Dallas approves biggest-ever budget with more cuts than initially proposed

DALLAS — The city of Dallas voted to approve a $5.2 billion budget — its first under new voter-approved mandates to spend millions more on public safety — but not without last-minute cuts to library programs and lobbying efforts in Austin. 

The vote was 11 to 3, with Mayor Eric Johnson, Cara Mendelsohn and Jesse Moreno voting against the measure.

The budget increases starting salaries for police officers to more than $81,000 and sets a goal of hiring 350 new officers. It also includes an increase of about $37 million toward investment in street maintenance. 

But the final budget will close a beloved library on the city’s Northeast side and re-allocates 277 jobs — mostly to hire new police officers. 

“Closing libraries makes Dallas less safe,” said Skillman-Southwestern Library supporter Caitlin Dolt. “A safe neighborhood is not just built on police and patrol cars but on opportunity, education and trust.” 

Council member Paula Blackmon, who has worked the past two budget years to find money for the library, which is in her district, tried to prevent the funding cut.

“This library is not operating by any standard of the usage of the word efficiency,” said Mayor Eric Johnson, who proposed revoking the funding Blackmon previously secured. 

City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert’s initially proposed budget included a property tax rate cut of 0.5 cents per 100 valuation. Council voted to approve an additional slight decrease on Thursday morning after Mayor Eric Johnson issued a “tax cut challenge” to members. However, most of Dallas’ residents’ tax bills will go up. 

He convinced his colleagues to cut funding for the city’s lobbyists in Austin as part of the effort. 

Reductions proposed by Council member Cara Mendelsohn to the city’s payments for the Dallas Zoo, Dallas Arboretum and city’s homelessness efforts did not pass. 

This is the city’s first budget after voters approved the so-called HERO amendments to the city’s charter that required Dallas to hire hundreds more police officers and devote millions more to public safety. 

The city has published extensive explanations outlining why it believes the budget meets requirements under the proposition, but the HERO organization has repeatedly said it does not agree. 

“The proposed police pay does not come close to placing Dallas in the top five of regional departments, as required by the city’s charter,” HERO executive director Damien LeVeck said in a statement last month.