Dallas City Hall to Police, Fire Associations: Let's Talk About Pay

Dallas city officials want to quickly get pay and benefit negotiations underway with police officers and firefighters in hopes of getting a deal done by the end of the year -- significantly earlier than the down-to-the-wire talks fewer than two years ago.The current agreement -- commonly known as meet-and-confer -- began in October 2016 and doesn't expire until Sept. 30, 2019, which is the end of the next fiscal year. The agreement has major ramifications; the police and fire departments make up the majority of the city's $1.3 billion general fund budget.Assistant City Manager Jon Fortune, who joined the city last year, said Monday he has not set a schedule for talks yet, but he has told some associations he doesn't want to wait."The experience I've had has always been rushed up against that deadline at the end of the year, and then there is always the challenge then of, 'How do you make sure you pay for what you agree to?'" Fortune said. "So I want to be in a better position."  Continue reading...