Most of the attention that the 2008-09 budget is getting deals with what Dallas’ Only Daily Newspaper has called new and unusual ways to raise cash. And some of them are certainly worth noting, like selling ads on garbage trucks.
We have also been told about some of the cuts — reducing 311 operators, closing the zoo one day a week, and closing the aquarium for a year. But what no one is paying enough attention to is how tenuously the budget is crafted, that it is put together with hope and optimism, with eyes closed and hands clenched, like a small child making a birthday wish.
One caveat before outlining some of the things that should concern us as taxpayers and residents: The budget that is available doesn’t list items line-by-line, so this is just an overview. For example, the budget adds almost $1 million for fuel costs to the fire department next year, but doesn’t explain how budgeters arrived at $1 million. Does it add the $1 million as $3.25 a gallon gas or as $4? That’s a serious difference.
• Fire department: The budget calls for cutting personnel in fire dispatch by 1.6 percent while handling .07 percent more calls. In addition, it anticipates solving 25 percent of arson cases and 30 percent of all fire-related criminal cases, compared to 45 and 47 percent in 2007-08.
• Police department: The budget expects the patrol division to answer 36 percent more calls, while increasing the patrol budget 5.4 percent. It anticipates clearing 9 percent of auto thefts (which would be a 1 point improvement over this year) and 53 percent of assaults.
• Library: The central library budget is cut almost 10 percent, though the branch budget is increased 4.4 percent (mostly, apparently, from new branches opening at Lochwood and Bachman Lake). The library budget has increased 33 percent since 2000-01; the consumer price index has increased 35 percent between 2000 and 2007.
• Property tax revenue: The budget expects a 7 percent increase in property values, eliminating the need for a tax increase. How big is 7 percent? Since 2001-02, the city’s tax rolls have increased by 7 percent or more just three times. At the beginning of the decade, during the last recession, the numbers were 1.9, .3, and 1.6 percent.
• Sales tax revenue: The 2007-08 budget will collect about 3 percent less than expected. The 2008-09 spending plan calls for a 1.75 percent increase over the reduced 2007-08 total.
