The City of Dallas is implementing immediate cost containment measures in response to a projected General Fund shortfall for FY 2025–26. Current forecasts show expenses exceeding budget by $16.4 million primarily due to Police and Fire pay and overtime—and revenues falling $3.8 million below budget primarily due to declining sales tax collections. The City’s self-funded Employee Health Benefit Fund is also projected to exceed budget by $13.8 million due to increased medical and pharmacy claims.
To address these financial challenges, the City is enacting the following actions effective immediately:
- Selective Hiring Freeze: All non-uniform hiring in General Fund departments is suspended through the end of the fiscal year. Limited exceptions will be considered for mission-critical positions.
- Overtime Restrictions: Non-uniform overtime is eliminated except for mission-critical needs. Discretionary uniform overtime is suspended.
- Spending Reductions: Departments must limit expenditures to essential, mission-critical needs and delay non-essential purchases.
- Travel Suspension: All non-essential travel for both uniform and non-uniform employees is paused until further notice.
Non-essential spending includes items that can be postponed without affecting core operations, legal compliance, public health or safety, or delivery of critical services.
Mission critical activities are those that cannot be interrupted, delayed, or eliminated without significant negative impact, including major operational disruptions, inability to meet legal requirements, risks to public health or safety, or failure to deliver key services.
“As we navigate resource constraints, fiscal stewardship remains our top priority. We are committed to strengthening efficiency across all operations while ensuring that limited resources are focused on the City’s most critical needs,” said Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. “These measures are necessary to maintain essential services and uphold our fiscal responsibility to Dallas residents.”
The City will continue monitoring revenues and expenditures closely. Additional cost containment measures may be implemented as needed. The City of Dallas remains committed to responsible stewardship of public resources and maintaining delivery of essential services.