Budget committee recommends 2025–26 city budget, approves cuts and a potential $17.2 million police bond for council consideration

The City of Dallas Budget Committee voted to recommend the City Council adopt the 2025–26 city budget as presented and amended, approving staff proposals that include a shift to a two‑year budgeting approach (for Urban Renewal as a test case), personnel changes, targeted cuts and several motions to add or remove specific capital and grant items.

Brian, a city budget staff member, opened the substantive presentation and described “some significant changes,” including that staff propose a two‑year budget cycle for the Urban Renewal budget that will serve as a test before moving the full city budget to a biennial process. In the citywide budget message he said the general fund is “feeling a squeeze,” highlighted rising personnel‑related costs such as health‑care increases and fully staffed public‑safety departments, and identified precision cuts and reassignments to present a balanced budget.

Key operational changes approved or discussed by the committee include:

- Personnel and reorganization: Public Works will eliminate several supervisor‑level positions and create an assistant public works director, a civil engineer, a support services supervisor and an administrative assistant shared across divisions. One planned Planner I position will not be filled and the administrative services manager is expected to be reassigned; the deputy chief position in Fire will be delayed and reclassified as a lieutenant, producing roughly $35,000 in savings by delaying the start date.

- Fire and EMS: The budget carries a higher overtime projection to cover mutual‑aid deployments and backfill; staff said overtime and professional‑services costs are driven by call volumes. The department is launching a multi‑year, tiered medical‑physical program for paid and volunteer firefighters for which volunteers will be asked to contribute directly. Staff also discussed ongoing turnout‑gear replacement and longer‑term equipment needs.

- Parks and events: The committee approved moving $12,000 out of the operating budget by not funding a Veterans Day fireworks display this year. Staff said the council’s Buildings and Grounds Committee will consider alternative veteran recognition options.

- Capital projects and fee changes: The packet includes multiple capital items and a proposed $17.2 million general obligation bond for a new police station that would appear on next week’s ballot; staff said that bond would be added to the budget only if voters approve it. The budget includes a $1.1 million share for a new Public Works building and multiple water, sewer and stormwater projects (examples: Clay Street waterline rehabilitation and Mercer Reservoir/raw water expansion work). The committee discussed EV charging stations that staff had placed in the capital improvement plan; Councilor Schilling moved to remove the EV charging stations project from the CIP and to reduce facility maintenance capital from $90,000 to $35,000 (removing a $55,000 line item). The motion passed after committee discussion that fees and contract revenue for chargers should pay operating and maintenance costs rather than the general fund.

- Grants and placeholder lines: The committee approved adding placeholder revenue and expenditure lines to accept an Office of Emergency Management award (OEM) and an Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO) grant (each entered as $5,000 placeholders to be adjusted when contracts are finalized). A separate Safe Routes to School ODOT grant and other project grants were discussed in the grant fund review.

- Fees and taxes: Staff reminded the committee the City has a public safety fee that increased gradually; this year the proposal included only a 33¢ CPI‑based increase tied to the fee resolution. The committee also moved to recommend the City Council adopt the permanent tax rate and approved recommending that the City levy the permanent rate of $4.1954 per $1,000 of assessed value; the rate was recommended so the city can collect property taxes consistent with prior authorization.

Committee members asked numerous detailed questions about contingency levels, the status of specific capital projects (Lone Oak Park, John Barnard Park, signal projects), the EV charging contract with EV Connect and the Pacific Power Foundation grant origins, health‑care plan options and the structure for evidence control and Police Department technology spending (car and body cameras). Staff noted several packet corrections made during the meeting (adjustments to three transfer lines and a $620,000→$62,000 correction to sewer debt principal). After a final roll call and motions to include the grant placeholders and remove the EV chargers from the CIP, the committee voted to recommend the 2025–26 budget to the City Council and to adopt the stated tax rate for collection.

The Budget Committee’s recommendation will go to the City Council for final adoption; some items (notably the police station bond) depend on a voter decision and will be removed from the adopted budget if the bond fails.