Dallas County EMA warns property-tax cap could force program cuts

The Dallas County Emergency Management Commission on May 21 heard from Director Austen Seely about the financial squeeze the agency may face under recently amended property-tax law.

Seely told commissioners that under the new rule, levies dedicated to Emergency Management operations may not exceed 103% of the prior fiscal year’s levy. He said the commission’s FY27 taxation revenue is projected at approximately $453,000 and that the decision to use roughly $46,000 from the fund balance this year to keep the levy flat effectively lowers the baseline for future automatic growth. Based on the 103% cap, Seely estimated the FY28 maximum levy at about $466,590 and projected a potential gap of roughly $55,000 when combined with anticipated FY28 grant revenue of about $41,000.

The commission discussed possible responses but took no formal action. Options mentioned included seeking legal clarification on the statute, pursuing legislative fixes, reallocating or offloading certain program responsibilities to other entities, or pursuing shared services with neighboring counties. Commissioners noted that personnel and benefits increases alone could consume most or all of the allowed annual growth and that changes such as employee health insurance elections could independently exceed the cap.

Seely also warned that grant-funded programs could be at risk if local cost-share requirements cannot be met; in that case the commission might need to decline some grant opportunities. Members expressed concern about preserving established program capabilities but did not vote on any of the options. EMA staff and the Executive Committee will continue evaluating legal, financial, legislative, and operational options and may convene additional meetings as needed.

Next steps: Staff will return with further analysis and options; no implementation decisions were made at the May 21 meeting.