Ken Paxton sues Dallas officials for lack of police department funding

DALLAS - As he runs for a U.S. Senate seat, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the City of Dallas for a lack of funding for its police department.

Paxton sues Dallas

What we know:

Paxton announced the lawsuit Friday, claiming that Dallas officials are unlawfully refusing to comply with safety measures in Proposition U.

The lawsuit names Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland Jr. as defendants acting beyond their legal authority.

WASHINGTON, DC - ARPIL 26: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks to reporters after the Supreme Court oral arguments in the Biden v. Texas case at the Supreme Court on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, April 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Sarah Silb

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In a press release, Paxton said Ireland Jr. and the city under-calculated the amount of excess money Dallas had in its current budget to put toward safety measures in Proposition U. The release said the additional revenue should be $220 million, but the city only reported revenues of $61 million.

The lawsuit also states Dallas failed to hire an independent third-party firm to conduct a police compensation survey.

The suit demands that the city properly allocates those excess revenues towards police pensions, officer pay, and increasing the number of officers in the department.

Paxton announced the lawsuit in the middle of his race to replace sitting U.S. Senator John Cornyn. The Republican primary for that Senate seat is scheduled to be held March 3.

The other side:

Dallas city leaders have taken steps to comply with Proposition U. In December 2025, Dallas city council approved a 30-year, $11 billion dollar pension funding plan for the police department.

What is Proposition U?

Dig deeper:

Proposition U was approved with just over 50% of the vote. It focuses on public safety, requiring 50% of all new city revenue to go to police and fire pensions and a minimum of 4,000 police officers, which was 900 more officers than the force had in 2024.

"The city has been saying they will get from 3,100 officers to 4,000 for years and years, and they never make any progress," Morty Bennett, the CEO and chairman of the Ashford Group and Companies and a key driver in the push to pass the proposition, said in 2024. "They blame that they can't recruit. They can't recruit because they don't pay enough. It is so simple."

The amendment was backed by Morty Bennett and the HERO Group, which received 170,00 signatures to launch the proposition.

What they're saying:

"I filed this lawsuit to ensure that the City of Dallas fully funds law enforcement, upholds public safety, and is accountable to its constituents," Paxton said in a press release. "When voters demand more funding for law enforcement, local officials must immediately comply. As members of law enforcement across the country increasingly face attacks from the radical Left, it’s crucial that we fully fund the brave men and women in law enforcement defending law and order in our communities. This lawsuit aims to do just that by ensuring Dallas follows its own charter and gives police officers the support they need to protect the public."

A spokesperson for the City of Dallas declined to comment. The HERO Group endorsed Paxton's lawsuit.

"It has been clearly established that the City of Dallas is failing to comply with the city charter and the clear directive from voters in the 2024 election. This defiance has gone on far too long, and we're glad to see Attorney General Ken Paxton's actions holding the city accountable for unlawfully ignoring its own residents," the HERO Group's statement read.

Local police salary numbers

By the numbers:

Dallas police officers are not among the top 10 highest paid officers in North Texas, according to dfwpolicesalaries.com.

The website states Dallas police officers start at an annual salary of $75,397, and can max out at $98,377 annually after nine years of service.

Those numbers lag behind other local departments, like the Plano Police Department, which has an annual starting salary of $90,729 and tops out at $114,592 after five years, according to the site.

The Allen, Frisco, Carrollton, and Irving police departments also rank in the top five for highest paying PDs in North Texas. All are ahead of Dallas PD's rates.