City finance and management officials told the Public Safety Committee on Jan. 14 that the fiscal‑year 2025 budget increase for police and fire, plus a larger contribution to the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System, align with the funding priorities voters approved in November as Proposition U.

Jack Ireland, the city’s chief financial officer, told the committee the Dallas Police Department’s FY25 budget increased by $62.2 million year‑over‑year and the Dallas Fire‑Rescue budget increased by $16.4 million. The city’s contribution to the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System rose from about $184 million in FY24 to roughly $202 million in FY25, an increase of just over $18 million, Ireland said.

The meet‑and‑confer pay adjustment: City staff reminded the committee that the city’s existing meet‑and‑confer agreement requires an annual market study using a peer set of 17 cities; the FY25 market‑based pay adjustment for uniformed police and fire personnel was 7.23% based on that survey. Staff noted the peer set used for the meet‑and‑confer survey is not the same as the five‑county metroplex referenced in Proposition U; meet‑and‑confer includes several peer cities outside the metroplex such as Austin and Houston.

Proposition U obligations and staffing: City management said the first funding requirement in Proposition U is pension funding and that FY25’s budget and pension contribution satisfy the proposition’s immediate requirements. Officials said pension payments left no additional unrestricted dollars in the FY25 budget to immediately fund a rapid increase to reach a baseline staffing level mentioned in public discussion. City management said conversations continue about hiring goals; the city manager has told police leadership to pursue hires where possible and the city will work to fund additional officers if hires can be onboarded.

Council follow‑up: Committee members signaled continued attention to staffing goals. The chair noted a forthcoming committee resolution to increase the recruiting goal from 250 officers to 400 and said the committee will bring that recommendation to the full council.

Ending: City staff concluded that the FY25 budget and pension funding align with the commitments described in Proposition U as interpreted by the administration, and council members said they will continue to press for higher hiring targets and follow up on meet‑and‑confer and compensation comparisons.