Dallas city council members are concerned about "going backwards" as city staff work to align programs with federal mandates.
President Donald Trump signed executive orders at the beginning of his second term discouraging cities from implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.
does not require municipalities to terminate programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, but keeping the programs could impact whether cities receive federal grants.
That could result in the loss of millions for cities like Dallas, which has received an from the federal government over the last three years.
But Council Member Jaime Resendez said during a briefing this week that the city should not "check a box" for the federal government while undermining years of progress toward fairness and opportunity.
"Compliance should not mean going backwards," Resendez said. "I want to be sure that we're finding lawful ways to keep moving forward as a city, expanding opportunity, protecting trust, and making sure that every resident feels like Dallas is working for them."
Dallas previously had a program called "Drivers of Poverty" that ran from 2017 until this year which defined barriers that held communities back.
A new initiative developed by city staff is called Dallas Drivers of Opportunity. This program is designed to develop opportunities for communities with a focus on employment, education, housing, health, and public safety.
The new program uses baseline data taken from the Drivers of Poverty program. City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert鈥嬧�嬧�� said now the city is able to build on that work.
"We know that, from a socioeconomic standpoint, we know where the gaps are," Tolbert said. "It's really taking the opportunity to let this work show and demonstrate the outcomes that we want."
Council Member Bill Roth said he wanted the city to continue providing opportunities to its communities.
"I also am concerned that we don't lose ground in the progress that we've made in our communities and our development of improving those sections of the city and the population that we serve," Roth said.
Roth also said that he wants to make sure that communities are "properly encouraged."
Roth added that he was concerned about the financial impact, such as additional staffing, in order to comply with federal regulations.
However, Tolbert said any resources needed would be done with existing staff utilizing funding and staffing in the current budget.
City staff will bring program proposals to respective council committees and are expected to bring new policies back to the council in December.
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