Dallas’ $4.4 billion proposed budget would add 250 police officers, provide city worker raises

This is breaking news and will be updated.

Dallas City manager TC Broadnax on Saturday unveiled a proposed budget of $ 4.35 billion for the next fiscal year, saying it believes it will address issues in providing basic services and address long-term issues that residents face are.

It also includes plans to add 250 more Dallas cops starting this fall.

Fueled by Dallas, which is generating millions more in property and sales tax revenue than expected, Broadnax’s proposed budget includes increased spending in several city governments.

His proposal also lies above the $ 3.85 billion plan that was approved last September.

[Read the executive summary of T.C. Broadnax’s proposed budget]

Public safety initiatives a year after the city council’s decision to cut the Dallas Police’s overtime budget sparked disagreement between elected bodies and others who claimed the move was against rising violent crime.

In addition to the plan to hire more officers, Broadnax plans to nearly double the current police overtime budget of $ 17.3 million.

The city’s proposed spending plan also provides for a nearly $ 4 monthly increase in sanitation fees to pay for garbage disposal improvements after persistent delays in these services.

Also included is a fractional reduction in the property tax rate that adds up to less than a penny for every $ 100 of estimated property value, and an increase in homestead tax exemptions from $ 7,000 for disabled owners or those over 65 to $ 107,000 . The tax exemption was approved by the city council in June.

The most recent proposed budget will receive an infusion of millions more in property and sales tax revenue than expected.

Dallas received $ 1.2 billion in property tax receipts and more than $ 344 million in sales tax profits. Both sources of income account for nearly 80% of the city’s general fund.

Dallas will receive a total of $ 355 million in stimulus money and other grants this year and next. The city plans to spend the money on infrastructure projects, COVID and security-related initiatives, expanded homeless and economic development services, and other strategies. This includes $ 26 million in American Rescue Plan funding over the next three years for mental health, food distribution, and child and family services.

Police are advised to get the largest increase in general fund funding in the proposed budget, from approximately $ 514 million to $ 567 million. The next higher proposed increase is in Dallas Fire-Rescue at nearly $ 336 million, a $ 20 million infusion from the current budget.

The few departments that are proposed to get less generic fundraising in the next budget include the Office of Homeless Solutions (more than $ 450,000 less than $ 12.4 million in current budget) and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability (a decrease of nearly $ 400,000 from the $ 4.2). Million euros in the current budget).

The city council wants to discuss the Broadnax budget on Tuesday. The Council will adopt a final spending plan on September 22, before the start of the next fiscal year on October 1.

public safety

Broadnax is proposing that the city hire 500 new police officers over the next two fiscal years. The goal of 250 officers a year is 100 more than the city forecast last month, but it’s still shy of the 275 Mayor Eric Johnson called for in a memo to Broadnax in July.

The city expects 3,110 civil servants by the end of September and 3,200 by the end of September 2023. The department currently employs around 3,100 civil servants. The city’s numbers explain the fluctuation and mean about 100 more civil servants than are currently employed.

More officers would be on patrol. The city is also planning to buy 30 new police cars to allow more officers to drive alone.

It is planned to hire 42 more employees in the traffic department and to have more than police officers block the roads in the event of accidents and road hazards.

Broadnax recommends increasing the police overtime budget by $ 14 million from this year’s plan of $ 17.3 million. Programs paid to use $ 7 million reallocated from the overtime budget last year will continue with other funding sources.

Over the next two years, $ 5 million in federal stimulus money will be allocated to improve street lighting, and $ 800,000 will come from the general fund for the violence breaker program.

The city also planned to spend the majority of the reallocated money on hiring 95 more civilian workers to be manned by sworn officers. Police reported last month that 52 jobs had been transferred from sworn officers to civilian workers.

To improve response times, more than 60 new hires are planned for the 911 call center, including 44 new call takers and 12 additional dispatchers. The starting salary for callers is set to increase by $ 7,200 to bring the minimum to $ 43,800 per year.

The city is struggling to answer 911 calls below the national standard of 10 seconds and has recently trained hundreds of police officers to stand in for callers due to staff shortages.

The city plans to spend $ 2 million to double the number of RIGHT Care teams that respond to mental health-related calls to 10.

Fourteen new paramedics are hired at Dallas Fire-Rescue to support the RIGHT Care teams.

Higher wages for workers

The minimum wage for full-time, part-time, seasonal and temporary workers in the city is slated to increase to $ 15.50 an hour this year and from the current $ 14 to $ 16 an hour next year. The budget also provides for starting salaries for police and fire departments to be increased from the current US $ 61,367 to US $ 64,194 per year.

From January, full-time urban workers will be offered six weeks of paid parental leave. The mayor suggested in May that the city consider such a policy.

Starting pay for truck drivers is expected to rise from $ 16.50 to $ 20 an hour. The city is also planning to hire more contractors to pick up brushes and bulky waste on time.

On-board camera systems are also used in trucks. The city is also planning to change the collection of brush and bulky waste by switching to quarterly instead of monthly bulk collections.

The changes are designed to help address long delays in garbage, recycling, brush and bulky rubbish collection, as well as the shortage of truck drivers who were paid according to industry standards and temporary workers who were paid less.

Residents could see a $ 3.78 increase in the monthly service fee if the plan is adopted.

The property tax rate is to be reduced from 77.6 cents per 100 US dollar valuation to 77.3 cents.

Quality of life improvement

Broadnax’s budgets also include the establishment of a small business center with a focus on business programs for women and minorities as well as assistance to those returning to work after imprisonment.

The budget includes installing $ 10 million in water and sewer infrastructure to encourage more developers to build more homes in the city.

Broadnax is proposing to hire more than 30 new law enforcement officers and fund a pilot program to begin cleaning more than 1,300 neighborhood alleys that have been overgrown with weeds and illegally disposed of. The city believes 40 of them could be converted into lanes with improved walkways and lighting.

The proposed budget funds a new city position that would coordinate the translation of public information for non-English speakers.

It plans to invest millions in improving road conditions, sidewalks, and warning lights in school zones, including $ 5 million to repaint nearly 1,000 miles of lane markings and over 800 zebra crossings.

Another $ 500,000 is proposed to add more road markings and signs and speed limits to address traffic concerns in residential areas, and $ 200,000 for a pilot program aimed at reducing road racing.

Council members are expected to host city hall virtual, face-to-face and phone meetings from Thursday through August 26th to give the public a say.

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