Fort Wayne Mayor Sharon Tucker unveiled her first city budget proposal as mayor on Thursday.
Tucker said the proposal is a “balanced budget plan for 2025” and “features major investments in neighborhoods, parks and public safety.”
At a press conference Thursday, Tucker highlighted the following points from her 2025 budget proposal:
- A 5% property tax rate cut
- A $44.7 million investment in neighborhood infrastructure projects with $34.9 million for streets, roads and bridges and another $7.5 million for sidewalks and alleys and $2.3 million for trails.
- A $3 million investment in Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation improvement projects
- Three new fire engines and a fire station in Waynedale for the Fort Wayne Fire Department
Tucker said the infrastructure work will be in places like Paulding Road, Leesburg Road, Hillegas Road, Coldwater Road, Stellhorn Road and Winchester Road as well as the neighborhoods of Oakhurst, Kirkwood Park, Centennial Park, Waynedale, Fairfield Terrace/Belmont and Westchester among others.
Tucker added that the proposal includes continuing the work already ongoing with the Southeast Strategy, Packard, Northeast, Near Northwest and East Central plans and construction funding for the Oxford streetscape improvements.
City Controller Garry Morr said at Thursday’s press conference that the proposal also includes building a new fountain and with a splash pad feature at Headwaters Park.
He also said that construction for Riverfront Phase IIb Open Space will be underway in 2025.
Most of Tucker’s budget plan was similar to what late Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry geared his budgets toward throughout his tenure as mayor. Tucker said one part of his proposals made her a little jealous.
“His budgets were always going up,” Tucker said. “This is the first time in a very long time that the city has seen a small decrease in the budget.”
City Controller Garry Morr said the overall 2025 budget is down more than $7 million from 2024. He said the decrease stems from the local income tax supplemental funds the state granted Fort Wayne in early August.
“Well that added to our base budget, and those funds are now being spent. So, it actually, in effect, reduces our 25 budget.”
The administration will present the budget to the Fort Wayne City Council for a first reading at the body’s next meeting.
