Higher taxes due per the new budget. The Dallas City Manager has released the 2020-2021 budget and it raises taxes by %5+ despite funding Visit Dallas at more than $25M. Other Side Dallas will continue to update.
Higher Taxes Due Now – Change In City Hall and Dallas Police Not Budgeted
Mayor Eric Johnson had suggested a rolling descrease in salaries with city employees making the most money taking the biggest salary hits. The Mayor’s idea does not seem to have made its way into the financial document.
The City Manager’s Office is budgeted an additional $267000 over the previous budget – or almost 10%.
Another major note from the budget is the fact the Dallas Police Department is not being defunded in any way. In fact, despite the multiple injuries from less lethal weapons the Dallas Police appears to be getting more of those dollars. We are waiting for statements from City Council Members at the forefront of the Defund movement.
Dallas Police have a long history of improperly using weapons including less lethal weapons on and off duty. This includes at the George Floyd protests. Community Police Oversight Board member Jose Rivas inquired of Chief Reneé Hall about her use of less lethal force during the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge event where tear gas was deployed despite her assurances it was not.
Budget: Eviction Protections vs. Homeowner Protections
The Executive Summary of the budget states that it will “alleviate financial hardship through an eviction diversion program that connects tenants facing eviction to resources ranging from housing assistance and direct legal services to financial education” yet it is unclear how higher taxes on landlords will make evictions less likely.
Revenue Predictions
It is not clear what basis the City Manager’s Office is using, but the revenue statement says the expect a sales tax revenue rebound in for the year immediately following this budget. This is despite a one third drop in GDP in the second quarter of Calendar Year 2020 nationally.
Additionally, local employer American Airlines warned of 25000 potential furloughs In July and travel is down due to COVID19.
Do not expect much from the Visit Dallas contract either. The proposed budget notes that “HOT (Hotel and Occupancy) revenues are historically volatile; therefore, actual collections may differ significantly from the budgeted amount.” Convention and Event services are budgeted at $85M despite events being forbidden by local COVID19 restrictions on large gatherings.
Higher Taxes Due And Few Services
The full budget can be seen here and Dallas City Manager TC Broadnax’s promotional video for the tax increase is below.