A new budget approved by Dallas County commissioners this week includes $2 million earmarked for specific homelessness programs — less than the $7.5 million discussed in budget workshops.
While some of the more than $828 million budget — takes effect Oct. 1 — was itemized for homelessness, more than $6 million was set aside to reallocate where needed throughout the year.
Commissioner Andy Sommerman said he had previously been promised funds specifically for several programs, like Housing Forward and Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center.
"We're gonna spend hundreds of millions of dollars on our jail," Sommerman said, "but we're not gonna spend any dollars trying to prevent people from going to jail and prevent crimes from happening."
Commissioner John Wiley Price, whose funding requests for jail operations were included in the budget, said he supports homelessness programs, but added metrics need to show what's working.
"The county has given at least $2.5 million this go-around," he said. "At what point in time are we going to get a report — put some guardrails on it to say, 'hey, this is where we are, this is where were this time last year, this is what we are now.'"
The county has nearly $141 million less in federal help than last year because American Rescue Plan Act funding for COVID-19 economic stimulus have expired.
Commissioners voted to keep the county's same property tax rate as last year, though an owner's rate could still increase because of state law changes.
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