for net income of about $398,578. Sales tax is the engine: $147,847,079 total, including $131,026,066 from Fort Worth, $14,390,000 from Grapevine, and $2,431,013 from North Richland Hills. For Tarrant County riders and taxpayers, the story is a tighter operating year that still keeps rail capital moving.
What the FY27 Proposed Budget PDF shows
Trinity Metro’s FY27 Proposed Budget lists:
- Total expenditures: $204,507,612
- Total revenues: $204,906,191
- Net income: about $398,578
- Sales tax total: $147,847,079 (Fort Worth $131,026,066; Grapevine $14,390,000; NRH $2,431,013)
- Operating grants: $42,685,302
- Farebox: $6,539,440
- Southside On-Demand: $2,250,000 in the FY26 adopted column versus $1,469,167 in the FY27 proposed column
Fort Worth Report’s Sept. 23, 2026 coverage of the Monday board vote puts the cut at about $17.8 million versus the FY26 adopted $222.3 million plan, notes the $3.3 million TRE double-track work, the 2.1-mile TEXRail Near Southside/Medical District extension, and the Oct. 29 Mistletoe Boulevard groundbreaking by Baylor Scott & White All Saints Medical Center. The agency receives 0.5% of the local 8.25% sales tax.
How FY2027 follows yesterday’s FY2026 ledger
Never Late News already walked the prior operating book in Trinity Metro’s FY2026 budget piece, which centered Fort Worth sales-tax share and operating revenue near $203 million. The FY2027 package is the next chapter: lower total spending than the FY26 adopted $222.3 million, a thin positive net income near $399,000, and continued rail investment even as On-Demand lines compress. Nearby transit context also includes DCTA’s FY2026 operations and sales-tax package and DART’s $1.4 billion budget vote for readers comparing regional transit ledgers.
Trinity Metro’s specific hinge this year is the margin. Budget staff told the board the spending plan is incredibly tight over the next five years, and the PDF’s net income line leaves little room if sales tax or grants slip.
Rail projects, On-Demand cuts, and what to watch next
The TRE double-track and TEXRail extension are the visible capital story for Near Southside and Medical District riders. The On-Demand reduction, including Southside’s drop from a $2.25 million FY26 adopted figure to about $1.47 million proposed for FY27, is the service-level story for neighborhoods that rely on microtransit. Federal funding timing remains a risk factor in board discussion even when short-term continuing resolutions blunt an immediate cliff.
Riders should watch the Oct. 29 groundbreaking, midyear sales-tax receipts from Fort Worth/Grapevine/NRH, and any board amendments if On-Demand service changes deepen.
Why this matters
Transit budgets rarely make social media unless a rail groundbreaking photo does. FY2027 pairs a roughly $17.8 million spending cut with a still-thin surplus and a sales-tax base near $147.8 million, while TEXRail and TRE projects keep moving. Fort Worth-area households should read the sales-tax share, the On-Demand cuts, and the rail calendar together.
How Never Late News reported this
Never Late News based this report on Trinity Metro’s FY27 Proposed Budget PDF (revenues $204,906,191; expenditures $204,507,612; sales tax $147,847,079 with Fort Worth $131,026,066; operating grants $42,685,302; farebox $6,539,440; Southside On-Demand $1,469,167 proposed) plus Fort Worth Report’s Sept. 23, 2026 board-adoption coverage noting the about $17.8 million cut from the FY26 adopted $222.3 million plan, the $3.3 million TRE double-track, the 2.1-mile TEXRail extension, and the Oct. 29 Mistletoe Boulevard groundbreaking. Primary links: FY2027 Proposed Budget PDF and Fort Worth Report budget story. Companion internal context: NLN Trinity Metro FY2026 piece. We did not invent ridership interviews for this draft.
Corrections and reader feedback
If you spot an error in budget figures, sales-tax totals, or project dates, email editor@neverlatenews.com with the correction and a source link. Never Late News corrects factual mistakes promptly and notes substantive updates when Trinity Metro revises budget materials.
About Never Late News: Never Late News is a US local and civic news site covering budgets, taxes, schools, housing, and public services with people-first reporting. This article carries the byline Ron M. Holiday.