Dallas implements hiring freeze, overtime restrictions to help with budget woes
By Briauna Brown
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DALLAS (KTVT) — The city of Dallas said Friday it is instituting a hiring freeze and overtime restrictions for the police and fire departments in order ease a budget shortfall.
The city said current data shows its expenses will exceed the budget by $16.4 million due to police and fire pay and overtime, as well as declining sales tax collections leading to reduced revenue. Officials said the city’s self-funded employee health benefit fund is also projected to exceed budget by $13.8 million due to an increase in medical and pharmacy claims.
To address these issues, the city is implementing the following actions immediately: a selective hiring freeze for non-uniformed positions, overtime restrictions, spending reductions and travel suspensions.
Non-essential spending will also be eliminated, which includes items that can be postponed without affecting the core operations of the department.
“As we navigate resource constraints, fiscal stewardship remains our top priority. We are committed to strengthening efficiency across all operations while ensuring that limited resources are focused on the City’s most critical needs,” Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in a statement. “These measures are necessary to maintain essential services and uphold our fiscal responsibility to Dallas residents.”
The city said it will monitor how these cost-saving measures help and will discuss whether more changes need to be made in the future.
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