Dallas Police Association opposes amendment that would require city to hire more police
Dallas Police Association opposes Amendment U
With early voting now underway, the Dallas Police Association took a stand on the controversial Dallas HERO amendments. Amendment U would require the city to hire hundreds of police officers, but the president of the Dallas Police Association says the requirement would put the city in a difficult situation.
DALLAS - With early voting now underway, the Dallas Police Association took a stand on the controversial Dallas HERO amendments.
Two of the charter amendments, S and T, would make it easier for Dallas residents to sue the city in some cases and give residents more leverage over the city manager's job, but it's the third proposition, Amendment U, that is getting the most attention.
Amendment U would require the city to hire hundreds of police officers, but the president of the Dallas Police Association says the requirement would put the city in a difficult situation.
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There are three controversial, voter-driven amendments on the November ballot that could have a big impact on the budget and public safety in Dallas. It will be up to Dallas voters to decide if they are beneficial or harmful.
"Today, I wanted to publicly ask Dallas voters to vote no on charter amendments S, T and U," said Jaime Castro, the Dallas Police Association President.
The proposal would make it the law for the police department to have three officers for every 1,000 citizens.
At its current population, that would mean Dallas would have to quickly hire 900 more officers.
Castro says rather than helping the department, it would tie their hands.
"The fact is, the Dallas Police Association was not even consulted about these," he said.
Castro says Amendment U would undermine their ability to negotiate salaries and benefits for tenured officers, while also creating a hoop too high to jump through.
"Budgeting for this level of hiring would not make the city safer, and it would spell doomsday for the city budget. Parks, streets, libraries and other city services improve our quality of life and contribute to a safer city," he argued.
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This weekend, a video advertisement paid for by Dallas United for Political Progress circulated by text message.
"Vote against MAGA Republican propositions "S, T, and U," says the ad.
Former Dallas city councilwoman Jennifer Staubach Gates, a Republican, also opposes the proposition.
"The unintended consequences of the budget services, unwinding the way that the police negotiate their contracts. Diminishing the role of the combined negotiation, power of the police and the firefighters together. It's going to be very detrimental to our city," said Gates.
She also argues that Amendment U leaves the fire department's budget out of the equation.
"When you have a public safety emergency, you rely on both the police and the fire to show up and solve that problem," Gates said.
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Dallas HERO says it is a bipartisan 501(c)(4).
It gathered 170,000 signatures of Dallas residents to put the three amendments on the November ballot.
"These are by the people, and these are to make Dallas a safer place and to give the Dallas Police department the resources it needs. We are the only solution in town. Nobody in City Council has offered anything to the Dallas Police Department," said Pete Marocco, the executive director of Dallas HERO.
Maracco disputes the claim in the ad that the amendments are bankrolled by "outside Republicans."
"I'm not aware of anybody that's donated to this that's outside of Dallas. It's just a ridiculous claim," said Marocco.
The goal for Amendment U, he says, is to bring the Dallas police force up to the level demanded by a growing population.
He cited public safety as a reason he moved from Dallas to University Park earlier this year.
"My family does not feel safe with the inadequate response that Dallas has, and so this is a very serious issue," said Marocco.
Early voting runs until Nov. 1.
Election Day is Nov. 5.