FORNEY, Texas — As Forney continues to experience rapid growth, City Council Member Sarah Salgado is focused on smart planning, stronger housing standards, and maintaining the city’s unique charm. A native Texan and longtime Forney resident, Salgado brings both her personal investment in the community and her professional background in education to her work on the council. In this interview, she discusses the city’s stance on a local housing authority, ongoing concerns with the Dallas Housing Authority, recent changes to rental regulations, and her vision for Forney’s future. Council Member Salgado was kind enough to discuss these important issues with InForney.
FORNEY, Texas — As Forney continues to experience rapid growth, City Council Member Sarah Salgado is focused on smart planning, stronger housing standards, and maintaining the city’s unique charm. A native Texan and longtime Forney resident, Salgado brings both her personal investment in the community and her professional background in education to her work on the council. In this interview, she discusses the city’s stance on a local housing authority, ongoing concerns with the Dallas Housing Authority, recent changes to rental regulations, and her vision for Forney’s future. Council Member Salgado was kind enough to discuss these important issues with InForney.
Do you think now is the right time for Forney to create its own housing authority?
I am always open to discussing the possibility of establishing a housing authority inthe future. We discussed this extensively as a City Council and unanimously agreed on March 5, 2024, to instead strengthen the existing rental registration programs byestablishing stricter guidelines and regulations. I saw the need to strengthen ourexisting rental ordinances as a step that needed to come before establishing a housingauthority. Looking to Forney’s future 10-20 years down the road, I recognized theimportance of strong city ordinances put in place now to shape the future housinglandscape.
Are there changes you’d want to see that might make the idea of a Forney housing authority more appealing down the road?
Recognizing that city leadership can change in any given election, the Texas legislature needs to amend state law to make sure that any housing authority is answerable to the full City Council.
To explain, current state law mandates that only the mayor can appoint or remove members of a Housing Authority. This means that the Housing Authority would not be answerable to the city council but instead, only to the mayor. That unilateral power is concerning because—once established—a local housing authority would have the right to pursue loans, grants, and funding to build or establish housing projects in the City. That’s also fundamentally different from how we do things in Forney. Our City currently has several community boards, all of which are appointed by (and answerable to) the entire City Council. That protects our community’s best interests by ensuring that no one person exercises complete control.
Our City Council discussed this very issue at the February 4, 2025, meeting. We unanimously voted to ask our local state representative, Keith Bell, to sponsor a bill to allow Forney to establish a housing authority answerable to the entire city council.
What is the relationship like between Dallas and Forney when it comes to housing vouchers? Can you walk us through what’s happening there and why it’s a concern?
The relationship between Dallas and Forney as to housing vouchers is currently a one-way street and is difficult for our community. Currently, anyone who receives a housing voucher from Dallas Housing Authority (DHA) can move to any rental unit that will accept it in Kaufman County. DHA refuses to share the locations of voucher units with us and even obtained a ruling from HUD that states it doesn’t have to. As a result, Forney has become a dumping ground for the City of Dallas. To my knowledge, DHA does not actively inspect rental properties. Nor does it regularly check that the voucher holder and others living in the home meet the program requirements.
We desperately need greater transparency. Ideally, DHA would coordinate with local authorities when it sends its voucher holders to counties and jurisdictions outside Dallas. This would enable local authorities to know where the vouchers are being used. That keeps landlords accountable for maintenance and upkeep of property and protects voucher users from unscrupulous landlords. Knowing where vouchers are being used also protects neighborhoods by giving them a transparent view of who is renting nearby. It also enables residents to report concerns or code violations for a rental to the local governing body.
What steps has the city council taken to improve housing standards here in Forney?
The City Council has long been concerned and mindful of issues with both single-family and multi-family rental properties inside city limits. As of 2023, there were 464 single-family homes registered as rental properties. That represents only 5% of residential property in Forney. That’s a low number of registered rentals compared to the total number of homes, but we still need to make sure those properties are safe for renters, and neighborhoods alike.
