By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – It's not easy organizing a budget. What are my real needs, where do I cut back, and when do I get to splurge? These are the same questions the Dallas City Council has to ask themselves and us before they vote on the budget September 25th. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Middays.
A few months back, when the Dallas Police and Firefighters were petitioning for a raise, I did a little survey of my own. I asked anyone I came in contact with, which included waiters, the dry cleaner, etc., what they felt more secure about - their knowledge of the city budget or the national budget? You guessed it - everyone said national budget except for one reporter whose beat was the city. Well, hello!
So let's try to educate ourselves a little on this budget. The City Manager wrote that there have been significant revenue declines during the current fiscal year. Sales taxes were down $18 million dollars. Gas franchise fees were lower. And landfill revenues dropped nearly $6 million. I called City Hall about this landfill revenue decrease - that's a lot of money. Are we throwing out less garbage? I don't get it. Spoke with Mary Nix, assistant director of sanitation services. The city didn't really lose money picking up our residential garbage. But then there's the commercial side. The city charges $15 a ton to pick up their waste by private haulers and dump it into Dallas landfills. This charge is low, but there is competition and that's where we lost the money. Private haulers are using other landfills. Maybe the city needs to be more competitive and Ms. Nix explained, it doesn't look like the council wants to lower those prices.
Now, this is just one item. They're talking tax increases and civilian layoffs and closing the Aquarium, and a few other service cuts. If you're interested in learning more about the Dallas City budget, there are two more town hall meetings posted at Dallascityhall.com. You'll find the budget there as well. It's pretty enlightening. For KERA Marketplace Middays, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m. To contact Maxine Shapiro, please send emails to mshapiro@kera.org.