Tom Higgins A. Lee Graham
Reporter
Fort Worth City Manager Tom Higgins has announced his retirement, capping almost three decades of municipal service.
Higgins, 70, who joined city staff in 1987, will retain his position until a successor is found.
“I want to thank this [City] Council, as well as past councils and city managers for the opportunity to be a participant during a period which I believe history will come to know as one of Fort Worth’s ‘milestone’ eras,” Higgins wrote in a letter to Mayor Betsy Price and council members.
Among projects he participated in as city manager include developing Fort Worth Alliance Airport and the AllianceTexas corridor in North Fort Worth; Texas Motor Speedway, which has produced a $300 million annual economic impact; and tax increment financing districts (TIFs) that have helped enhance neighborhood development.
“His accomplishments are many, but I’ll remember him for his efforts to help create thousands of new jobs through a comprehensive economic development strategy,” Price said in a news release.
“On behalf of the citizens of Fort Worth, I thank Mr. Higgins for his dedicated and loyal service to our great city. I wish him the very best — and lots of golf — in his retirement,” Price said.
Higgins began his Fort Worth career as the sole employee of its Office of Economic Development. While serving that position, Higgins participated in some major city initiatives, including the construction of Alliance Airport and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, as well as several downtown redevelopment projects.
Under his supervision, the city’s Office of Economic Development grew into its own department and eventually became the Economic and Community Development Department, now known as the Housing and Economic Development Department).
Higgins also served as acting director of aviation before becoming an assistant city manager in 2007.