Dallas City Council approves nearly $5 billion budget, but mayor votes against it
DALLAS - The Dallas City Council passed a nearly $5 billion budget Wednesday, though some councilmembers argued the city should have done more to rein in spending and property taxes.
The Dallas budget will cut the tax rate by one cent, but Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn said, due to rising property values, the average homeowner will be getting a tax bill that is 8% higher.
Before the final budget vote, Mendelsohn proposed $104 million in cuts. City staff said that would have saved the average homeowner $172 a year, but the amendment failed.
"The teeny tiny tax rate decrease that has been passed by this council, .35 of a cent, is nothing short of an 8% tax increase," Mendelsohn said.
Mendelsohn argued that after a $1 billion increase in the city's budget in four years, the city needs to rein in its spending as residents deal with higher interest rates and inflation.
"But this vote will actually increase rent across the city," Mendelsohn said. "Because it won't be the landlords who will absorb the 8% tax increase. Renters, prepare yourselves."
Mendelsohn also warned that the city will need to prepare for higher costs related to the police and fire pension.
The city has been working to bail it out after years of bad management hemorrhaged billions of dollars, sparking a crisis in 2016.
"Pension, just yesterday we were told we could have up to $60 million a year we will need to pay," Mendelsohn said.
Dallas City Council works to cut increased city budget
After the city of Dallas's budget has ballooned by a billion dollars in four years, some Dallas City Council members are working to rein in spending.
Councilman Tennel Atkins echoed those concerns.
"We have to think about the pension," he said. "We don't have a safe city if we don't have a pension."
Councilman Adam Bazaldua argued that the one cent tax rate reduction is significant.
"By making a cent reduction, we are providing relief," he said.
Councilwoman Jayne Schultz said the city can only cut so much.
"We can't talk out of both sides, cut staff, cut services, and then expect a better city," she said.
The mayor argued the city needs to prioritize tax relief.
"I have seen the data. The people who want relief are the most economically challenged," Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said.
Johnson released the following statement about his decision to vote against the budget:
"In an environment of such economic uncertainty for our residents and businesses, with inflation and interest rates being where they are, I simply could not vote for a budget that is the largest in the history of the city and that is paid for by raising taxes on our residents and businesses. It is simply not the case that we could not have significantly reduced the size of this budget and cut taxes without drastically cutting essential services. Furthermore, it is preposterous to suggest that our city government could not, by being more efficient, deliver essential services next year using the same amount of tax revenue collected from Dallas residents and businesses just a year ago." Johnson added."
While there have been a lot of increases to staff since 2019, the number of police officers has remained about the same.
Last year, city council members made a more sizable 2.75 cent cut, with less debate than this time around.