Dallas committee reviews upskilling pilot, security officer pay and career series

The Workforce Education and Equity Committee of the City of Dallas on March 4 heard a progress update on the city's upskilling pilot program, human resources merit processes, and staffing and compensation for Dallas City Marshal security and detention officers.

Committee members were told the city's merit program is governed by a city-manager recommendation and council approval, with an FY25 average merit pool of 3% and a performance rating scale that assigns typical merit increases ranging from 0% to 5% depending on rating. "It means you have done something and now you merit some reward," Human Resources Director Nina Arias said, describing the principle behind merit increases.

The presentation focused on pay-setting factors for security officers, which Arias said include experience (including outside experience), internal equity, performance and market benchmarks (ERI salary data). Arias said new hires sometimes enter above incumbents because…