DALLAS — On July 10, thousands of the city’s 13,000 employees will be furloughed. The reason behind this is to help the city make up for a more than $30 million budget shortfall.
The other two furlough days will be Sept. 4 and Sept. 28. In addition to the three mandatory furlough days listed, all General Fund and Internal Service Fund non-uniform executives at or above the assistant director level are required to take an additional two floating furlough days prior to Sept. 16, according to a press release from the City of Dallas. Police officers, firefighters, paramedics and 911 employees are exempt from the furloughs.
Services and facilities to be closed due to furlough:
City Hall
Code Compliance
Dallas Water Utilities Lobby at City Hall
Dallas Public Libraries
Parks & Cultural Admin Offices
Cultural Centers
“Furloughs are not our preferred solution; however, they enable us to reduce expenses, protect jobs and employee health benefits, and continue delivering services to our residents,” Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in a press release. “These steps are necessary to navigate the current financial challenges and to position the City responsibly for the upcoming FY27 and FY28 biennial budget.”
According to the City of Dallas, the city implemented several General Fund budget reduction strategies in April to help manage growing financial pressures. Those actions included a selective hiring freeze of all non-uniform hiring in General Fund departments; non-uniform overtime is eliminated except for mission-critical needs, and non-essential travel is suspended.
The city said despite the cost-saving actions taken, General Fund expenses continue to outpace revenue, prompting the announcement regarding furlough days to help ensure financial balance.
Looking ahead, with upcoming planned expenses, the City of Dallas will be in the next year’s budget $50 million dollars short in the fiscal year that starts in October.