DALLAS — Dallas city leaders warned of "crippling" budget impacts if voters approve a November ballot measure that would require the city to hire an additional 900 police officers and maintain a minimum of four thousand officers on the force.
The measure is part of a packet of three proposed amendments to the city's charter brought by a group called the Dallas HERO project. The city secretary said supporters collected the requisite number of signatures, and the measure will appear on the ballot this November.
If voters pass the measure, the city estimates it will require a roughly $175 million infusion into the police department budget to pay salaries, pension obligations and equipment costs -- money that would be taken from other city departments.
"You would be looking at drastic, very extreme cuts that we would have to make across the board," said Interim City Manager Kimberly B. Tolbert.
Supporters of the measure said it is necessary to keep Dallas residents safe and force city leaders to focus on policing.
"We simply want a bare minimum of three police officers for every thousand citizens," said Pete Marocco, the executive director of Dallas HERO. "Meanwhile our city descends to anarchy."
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia said crime stats show violent crime including murders and robberies are decreasing, even with fewer officers on the force than he would like.
Garcia said he hopes to increase the number of DPD officers from roughly 3,100 to 3,600, starting by recruiting 250 more officers this year. However, the pool of qualified applicants is increasingly competitive.
"900 is nearly impossible to do in a year," he said. "It would be incredibly difficult. It would be a burden on the department, quite frankly, with regards to funding for other things."
In addition to mandating the hiring of new officers, the HERO initiatives would allow citizens to sue if charter amendments are not implemented and peg the city manager's employment to the results of a community survey -- which councilmembers warned could scare away potential applicants for the open job.
"I will tell you right now on record I think you should vote no," Councilmember Adam Bazaldua said.
Marocco said the measures are designed to hold city executives accountable. "We want a city government where good performance is rewarded and failed leadership is replaced," he told councilmembers.
Chief opposes marijuana initiative
In addition to the three Dallas HERO initiatives, a group called Ground Game Texas collected enough signatures to put a measure on the ballot restricting Dallas Police from citing or arresting people for possession of less than four ounces of marijuana.
A change to Dallas Police cannabis enforcement in 2021 reduced the circumstances under which police officers would charge people for possession of less than 2 ounces of the drug -- but Garcia said data shows higher quantities lead to illegal sales and violent crime associated with them.
"The only individuals that are prospering from this are going to be our drug dealers and drug houses," Chief Garcia said. "This is not good for the city of Dallas right now."
The executive director of Ground Game Texas argues the policing money spent arresting people for marijuana offenses would be better spent on other measures.
"I just think that it's a little bit wrong to think that you still want to arrest people on this when there are still other serious crimes your department can be focusing on," Catina Voellinger told WFAA last month.
She called the chief's opposition to the measure "sad."