City officials questioned whether the money would be enough — and what happens when the federal relief funds proposed to fill in the gaps run out.
That's according to city staff’s mid-year budget adjustment briefing to City Council during Wednesday’s meeting. Council members were briefed over a detailed budget reallocation which staff says is necessary to meet current needs.
Staffing shortages and a lack of recruiting is adding to the department’s overtime costs. And city officials say roadway crashes while DFR officers are in the field are adding to how many vehicles the city really needs.
“I would just like to say, I don’t think we are funding our apparatus for DFR sufficiently,” District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Costly overtime
City staff recommends the city reallocate over $11 million in funds to pay for DFR overtime needs.
The budget amendment briefing suggested that a total $7.8 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds be reallocated — with $2 million being claimed from next year's budget — and an additional $3.6 million from excess city revenue be used to cover DFR overtime costs.
But most of the money — ARPA funds — are limited. After 2026, the city will no longer be able to rely on the source of money when it comes time to approve a budget — or amend one.
Mendelsohn expressed concerns over how the city would deal with the large overtime costs after the federal funds run out.
“We’re not going to say to our residents ‘sorry we don’t have overtime available…we’re not sending an ambulance,’ that’s just not going to happen,” Mendelsohn said during Wednesday’s meeting.
Mendelsohn says for the past few years the city has used ARPA funds to pay for DFR's overtime expenses.
“What does that look like as we’re now ending the ARPA funding, in terms of our general fund?” Mendelson asked. “Are we going to realistically budget what the need is, given our staffing deficiencies?”
Jack Ireland, the city’s chief financial officer, says the city has factored in the expiration of federal funds into future budgets.
Mendelsohn asked once the money ran out, if council members would be presented with a budget that would “significantly increase” allocations for public safety. City Manager T.C. Broadnax said those decisions would be made over the summer.
“I’m not going to get into what will be proposed in the budget,” Broadnax said. “We do have a plan and that has been a discussion when we made the decision to use one-time funds.”
Dallas Fire Rescue has amassed over 300,000 hours of overtime since Fall of 2022, according to a March 10 memo given to city officials.
A need for new vehicles
In addition to the over $11 million proposed to cover overtime expense for the department, city staff also suggested that $17.8 million be spent on new fire vehicles. That includes eight new fire engines, two ladder trucks and the rest to be spent on “as many ambulances as [the city] can get.”
Alex Rodriguez is the assistant director of financial and personnel services for Dallas Fire Rescue. He says the department makes do with what vehicles they have now — but claims fire engines getting hit on the roadway is driving up the need for more.
“We make do. We do as much as we can.” Rodriguez said. “We keep getting vehicles hit on the road.”
Rodriguez says there has been times in the last month that there haven’t been any vehicles in the department's reserve. He says DFR is even considering “innovative projects” — remounting existing ambulance ‘boxes’ to new chaises.
Mendelsohn says funding for overtime and vehicles could come from a reprograming of other funds — whether it be a bond program or the general fund.
All of the budget amendments are packaged into an ordinance that city council members will consider in mid-May. If approved, Dallas Fire Rescue could see new vehicles — and overtime funds.
But Mendelsohn — who is the only council member that is guaranteed to return to the horseshoe after the May 6 election — wants people to know when once all the federal dollars are spent, the city budget could change dramatically.
“I am concerned we don’t have the resources to respond,” Mendelsohn said. “It is a very significant amount of money and it’s going to change the balance of our budget.”
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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