How Fate is run
Who runs Fate, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Fate's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Fate
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council of seven, a mayor and six members all elected citywide, passes ordinances, approves the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Fate city staff
104 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 31, Fire 11, Water and sewer utility 18, Other general fund 42, Storm water and solid waste 2. FY2025-26. Budgeted positions. The FY2026-27 budget adds no new positions. City of Fate
The city posts payroll check registers by employee number only, with no names or job titles. Texas has no statewide city pay database. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Fate in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
The city's own outlook
The FY2027 budget keeps the tax rate at 29.0869 cents, below the no-new-revenue rate. The city manager wrote that the city does not have the financial capacity to add police and fire staff because residential market values have declined, so no new positions are funded. City of Fate
Savings
Unassigned general fund balance: $7.9M (2025-09-30). City of Fate · Mar 4, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2025-26.
Comes from
- Property taxes$7M · 37%
- Sales taxes$4.1M · 21%
- Transfers in from other funds$2.7M · 14%
- Licenses and permits$2.3M · 12%
- Charges for services$1.1M · 6%
- Franchise fees$944,625 · 5%
- Other (intergovernmental, municipal court, interest and misc.)$970,489 · 5%
Goes to (FY2025-26)
- Police$5.8M · 31%
- Fire$2.3M · 12%
- Transfers out to other funds$2.2M · 11%
- Building safety (inspections)$1.1M · 6%
- Facilities$1.1M · 6%
- City manager's office$947,794 · 5%
- Finance$771,616 · 4%
- Information technology$751,809 · 4%
- Other (streets, planning, economic development, city secretary, court, the Hub, legal, HR, parks, animal care, council, misc.)$4.1M · 22%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Of the city, county and school tax rate a Fate homeowner in Rockwall ISD pays, about 18 cents per dollar goes to the city. Many Fate neighborhoods also pay a municipal utility district tax not shown here. For FY2026-27 the city kept its rate at 29.0869 cents.
18¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Fate
- Rockwall ISD (schools)Operations 0.7869 plus debt 0.28. Parts of Fate are in Royse City ISD (1.2552).1.0669 · 66%
- Rockwall County0.251 · 16%
- City of Fate (operations)0.200765 · 12%
- City of Fate (debt)0.090104 · 6%
- Total ($ per $100 of taxable value)1.608769
2025 tax year (FY2025-26) rates for a home in the city of Fate (Rockwall County, Rockwall ISD): city, county and school district. Texas Comptroller · Jan 28, 2026
See what a Fate house pays, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Fate is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityFate Police DepartmentCity of Fate
- FireThe cityFate Fire DepartmentCity of Fate
- SewerThe cityCity of Fate, with treatment at North Texas Municipal Water District plantsCity of Fate
- Trash and recyclingContractorWaste Connections (city franchise)City of Fate
- Animal controlContractorOutside contractorCity of Fate
- ParksThe cityCity of Fate Parks DepartmentCity of Fate
- City streetsThe cityCity of Fate Streets DepartmentCity of Fate
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | ManorTX | BenbrookTX | FateTX | ConverseTX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 23,070 | 24,279 | 29,007 | 32,481 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $255,003 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | $1,200 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,207 | $1,097 | $657 | $760 |
| Debt per resident | $3,378 | $815 | $1,694 | $1,241 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $40 | $213 | $-11 | $145 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | 6.8 | 5.4 | 3.6 | 6.0 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Fate publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Yes: Adopted budget posted online City of Fate
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineNo contract for the city manager, in the job since 2014, is posted on the city's financial transparency or city manager pages. City of Fate
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member onlineThe adopted FY2027 budget lists each member voting for it: six for, none against, with one seat vacant. City of Fate
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes online City of Fate
- Partly: Employee pay published City of Fate
Questions to ask your council
- The city manager wrote that the FY2026-27 budget cannot add police and fire staff, while the tax rate stays at 29.0869 cents, below the no-new-revenue rate. What would adding three firefighters cost residents?
- The FY2025-26 budget sets fire spending at $2.3 million. How much more will the move to separate police and fire departments cost each year?
The fiscal year starts Oct. 1. The charter has the city manager submit a proposed budget by Aug. 15. For FY2026-27 the proposed budget was delivered Aug. 3, 2026, the public hearing was Sept. 14, and adoption was set for Sept. 21, 2026. See who is running for council
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