Leaders of one of Arlington's police unions want the city to create a special tax district to fund police programs, but city leaders have not publicly taken up the issue as the deadline looms for placing issues on the May election ballot.
Officers with Arlington Municipal Patrolman鈥檚 Association (AMPA) have proposed reallocating a portion of the city's sales tax for a Crime Control and Prevention District, or CCPD. Cities around Texas use CCPDs to fund equipment, personnel and programming meant to reduce and prevent crime.
Chris CeBallos, AMPA president, said the city needs to bolster local law enforcement, especially as the entertainment district draws in more high-profile events.
CeBallos said he has not seen police, fire and EMS officials hold a joint training exercise for a mass casualty event in the district and that Arlington Municipal Airport does not have a team on staff who can breach a plane or legally detain someone.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e playing the odds that nothing is going to happen,鈥� CeBallos said. 鈥淚f something were to happen, then the city leaders, the city manager and the city council, their legacy won鈥檛 be that they鈥檙e remembered for the things they did. They鈥檒l be remembered for the things they didn鈥檛 do.鈥�
City Manager Trey Yelverton said AMPA should share their requests with upper management. He said he recalled a full-scale training before the city hosted Super Bowl XLV in 2011.
鈥淓ven if we鈥檝e, you know, not had one in a while, certainly the need to do training is something that is strong and supported and we鈥檙e open to all those ideas that improve public safety,鈥� Yelverton said.
Arlington voters would have approved a reallocation of city sales taxes to clear funding for a CCPD, as Texas cities cannot charge more than 2% in sales taxes on top of the 6.25% the state government collects. CeBallos suggests halving the to free up an eighth of a cent. The quarter-cent sales tax was last approved in 2018 and funds overlay projects, curb repairs and concrete panel replacements.
Halving the street tax is possible, Yelverton said, but would come at the cost of vital street upkeep. Additionally, he said, the police department receives the 鈥渓ion鈥檚 share鈥� of the city鈥檚 general fund each year during the annual budgeting process. Police funding accounted for more than 40% of the city鈥檚 .
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any disagreement at all about wanting to invest more in the police department for the right things, but again, it鈥檚 about the 'what' and not the 鈥榟ow,鈥欌�� he said.
City government officials declined funding requests for more staffing, recruitment and training resources, according to a July 31 memo from Chief Financial Officer April Nixon that CeBallos provided to 四虎影院.
Yelverton said the department will add 24 new positions through a federal grant.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want it to be missed that we haven鈥檛 been investing in both headcount and dollars in the police department,鈥� he said.
CeBallos points to other cities including Grand Prairie, which has half the population of Arlington and a quarter-cent CCPD tax.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e projecting a 3-5% increase (in revenue). They don鈥檛 have the large mass gatherings like what we have in Arlington,鈥� CeBallos said.
Next door, Fort Worth dedicates a half-cent sales tax to its CCPD, which has a budget of over $130 million in 2024 for programs ranging from graffiti abatement to a special events response program.
with voter approval in 1995, amid high violent crime rates in town. Voters most recently voted to renew the district in 2020. The renewal with less support than previous years.
Johnny Nhan, a criminology and criminal justice professor at TCU, said creating a CCPD is a tougher ask than it was when Fort Worth created its CCPD, when crime rates were higher and 鈥渢ough on crime鈥� policies reigned.
鈥淭he appetite for paying more taxes and things like that are not necessarily the big sell these days,鈥� Nhan said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the most appealing thing. It鈥檚 particularly difficult, in my opinion, for the police because they do usually take the lion鈥檚 share of this budget.鈥�
Arlington voters would need to approve a change in taxes. The city already had one failed election in 2007, when nearly 56% of voters struck down the request.
The city has until Feb. 16 to place an issue on the ballot. Council members have not discussed a potential ballot measure for the May 4 general election.
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