Dallas will pay over $2 million to protect the Republican midterm convention with no clear plans yet for grants or reimbursements, according to a Thursday city memo.
The memo qualifies the costs are estimates and a final cost will be determined after the event is over. It's also not clear yet how much of the $2 million is already budgeted for.
"At this time, no new grant or reimbursement item associated with the event is scheduled for Council consideration," according to the memo. "Should an opportunity requiring City acceptance of funds be finalized, City Council will be notified in advance, and the appropriate item will be brought forward for authorization before those funds are accepted."
The Dallas Police Department will take up most of the cost at $1.8 million. Dallas Fire-Rescue will need $200,000. Emergency management and public works will get $50,000.
The city can get back some of the cost through permitting fees and an agreement with the U.S. Capital Police, but it's not clear if the convention or its host committee will cover any cost yet.
The convention will be held at the American Airlines Center on Sept. 9 and 10. It's expected to bring in 20,000 attendees.
The costs come as the city faces a potential budget shortfall of $30 million. Overtime pay for Dallas police is projected to hit $2.7 million over budget for fiscal year 2026.
The city has enacted city employee furlough days to help close the budget gap. Emergency responders like police officers, firefighters, paramedics and 911 employees are exempt.
Dallas police work to secure events whether they get reimbursed or not. For example, the city does get regular and overtime pay reimbursement for security when leaders of Congress are in town.
That's not historically been the case for people protected by the Secret Service, Assistant Chief Mark Villarreal said during a city council briefing last month.
"As far as Secret Service protectees, never in the history have we ever received any type of reimbursement from the Secret Service," Villarreal said.
City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn at an Aug. 24 finance committee meeting said the event could also generate revenue for the city through sales and hotel taxes.
"But I think the concern is that we don't want that to be something to help offset these expenses, we want that to be [...] over and above these expenses," Mendelsohn said.
Dylan Duke is KERA's breaking news reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan at dduke@kera.org.
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