DALLAS — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the City of Dallas for allegedly “refusing to comply with Proposition U,” a local amendment which voters approved during the November 2024 election.

Proposition U amended the city charter to require at least 50% of new revenue each year to go toward the Dallas Police and Fire Pension. It also required the city to maintain a police force of at least 4,000 officers and raise the starting salaries of those officers.

Paxton claims that city officials “failed to properly calculate and allocate excess city revenue” and that it is “underfunding” the Dallas Police Department. He also alleges that city officials failed to hire an independent third-party firm to conduct an annual police compensation survey.

The lawsuit names the City of Dallas, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland Jr.

Paxton claims that the city’s excess revenue for fiscal year 2025-26 is approximately $220 million, but he said Ireland Jr. reported an excess revenue of only $61 million to the Dallas City Council.

Spectrum News reached out to the Dallas City Attorney’s Office for comment but has not heard back.

“I filed this lawsuit to ensure that the City of Dallas fully funds law enforcement, upholds public safety, and is accountable to its constituents,” said Paxton in a news release. “When voters demand more funding for law enforcement, local officials must immediately comply.”

Proposition U narrowly passed with just over 50% of the vote. The group that put the proposition on the ballot, Dallas HERO, has threatened legal action against the city for not meeting the 4,000 police officer minimum last year.

The Dallas City Council approved its $5.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-26 back in September. One goal highlighted in the budget was to hire 350 police recruits and end the fiscal year with 3,424 officers, the highest number since 2016. A city council member told Spectrum News back in July that DPD was at its highest level since 2018 with more than 3,200 officers.

According to the city at the time of the budget’s passage, the combined Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire-Rescue budget increased by $63.1 million.