Dallas implements hiring freeze, spending reductions amid budget shortfall

Dallas blames police overtime pay for budget shortfall

The City of Dallas is facing a large budget shortfall, and they're placing much of the blame on overtime pay for police and fire. FOX 4's David Sentendrey spoke with the president of the Dallas Police Association on why he pushes back against those claims as the force gets ready to deal with an influx of travelers this summer due to the World Cup.

DALLAS - Dallas has implemented several cost-conscious actions as it faces a large budget crisis, one which it blames partially on police and fire overtime pay.

Dallas hiring freeze, spending restrictions

The City of Dallas says 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.

To remedy the situation, the city plans to freeze new hiring with an exception for uniformed police and fire personnel. It also plans to restrict overtime and reduce non-critical spending and travel. The changes are prompting the Dallas Police Association to release a public response.

Dallas Police Association weighs in

Sgt. Sean Pease, president of the Dallas Police Association, says the most shocking thing for them is the timing. He told FOX 4 that the union is in the middle of negotiating police pay, benefits and time off as part of its contract, which is set to expire this fall. His worry, though, is that the city will refuse due to these budget shortfalls.

The city is already under a voter-approved mandate to aggressively fund police and fire. It must increase the force to 4,000 employees, and it must use half of the revenue it gets in sales taxes to fund police and fire pensions. Still, the police union worries the hiring and overtime freeze may still have some effect on public safety.

What they're saying:

"The way that it’s worded… it would affect crime scenes, it would affect our communications division, 911 call takers, dispatchers," Pease said.

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One confusing portion of the city’s news release, issued Friday afternoon, said, "Discretionary uniform overtime is suspended." When asked how that would be defined, Pease said he had just gotten off the phone with an officer who had the same question, and he was unable to give him an answer.

The city’s communications team chose not to make city manager Kim Tolbert available for an interview Friday, but in a statement, Tolbert said:

"These measures are necessary to maintain essential services and uphold our fiscal responsibility to Dallas residents."

World Cup on the horizon

The city’s financial woes and cutbacks come as millions of people from around the world will soon be in North Texas for the World Cup. A celebration — but one presenting a growing list of security challenges for law enforcement agencies. 

What they're saying:

"And we’re very excited about the world’s biggest sporting event coming to Dallas, but Dallas did that for a reason, and there’s going to be money made off of this," Pease said.

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Dig deeper:

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. 

The city also said there was a $14 million shortfall in its self-funded employee health benefit fund. For that, it blames increased medical and pharmacy claims.