City of Dallas residents will be able to give their input on the proposed city budget. That’s according to a press release sent out early Monday morning.
The hearing will take place during the second half of Wednesday’s council meeting and the deadline for registration to speak is Tuesday at 5 p.m.
The chance to voice input comes after a handful of council members have made their concerns known about the multi-billion-dollar budget. District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn sent a memo to Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson that outlined her worries for the city’s financial future.
“With a backlog of over $16 billion in unfunded maintenance and financial investment, city attention and funding must be laser-focused on the basic city services where the city has primary…jurisdiction,” Mendelson said in her memo.
The city manager’s proposed General Fund budget is 8.1% more than the previous year — bringing the overall total to $1.8 billion.
The budget includes millions in funding for police and fire overtime and the addition of nearly 400 new public safety personnel.
But Mendelsohn says city departments need to realistically budget for the number of new hires they can actually gain. Specifically with Dallas Police Department.
“To unrealistically budget and overtax residents for something we know is unlikely to occur and then repurpose those dollars is wrong,” Mendelsohn’s memo said.
Instead, her recommendation is to make the commitment to reallocate additional money for new hires, should the department hire more recruits than they first budgeted for.
Ultimately, Mendelsohn’s memo lays out what could be significant financial hurdles for the city — as soon as three years. And, other city officials agree.
“Even with the modest growth in property tax revenue and the assumed recovery of sales tax revenue over the next two years, the City is facing a structural deficit in years 3-5 due to public safety, and employee costs,” according to the most recent budget packet.
The hearing marks one of the last time the public can weigh in on the financial state of the city, before the final budget is adopted on September 20.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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