The City Council began discussing how to protect the City’s homeowners in February 2024. On March 5, 2024, the following updates were made to the current Rental Property Registration Ordinance. Every change made has been with the goal of protecting home values and keeping our city safe for both homeowners and renters.
- Owners of all rental properties are required to include crime prevention addendums in their individual lease agreements. This means that property
owners can evict renters that are convicted of certain crimes—including robbery, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, murder, prostitution, criminal gang activity, discharge of firearms, gambling, illegal manufacture, sale or use of drugs, illegal manufacture or sale of alcoholic beverages.
- Inspection reports and scoring are now available for public review on the City’s website. This gives homeowners a transparent view of what’s happening in rental properties near their home. This information has never before been available.
- Every new rental property in the City must apply and receive an inspection before a rental registration certificate of occupancy is issued. The application must be received, and fees paid within 30 days. Any late registrations will be charged a late fee on top of the registration and inspection fees.
- Every property owner must provide information for a representative for the property that will be available for emergency communications related to the property 24 hours a day.
- Property owners must have a local representative either on-site or within a 50-mile radius who can respond to emergency situations or within a short period of time for general notices, inquiries or complaints related to the property.
- Fees for registration, inspection, re-inspection and late fees have all been raised. We are holding landlords more accountable than ever before.
Describe the improvements Forney has seen as a result of those efforts.
Since the implementation of our new city ordinances regarding rentals, we have registered an additional 223 single family homes as rentals. This is a huge step in the right direction for our city. Having properly registered rental homes protects everyone—renters, neighbors and the city. When we know what homes are operating as rentals, we can keep our residents more safe.
As Forney continues to grow, what more do you think could be done to make sure the city stays a desirable, well-rounded place to live for families, professionals, and long-time residents alike?
We have lived in Forney for 17 years, and I have loved watching it become what it is in 2025. Forney has a certain charm not found in other towns—the people who live here are some of the most genuine and good people I have known!
To continue to stay a desirable place to live, we need to maintain exceptional city services. Police, Fire, Code Enforcement, Parks and Rec and Public Works all play vital roles. While on city council, I have pushed and advocated for more resources to go to all these departments—especially our first responders.
While our first priority is always residents’ safety, a variety of city services are what make a city livable and desirable. We have an incredible parks system that caters to families of all ages. But I see the need for more city services. Our city is looking towards the future of a possible stand-alone public library, and a partnership with the Dallas Stars for a branded practice facility. These are both recent announcements by our mayor.
Forney also does an exceptional job recruiting and attracting business. Our EDC board of directors and director work hard to keep Forney economically healthy. We have a healthy balance of locally owned businesses, and large national companies with many employees. To keep this healthy balance, we need to empower our EDC to do what they do best—attract and grow businesses here in our town. Exceptional city services and healthy local economy will continue to make Forney an exceptional place to live.
When you think about the future of Forney, what kind of community do you hope it becomes—and how does housing fit into that bigger picture?
I want to continue to see Forney as a welcoming town, that accepts and appreciates diverse backgrounds and life stories. I think that is something Forney does best!
I also want to see Forney continue to grow in a smart and transparent way. That starts with a good comprehensive plan, and following that plan as we approve new housing and developments. Giving our infrastructure a chance to “catch up” is vital. Since my time on council began in 2021, the city council has only approved approximately 150 new homes to be built. Any current construction of homes and neighborhoods outside of that was approved many years before I arrived on council.
I believe that any new housing approved needs to be very purposeful, with the impact on traffic and city services at the forefront of those decisions. I also want Forney to continue to thrive economically. Careful consideration of new businesses and companies wanting to locate in Forney is also important. Being judicious and thoughtful about placement of developments is vital to creating a Forney that we will love 10 years down the road.
As Forney moves forward, Council Member Sarah Salgado remains a strong advocate for responsible growth, transparency, and quality of life. Through her work on housing, infrastructure, and city services, she hopes to help guide Forney into a future that honors its roots while embracing the opportunities ahead.