Dallas employees to take mandatory furlough days amid financial shortfall

DALLAS - City of Dallas employees will be required to take mandatory furlough days as the city tries to balance its budget.

What we know:

The mandatory furlough days affect employees paid by the city's General Fund. Employees will be required to take the furlough days on July 10, Sept. 4 and Sept. 28.

For an employee making about $66,000 a year, those three days will add up to more than $760 in lost pay.

Employees will not be able to take vacation, sick leave, or comp time on those dates.

Two floating furlough days will also be required by General Fund employees and Internal Service Fund employees at or above the Assistant Director level before Sept. 16.

Several groups of Dallas employees are exempt from the furlough days, such as firefighters, police officers, sanitation workers and 911 employees.

What they're saying:

Dallas officials said in a statement that, despite previous measures, the city's General Fund expenses continue to outpace revenue, which prompted the furlough days.

"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," said Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert in a statement. "These steps are necessary to navigate the current financial challenges and to position the City responsibly for the upcoming FY27 and FY28 biennial budget."

"Dallas deserves a city government that delivers core services effectively, efficiently, and affordably. The City cannot do everything, and we must prioritize spending that has the most meaningful impact," Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement. "Our partners in government and the private and not-for-profit sectors must also bear more of the burden that currently falls on Dallas taxpayers alone."

The other side:

Some Dallas City Council members said they were blindsided with the city manager's decision to mandate unpaid furloughs for the city's civilian employees. They said if they had been consulted, they would have had other ideas for ways to bridge the budget gap.

Councilman Adam Bazaldua believes the furloughs are the result of mismanagement.

"If this was absolutely needed, then why wasn't this the focus over the past several months when we've been having special called meetings, meeting after meeting," he said.

And Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn said the city's problem is too much spending, not too little revenue.

"The revenue has increased dramatically in the years I've been on council," she said. "We're spending $6,300,000 on a tree inventory. I mean, I don't even know how you explain that. So there's spending all through City Hall that should drastically be reduced."

Bazaldua and Mendelsohn both said one of the many budget-saving options is ending the search for a new Dallas City Hall building. Council members recently authorized the city manager to spend up to $3 million to study options for a new building and another property for a 911 call center. That is close to the amount being saved through the furloughs.

The backstory:

In April, the City of Dallas announced it is facing a shortfall in its General Fund for the 2025-26 fiscal year, with expenses expected to exceed the budget by $16.4 million.

The city blamed the shortfall primarily on police and fire overtime pay, as well as declining sales tax collections and increased medical claims bringing the Employee Health Benefit Fund $13.8 million over budget.

While the city primarily blames police and fire pay and overtime, it also says about 20 percent of the problem is due to declining sales tax collections. 

To remedy the situation, the city froze new hires, with an exception for uniformed police and fire personnel. It also restricted overtime and reduced non-critical spending and travel.

What's next:

The city council will begin the next round of budget discussions in August.

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