Dallas plans $5 billion for budget that will fund police and cut property taxes
Dallas City Hall: Photo by Hilary Schleier.
The city of Dallas’ new $4.97 billion budget proposal includes funding to hire hundreds of additional police officers and maintain public safety equipment, as well as a generous tax break.
While the city plans to invest over $100 million in projects such as street improvements, alley maintenance and sidewalks, the main focus of the proposed budget is public safety. Of the roughly $2 billion general fund, about $1.2 billion is earmarked for safety initiatives.
The police and fire department budget will increase by $78.6 million, while the budget for all other departments will decrease by $13.5 million. In addition, 541 positions will be eliminated (none in police and fire departments).
The city is providing 250 new police officers, 63 firefighters and over $40 million for the maintenance of public safety equipment. The budget also includes a salary increase for firefighters and police officers.
It also proposes the largest one-year property tax cut in modern history – a reduction from 73.57 cents to 70.47 cents per $100 of assessed value.
A note at the beginning of the budget document explains that the 2024-25 fiscal year budget “will raise more property tax revenue than last year’s budget by an amount of $15,856,462, an increase of 1.16 percent over last year’s budget. Property tax revenue raised by new properties added to the tax rolls this year will be $35,687,522.”
Elected officials began reviewing the budget on August 13 and will hold workshops and public hearings throughout September. See dates below.
Town hall meetings on the budget will be held in all districts starting Thursday. District 1 Councilmember Chad West is hosting two bilingual town hall meetings on the 2024-25 budget next week – one on Thursday evening and a virtual lunch-and-learn option at noon Monday. Everyone is welcome to attend the events and provide feedback on the budget.
The event on Thursday, August 15th will be held at 6 p.m. at Tyler Street Church, 927 W 10th Street. The event on Monday will be held virtually at noon and can be attended via this link: https://dallascityhall.webex.com/dallascityhall/j.php?MTID=m121099e0a7cbcf4b323a3c785b891852
The materials for the 2024-25 budget can be found here.
