A growing push for improved police pay and manpower is under way after the July 7 ambush that killed five police officers in Dallas.
"I think there's renewed commitment to making that happen," said Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings.
The push could be helped by the 10 percent increase in certified Dallas city and county tax values released Tuesday.
The increases put many taxpayers in line for higher tax bills depending on the rates local government leaders set in the next two months.
"I think it's great news that this city is growing," said Rawlings. "It says that we're doing something right. Now we have to keep doing those things right in the future."
Some elected leaders are pushing for rate cuts to offset rising values for taxpayers while other leaders want the extra tax money used to improve services.
"We've seen very clearly what police do for us, and it is definitely time to figure out what we do for police," said Dallas Councilman Phil Kingston. "I think that that translates politically into increasing rookie and young officer pay."
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Last week eight of the nine Fort Worth officers to graduate from a transferring officer class were former Dallas police officers.
"We do need more officers. We also have a lot of baby boomers who are retiring, so it's kind of a perfect storm," Councilman Erik Wilson said.
Police must compete with other Dallas citizen service demands including neglected streets, the No. 1 resident complaint, according to Dallas leaders.
"We've fallen behind on our street maintenance and unfortunately we have to pay the price for that," Wilson said.
The Dallas city manager is working on a budget plan to present for City Council debate next month. Several members have said they want tax rate reduction included.
"I think we're going to try to be as responsible as we can with the money that comes in," Kingston said.
Taxpayers and local government leaders across North Texas are facing the same debate over property value increases.
The overall certified tax value increase posted Tuesday for Collin County was 12.34 percent. Tarrant County reported a preliminary value increase of 19 percent earlier this year before appraisal protests were completed.
