Mayor Eric Johnson praises new city budget that prioritizes public safety, historic tax relief

“No budget is perfect. But this is the best one I have seen in my time as mayor, and it is clear that our city government is moving in the right direction.”

DALLAS — Mayor Eric Johnson praised the new city budget approved unanimously Wednesday by the City Council.

The 15–0 vote on the Fiscal Year 2022–23 annual budget was the first unanimous vote on the budget since 2019 — Mayor Johnson’s first year in office.

Mayor Johnson has only voted against one city budget: Fiscal Year 2020–21. That year, the mayor cited public safety cutbacks, a lack of tax relief, and insufficient infrastructure spending as reasons for not backing the budget.

This year, Mayor Johnson expressed strong support for the budget, which was initially proposed by City Manager T.C. Broadnax and then amended by the mayor and his City Council colleagues.

Mayor Johnson also noted that the finalized budget addresses his top budget priorities, which he outlined in the summer in a memo to Broadnax.

“No budget is perfect. But this is the best one I have seen in my time as mayor, and it is clear that our city government is moving in the right direction,” Mayor Johnson said. “This budget puts public safety first, prioritizes tax relief, invests in our families and neighborhoods, and strengthens our city staff’s ability to respond to homelessness, code issues, and corruption.”

“Our city has an incredibly bright future. And together, we are addressing long-standing issues while building a city government that is as strong as the people of Dallas.”

The Fiscal Year 2022–23 budget includes:

• A 2.75-cent tax-rate reduction — the largest tax-rate reduction in modern Dallas history.
• An increase in the age-65 or older and disabled homestead exemption from $107,000 to $115,500.
• A plan to hire 250 police officers during the upcoming fiscal year.
• Market-based salary increases for police and firefighters and a retention bonus program.
• A new night-detail unit to work in the city’s entertainment districts during peak hours.
• Increases in training instructors and hiring for Dallas Fire-Rescue.
• The purchases of an additional ambulance and a fire engine in addition to replacement vehicles.
• $1.75 million to address the highest-priority Dallas Fire-Rescue facility repairs, which was added in an amendment proposed by the mayor.
• A new $3 million master leasing program to rapidly rehouse people experiencing homelessness, which was added in an amendment proposed by the mayor.
• A new $1 million capacity grant program for homelessness continuum-of-care organizations.
• Additional Code Compliance officers to inspect multi-family properties and deal with illegal dumping.
• A $157 million plan to maintain street infrastructure.
• Full staffing support for the new Office of Inspector General, which will monitor, investigate, and prosecute ethics complaints and corruption cases.
• An increase in the minimum wage for city employees to $18 an hour.
• An expansion of hours of operation for libraries across the city.

The mayor also supported an effort to cut the tax rate further, but the amendment failed to garner majority support from the Dallas City Council.

The next fiscal year begins Saturday, Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30, 2023.