DALLAS — In a 10-5 vote, Dallas City Council passed a $4.6 billion budget Wednesday.
Budget talks took up most of the meeting and day. The new budget proposal from Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax includes a smaller property tax rate reduction.
Several amendments were attempted by councilmembers. Wednesday's longest amendment discussion circled around the Majestic Theatre in downtown. The theatre is still used regularly.
A 43-year-old elevator inside, added in a 1980 renovation, needs repairs. Additionally, the 4th and 5th floor space used by the Dallas Office of Arts and Culture has 30 employees, despite only having space for 19. Narrow restrooms, with stairs, are also not accessible to disabled workers.
An amendment made to block $190,000 in the $4.6 billion budget for the Office of Arts and Culture office improvement was ultimately rejected.
Before the final budget vote, some councilmembers argued the city should be doing more to bring property tax relief.
After a $1 billion increase in the city's budget in four years, councilmember Cara Mendelsohn said the city needs to change its spending as higher interest rates continue to be a problem.
Concerns over higher costs related to the police and fire pension came up, as well.
Councilman Tennell Atkins said without pension, we “don’t have a safe city.”
Other councilmembers supported the budget’s one cent tax reduction. Councilmember Adam Bazaldua called it significant. Councilmember Jayne Schultz and other supporters said the city could only cut so much.
Mayor Johnson took the side of prioritizing tax relief.
In a speech prior to the vote, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson noted that the people who want relief are the most economically challenged – calling it “fact.”
In a statement shared after city council adjourned for the day, Mayor Johnson said:
"In an environment of such economic uncertainty for our residents and businesses, with inflation and interest rates being where they are, I simply could not vote for a budget that is the largest in the history of the city and that is paid for by raising taxes on our residents and businesses. It is simply not the case that we could not have significantly reduced the size of this budget and cut taxes without drastically cutting essential services. Furthermore, it is preposterous to suggest that our city government could not, by being more efficient, deliver essential services next year using the same amount of tax revenue collected from Dallas residents and businesses just a year ago."