By Bill Zeeble, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-860678.mp3
Dallas, TX –
Dallas County Commissioners have approved a 485 million dollar budget for next year, with no tax increase. It's smaller than this year's budget, because of the recession and lower property values. KERA's Bill Zeeble reports.
The approved amount is 24 million dollars shy of the current budget, and Commissioner Maurine Dickey fears next year's budget may be smaller still by nearly 10 percent.
Dickey: We know costs will go up and revenues aren't going to be there and other sources of revenue are not going to be available.
Commissioners approved several controversial items on a pay as you go basis. The budgets for two Dallas Constables now under investigation will be monitored by Commissioners, and could be reduced. And they may outsource two District Attorney departments. The DA fought any budget cuts, but may have to lay off four lawyers in a budget reduction compromise.
Still, the ongoing battle between Commissioners and the DA burned even hotter Tuesday. Commissioner Ken Mayfield & others accused DA Watkins of changing policies, creating a prisoner backlog in the jail that's dangerously close to running out of beds. Mayfield says prisoner cases should be processed faster.
Mayfield: It's curious that the DA has instituted certain nonsensical procedures, which means that an individual will sit in our jail for weeks before anything can happen.
In a statement, Watkins says he has instituted NO changes in processing prisoners. And he says the number of jail beds is not his responsibility, but that of the Commissioners, who planned poorly.