The Dallas City Council on Wednesday approved a record budget of about $6 billion that adds money for police and fire, restores library funding late in the night, and leaves deferred maintenance at City Hall with no new dollars.
The 10-5 vote came at Dallas City Hall after a full day of amendments. The fiscal year begins Oct. 1. The Dallas Morning News calls the package the largest in city history. Public safety took the biggest slice, with police and fire up about $83 million. Recreation center hours were restored and some community pools kept open.
A late vote put back $2.8 million and 72 library jobs. The tax rate was cut 0.10 cents, to 69.78 cents per $100 of taxable value. Other programs, some city jobs and certain employee health benefits were reduced. Voting no were Adam Bazaldua, Paula Blackmon, Bill Roth, Cara Mendelsohn and Paul Ridley.
The Dallas City Council votes Wednesday on a $5.7 billion proposed budget that cuts nearly 300 positions, reduces library hours, alters employee healthcare, and slightly lowers property taxes while preserving public safety funding. https://t.co/3XyQkVJENg
— FOX 4 NEWS (@FOX4) September 17, 2026
KERA News reports the adopted plan includes no funding for deferred maintenance at City Hall. Bazaldua, who opposed the budget, said the council “did not put a single dollar of deferred maintenance funding towards City Hall.”
Consultants earlier this year put the cost of repairing and modernizing the I.M. Pei building at $532 million to $611 million over the next decade, with no dedicated pay source identified.
NBC 5 says City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert framed the plan as continued support for police, fire and street repairs after months of work to close a shortfall. The station put the public-safety increase in the draft at about $80.2 million before final tweaks.
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