{"id":215251,"date":"2026-03-22T09:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T09:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/215251\/"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T09:03:14","slug":"is-dallas-prepared-to-make-tough-budget-choices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/215251\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Dallas prepared to make tough budget choices?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three years ago, we warned that the lean years were coming for Dallas City Hall. Well, it\u2019s 2026, and it\u2019s getting worse. <\/p>\n

Dallas has collected less sales tax revenue than expected so far this fiscal year. Rising pension obligations will make up a good chunk of the budget. Now, a looming lawsuit could force the city to further increase public safety<\/a> spending and cut back on other basics. <\/p>\n

On top of it all, the state Legislature is poised to restrict local taxation and spending<\/a> even more. <\/p>\n

Dallas City Council members need to be prepared for hard choices during the budget cycle this year. When the time comes to trim back services, there will be abundant pushback from some residents. Council members must think about the long-term fiscal health of Dallas.<\/p>\n

Opinion<\/p>\n

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Our elected city leaders will have to work hard to educate their constituents about the situation Dallas is facing. <\/p>\n

Dallas\u2019 sales tax collection grew by 2.2% over the last 12 months. But it didn\u2019t increase as much as the city expected it to during the first four months of this fiscal year, and receipts have come in $5 million below what was budgeted. <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s property tax plan for the coming legislative session includes imposing municipal spending limits, requiring two-thirds voter approval for tax increases and capping appraisal growth. All of those measures would make it harder than it already is for cities to cover their expenses. <\/p>\n

All this at a time when the city is planning to spend an eye-watering $225.7 million<\/a> to shore up the police and fire pension system. <\/p>\n

Look no farther than our neighbor to the west to see what could be in store for Dallas. The city of Fort Worth is staring down a projected budget shortfall and has enacted a hiring freeze<\/a>, according to the Fort Worth Report. Dallas shouldn\u2019t be surprised to find itself in a similar position in the near future. <\/p>\n

The debate surrounding Dallas\u2019 library system highlights how difficult this is going to be. A recent survey <\/a>indicates that most people prefer increasing funds to libraries instead of closing branches, our newsroom reported. About 4,000 Dallas residents responded to the survey. Closing four branch libraries would free up about $2.6 million in operations dollars. <\/p>\n

People are attached to their libraries for good reason. But to keep the system intact means that tradeoffs will have to be made elsewhere in the budget. What constituencies will be impacted then? <\/p>\n

The city is going to have to find spending cuts one way or the other, and it\u2019s not likely residents will be pleased about them. Upcoming town hall meetings<\/a> can help gather feedback and educate residents about the challenges ahead. <\/p>\n

Dallas is facing serious financial headwinds. Developing a strong budget is going to take discipline and backbone. The more City Council members kick cans and cave to pressure, the harder things will get in the future.<\/p>\n

We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Three years ago, we warned that the lean years were coming for Dallas City Hall. Well, it\u2019s 2026,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[9602,102,105,104,103,112],"class_list":["post-215251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-columnists-opinions","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-city-council","tag-dallas-headlines","tag-dallas-news","tag-editorials"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}