DALLAS — City of Dallas employees will be required to take several unpaid furlough days between now and September as the city addresses a financial shortfall.

Non-uniform employees funded by the city’s general fund will be required to participate in the furlough by working three days without pay, according to a June 30 news release from the city. The days will be recorded as leave without pay, and employees won’t be able to use sick leave, vacation or comp time.

General fund and internal service fund non-uniform executives at or above the assistant director level will be required to take an additional two floating furlough days before Sept. 16.

In a statement, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said the city’s revenue this year hasn’t “met projections, resulting in a tighter than anticipated budget.” Johnson went on to say he has “fought for the City to significantly reduce its spending” since becoming mayor “with little support from the City Council.”

According to the city’s release, budget reduction strategies — including a selective hiring freeze, eliminating overtime and suspending non-essential travel — were implemented in April. Despite this, the city says general fund expenses continue to outpace revenue.

Councilmember Adam Bazaldua said in a statement it was “incredibly disappointing” to find out about the furloughs “via correspondence intended for the media, instead of a one-to-one conversations, so that council feedback could be factored into this decision.” He went on to say he doesn’t support the furloughs as a sustainable cost-saving method.

Employees exempt from the mandatory furloughs include police officers, firefighters, paramedics, 911 employees and enterprise fund departments including Dallas Water Utilities, aviation, convention and event services and sanitation.

“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 the news 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.”