Dallas leaders have planned a retreat this week to tackle huge challenges that demand immediate solutions with nowhere near enough money to pay for them.
“They’re solvable over time if we all get together,” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said.
The list includes public safety salaries, a broken public safety pension system, broken Dallas streets and plans for a possible 2017 capital improvement bond referendum where voters could be asked to borrow money for solutions.
The city’s borrowing capacity is estimated at about $1 billion, but the list of capital improvement needs could be $13 billion. Street and transportation needs alone are an estimated $990 million. Other proposals for bond funding include Dallas Convention Center expansion and Fair Park building renovation.
“We’re an aging city,” said Councilman Lee Kleinman. “We’re the oldest city in this area, the largest, with aging infrastructure.”
Dallas Police Chief David Brown is pushing for public safety pay raises to keep officers from leaving for the suburbs. And the police and fire pension system could be billions of dollars short to meet future obligations. Taxpayers could be asked to approve bond money to help craft a pension bail out.
“We’re hoping through change in the benefit structure and possibly the contribution structure we can avoid that because I don’t think it would be very palatable to the taxpayers,” said Kleinman, a recently appointed pension board member.
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New board members blame the fund shortage on risky past investments in luxury real estate and bad management by past leaders of the police and firefighter pension plan.
“I want them to feel secure in their job and their long term retirement and that’s why we’re taking this on seriously,” Rawlings said.
Kleinman led an unsuccessful drive last year to reduce the Dallas property tax rate. He’s pushing for it again this year and also pushing to reduce borrowing and switch more city capital spending to ‘pay as you go’ to reduce interest expense.
Rawlings agreed paying less interest would be good, but he said borrowing for fast improvements can earn the city more revenue in the long run if the capital improvements attract private development that would not happen otherwise.
Rawlings said the retreat will focus on providing direction to city staff.
“This is what government should be doing in Washington and Austin, but it’s going to work here in Dallas because we’re going to put those issues on the table and hopefully find some solutions,” Rawlings said.
The retreat is Tuesday and Wednesday at The Flight Deck Conference Center in the Dallas Love Field terminal.
