The city of Dallas approved roughly $5.9 billion for the fiscal year 2027 budget. It funds increases for the police and fire departments while decreasing funds in other areas that impact library hours, housing and community empowerment, and arts and culture.
There was also no funding for a big topic the council has heard and debated about this year: deferred maintenance at City Hall.
Dallas City Council also approved a slightly lower property tax rate of 69.78 cents per $100 of assessed value, which is a 0.1-cent reduction from the current rate.
The budget was approved in a 10-5 vote. Council Members Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon, Bill Roth, Cara Mendelsohn, and Paul Ridley voted against the budget.
Council Member Kathy Stewart, who was one of the supporters of the budget, said she felt the council worked hard to strike a balance and understand the competing needs of the city.
"We will live with this budget. We will learn to love parts of it and maybe hate other parts of it," Stewart said. "But that's what this is, it's a process, right? We're never going to do this perfectly."
While the majority of council voted in favor of the budget, some council members were critical of it. Bazaldua said it "shortchanged" several items like animal services, eviction advocacy, and facilities management.
"After everything this council has been through this year, we did not put a single dollar of deferred maintenance funding towards City Hall," Bazaldua said. "The very building we were told was 'too dangerous' and 'too costly to keep', yet somehow not worth the basic upkeep that would prove or disprove that claim."
The General Fund in the budget is around $2.04 billion and The General Fund is money that goes toward the “most visible services” in the city such as police, fire, parks, and libraries.
Dallas faced a budget shortfall for fiscal year 2026.
Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland told council members that they forecast property tax growth from reappraisals and new construction. The city also works with external economists to forecast sales tax and that, along with property tax, makes up the bulk of the General Fund.
Sales tax revenue for the first 10 months of the 2026 budget was $4.4 million below budget as of July receipts, the latest published data.
The 2027 budget will begin Oct. 1.
Which departments will get the most from the General Fund?
Dallas Police Department will get the most out of the General Fund with more than $823 million for fiscal year 2027. The city budgeted around $758 million for DPD in 2026 — however the city forecasts it will spend about $6.6 million more than that this year.
Dallas Fire-Rescue will get the second most out of the General Fund with just over $471 million in fiscal year 2027. That's an increase from the 2026 budget at around $453 million — although the city is forecast to spend around $7.7 million more than budgeted.
Some departments saw funding reductions, but some items were restored.
The Office of Arts and Culture saw a reduction in funding, going from $16 million in 2026 to around $13 million in 2027.
Initially the budget proposed eliminating 12 positions across the department, but council members restored funding for two of the three eliminated positions for the Public Art program.
Housing and Community Empowerment also saw a decrease, going from around $22 million in 2026 to around $18 million. Initially the budget proposed eliminating all funding — more than $900,000 — for eviction advocacy support. A budget amendment restored $500,000 to the service.
That money could go to organizations like the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center which provides free legal services to Dallas County residents facing eviction. Mark Melton, founder of the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center, told KERA that 60% of the cases they assist are city of Dallas residents.
The Dallas Public Library saw a reduction in General Fund spending as well. It will turn five existing library branches into flagship locations with extended hours and more services.
There will be no branch closures, but hours at several non-flagship branches will be reduced. One amendment that was included in the budget restored hours for eleven non-flagship libraries and another restored 25 positions.
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