Dallas HERO asserts that the recently accepted budget infringes upon the city charter's police salary specifications.
Dallas City Council Approves Budget with Controversial Police and Fire Salaries
The Dallas City Council has passed the fiscal year 2025-26 budget early Thursday morning, but not without controversy surrounding the proposed salaries for police and fire department recruits.
The new starting salary for recruits, set at $81,232, places Dallas 12th out of 24 peer cities in North Texas in terms of salary. However, when combined with non-pension benefits, Dallas ranks third. The combination of the proposed base salary and non-pension related benefits could potentially raise the starting salary to $91,912.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn raised concerns about the proposed starting pay for police officers not meeting the intent of Proposition U, which was passed by Dallas voters last November. Proposition U mandates that the city increase the number of sworn police officers to a minimum of 4,000 and requires the city to spend no less than 50% of new, annual revenue to fund the police and fire pension.
Mendelsohn proposed an amendment to reallocate funds to increase police and fire pay, but it did not move forward with the final budget. She voted against the budget as a result of her opposition to Prop U.
Earlier this year, Dallas HERO put city leaders on notice, warning them to comply with Prop U's mandate to hire hundreds more police officers or possibly face litigation. Dallas HERO, an organization advocating for public safety in the city, started last year to push for an increased police force and pay, and collected enough signatures to include Propositions S, T, and U on last November's ballot despite city council's opposition.
City staff have been reluctant to discuss police and fire pay because the city is under meet and confer with the employee groups. The identity of the organization that announced holding Dallas City Council members accountable for violating Proposition U regarding the police budget remains unclear.
Monty Bennett, a North Texas based hotelier, has been associated with Dallas HERO. Bennett has donated to GOP initiatives in the past.
The current starting salary for police department recruits is $75,397. Not every officer would be eligible for every non-pension related benefit to reach the maximum potential starting salary.
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