City staff recommends reprogramming $7.7 million in ARPA redevelopment funds for public safety hiring

City budget staff briefed the Dallas City Council on the financial status of federal grants, reviewed remaining American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) resources and recommended redirecting $7.7 million in ARPA redevelopment fund balances to support public safety hiring and retention.

Jeanette Wheaton, director of budget and management services, told council the city initially received $355,400,000 in state and local fiscal recovery funds (SLFRF) under ARPA and that staff have reprogrammed portions of the awards since 2021 to respond to emergent needs. Staff reported $27,500,000 of U.S. Treasury grant funds are currently encumbered but unspent and that the ARPA redevelopment fund established by reallocating local salary dollars has a total budget listed in staff materials at $186,500,000.

Wheaton said staff have reviewed slow-moving and partially completed projects and recommended a new spending framework focused on four categories: revenue stabilization, public-safety hiring and retention, infrastructure investment/facility maintenance, and unmet resident needs. As part of that framework staff proposed reallocating a set of residual balances, interest earnings and completed-project carryovers into a $7.7 million pool to support hiring and retention in the Dallas Police Department.

Jack Ireland, the city's chief financial officer, told council that some of the reprogramming would cover one-time equipment and vehicle needs tied to recruiting and onboarding additional officers; he said roughly $3 million of the proposal would be for vehicles and equipment, and the remainder would be directed to personnel costs.

Wheaton and staff did not present a final appropriation ordinance at the meeting; instead they said they would prepare a budget amendment and return to council in May for formal consideration. "Staff recommends reprogramming ARPA funds in the amount of $7,700,000 for public safety hiring and retention," Wheaton said, and added staff will prepare required budget documents for a May council action.

Councilmembers asked how the reprogramming would affect other community programs that had ARPA allocations, including mental health, family violence prevention, food insecurity efforts and other social services. Several councilmembers pressed staff to explain why multi-year ARPA projects remained partially unspent, to provide more granular status on each project in appendix materials and to ensure that reprogramming decisions do not leave critical social services underfunded. The city manager and budget staff told council they plan to continue monitoring ARPA balances and bring additional recommendations through the Government Performance and Financial Management committee.

The briefing also referenced the January White House Office of Management and Budget memorandum (later rescinded) that briefly paused certain federal awards; staff told council that agencies are still reviewing program priorities and that Dallas will continue to monitor potential impacts on active federal grants.

Staff said the proposed reprogramming is a recommendation; no final amendment was voted at the meeting and the budget amendment will be brought back for formal council action in May.