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Budget Battle: Office of Inspector General fights for more funds from proposed $4.5b budget
Councilman Adam Bazaldua proposed taking $14 million budgeted for a program meant to stabilize the police and fire pension fund.
DALLAS - Dallas City Council continued discussion over City Manager T.C. Broadnax's proposed $4.5 billion budget on Wednesday.
One of the large topics of conversation was Dallas' new Office of Inspector General.
The department is talked with investigating waste, fraud and abuse.
Inspector General Bart Bevers requested the budget for six additional staff members.
Bevers told city council members his office received 137 wide-ranging complaints in his first 162 days on the job.
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The Inspector General listed a number of the complaints his office needs to investigate to council.
"Fraud, embezzlement, inappropriate workplace harassment, nepotism, retaliation, inappropriate actions, sexual harassment, improper receiving of gifts," he said.
The city needs community prosecutors to help crack down on blight, short term rental violations and issues with event promoters – an issue that has received a great deal of attention following a mass shooting at an outdoor concert in April that killed one person and injured 16 others.
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Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, who pushed to create the Office of Inspector General, did not want to take away the funding request.
"Given what this city has been through, public corruption undermines everything else we do," he said.
Councilman Adam Bazaldua proposed taking $14 million budgeted for a program meant to stabilize the police and fire pension fund.
The $14 million does little to make up the $5 billion shortfall in the fund.
"It doesn't begin to tickle them problem," said Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn. "We really are sitting on a pot of money. The choice is what we do with that money."
Mendelsohn said the money would be better used as a way to fund emergency shelter for the homeless and keep libraries open six days a week.
The final budget will be voted on in two weeks.