A measure placed on November鈥檚 ballot by a voter petition could cost the city of Dallas tens of millions of dollars in funding, cause drastic cuts to city services 鈥� and make it harder to retain police officers. Elected officials voiced their concern over what some are calling a 鈥渄raconian鈥� proposal, during Wednesday鈥檚 council meeting.
But there鈥檚 nothing the council can do about it. The petitions gained enough signatures and by law, elected officials must place them on the ballot for Dallas voters to decide on.
City officials hope spreading more awareness 鈥� and facts 鈥� about the implications of the proposal will help Dallas residents make an informed choice, come November.
The three measures include increasing Dallas鈥� police force by 1,000 officers, dictating that some of the city鈥檚 new revenue be allocated to funding the police department and linking the city manager鈥檚 compensation to a resident survey.
Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, who represents portions of southern Dallas, said during the meeting the proposal could send the city back to 鈥渢he Dark Ages.鈥�
鈥淚 feel like this is going to cripple us right now,鈥� Atkins said. 鈥淭his is going to cripple our infrastructure, our parks, our [recreation centers], our libraries, employees.鈥�
鈥楧rastic, very extreme cuts鈥�
Interim City Manager Kimberly Tolbert told the council that trying to meet the increased police staffing the proposal dictates could cost the city about $175 million. That includes costs for supplies 鈥� like vehicles, uniforms and equipment 鈥� employee benefits and pension obligations.
Tolbert said the upcoming budget includes an addition of 500 offices 鈥� and it鈥檒l cost about $60 million to make it work over two years. But to make sure the city has the funds to make the increases the voter referendum calls for, Tolbert said it鈥檚 going to mean cutting back in other areas of the budget.
鈥淥verall, you would be looking at drastic, very extreme, cuts that we would have to make across the board,鈥� Tolbert said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 not just day-to-day, but that鈥檚 a drastic cut in every single service we provide at the city.鈥�
That could include cuts to code compliance enforcement, animal services, the city鈥檚 parks and recreation system 鈥� and street improvements.
And that鈥檚 only from a budget perspective. Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said during the meeting that there are other issues that come from the hiring goal.
鈥淲hen it comes to hiring 900 officers in one fell swoop, that does come with several administrative challenges for us in one year,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淩ecruiting is one part of this, but just as important鈥s retention.鈥�
Garcia said that even if the department meets its current hiring goal of 250 new officers, with at least 190 officers leaving the department annual, reaching 4,000 officer total would take about 15 years. Garcia emphasized the need for a 鈥渟low growth鈥� of the police department.
鈥淲hen you look at that, to me, the 250 that we talk about is something feasible鈥ut more than that becomes issues with the staffing that we have,鈥� Garcia said. 鈥淲e鈥檇 be robbing Peter to pay Paul with regards to training.鈥�
Garcia told the council the department needs to focus on retaining the officers that it has right now.
鈥�50 police officers in the academy鈥ard to compare to 50 tenured, senior officer that walk out that door,鈥� Garcia said.
Who is Dallas HERO?
The petition was started by a group called Dallas HERO. The organization says it is a 鈥渃itizen-led coalition to help reform city hall.鈥�
Pete Marocco, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, serves as the group鈥檚 executive director. Marocco is from University Park, according to Wednesday鈥檚 registered speakers list.
鈥淲e want a city government where good performance is rewarded and failed leadership is replaced,鈥� Marocco said during the meeting. 鈥淲e simply want a bare minimum of three police officers to every thousand citizens.鈥�
According to press releases from the group, Stefani Carter is Dallas HERO鈥檚 鈥渉onorary chair.鈥� Carter sits on the Braemar Hotels and Resorts board of directors.
There were a handful of people registered to speak about the Dallas HERO initiative at Wednesday鈥檚 meeting. Most of them were not from Dallas, according to the speaker list.
Among those registered was Monty Bennett. Bennett is the chief executive officer of Ashford Inc, a Dallas-based asset management firm and the publisher of the Dallas Express.
Bennet is also the founder and chairman of Braemar Hotels and Resorts 鈥� the same company鈥檚 board that Carter sits on.
Bennett did not speak at the meeting.
鈥楩iscally irresponsible鈥�
Most of the council seemed to agree with the unforeseen impacts of the citizen-led petition.
鈥淭his is a very鈥iscally irresponsible ballot initiative,鈥� District 1 Council Member Chad West said. 鈥淚t could seriously impact our other departments including parks, libraries, street repairs, all these things that are also priorities for our constituents, beyond just public safety.鈥�
West said council members need to be careful about the things they say to residents over the next couple of months. Elected officials risk violating ethics laws, otherwise.
鈥淭o illustrate the draconian nature of this proposed referendum amendment, this would result in a freezing of the general fund budget for the foreseeable future,鈥� District 14 Council Member Paul Ridley said.
Jack Ireland, the city鈥檚 chief financial officer and one of the main architects of the city鈥檚 budget, told council members that the proposition would dictate that 50% of the city鈥檚 year-over-year revenue growth be used for public safety.
鈥淚t limits our abilities,鈥� Ireland said. 鈥淭here is some concerns in the referendum.鈥�
But those concerns are only on the public safety focused proposals. District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon said the proposition that would place the city manager鈥檚 compensation in the hands of a resident survey, poses issues as well.
鈥淎 survey is different from a poll and you could really activate a [public relations] campaign and its pretty clear that if you don鈥檛 reach that threshold, you will be terminated,鈥� Blackmon said. 鈥淚f I was looking for a job, I wouldn鈥檛 come here.鈥�
The proposal comes after former City Manager T.C. Broadnax鈥檚 resignation at the suggestion of most of the city council.
Broadnax announced his resignation earlier this year to fill Austin鈥檚 vacant city manager position. Shortly after his departure, more details pointing to a possible staged exit came to light. That includes a memo of when Broadnax talked to certain council members, who suggested he step down from the position.
After, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson asserted that the whole resignation was planned out 鈥� and that they city shouldn鈥檛 be on the hook to pay Broadnax over $400,000 in severance. The city ultimately paid Broadnax and is now in the process of finding a permanent replacement.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to speak on behalf of any potential candidate for the city manager position, but I think it鈥檚 detrimental,鈥� Tolbert said. 鈥淚t would be something that people, like myself, would think very seriously about before they would want to dedicate their professional time to the city manager position.鈥�
Many council members said using voter referendums to get proposals on the ballot has unintended consequences. District 7 Council Member Adam Bazaldua criticized what he believed to be a lack of information included in Dallas HERO鈥檚 messaging.
鈥淭here were a lot of signatures and I don鈥檛 believe near the amount of context needed for those who signed to understand the implications,鈥� Bazaldua said. 鈥淚t was circulated, quite frankly, from someone who is also not well versed in city government.鈥�
Bazaldua said during the meeting the city was not consulted by the organization running the voter campaign.
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