Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of Commissioner Mike Cantrell. Some figures and projections are subject to change during August 23, 2010’s Commissioners Court.
In November 2009, Dallas County projected a shortfall of $65 million for Fiscal Year 2011. Since that date, the Budget office has proactively prepared for Fiscal Year 2011 budget by compiling suggestions for cuts and has continued to do so through 2010 right up to August 17th. Through adjustments, budget cuts, and better than expected property values, the shortfall was reduced to $46 million.
In order to address the $46 million shortfall, the county continued cost cutting measures adopted in 2009 that included:
- 90-day rolling hiring freeze
- Stopping equipment purchases unless for emergency purposes
- Eliminating discretionary travel unless it was funded by departmental discretionary account(s) or grant funds
In addition to these measures, the county again requested that each department submit a budget reflecting 10% in reductions (the same as for the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget).
County departments submitted cuts in the amount of $16 million; the Office of Budget Evaluation submitted to Commissioners Court additional recommended cuts of $25 million, $8 million of which were approved by the Commissioners Court. The suggested cuts were all brought to Commissioners Court for review on March 30th, June 1st, June 8th, June 15th, June 22nd, August 3rd, and August 10th. Each court member had more than ample opportunity to approve the cuts or suggest their own cuts. Waiting until August 17th to decide to make additional cuts shows an extreme disconnect with the budget process.
On Tuesday, August 17th, a date set by statute, we had a court order on the agenda to increase the tax rate from 22.81 cents to 24.31 cents. Passing this court order would have meant the approval to raise the tax rate by 1.5 cents to close a $22.5 million remaining gap. This would increase the amount the average homeowner in Dallas County would pay by $1.58 per month or $19 per year.
The Court order was placed on the agenda by our Budget department and was based on private discussions with the Court members and information gleaned from the Court briefings. Because this statutory deadline to set the maximum tax rate and the Court still having a shortfall of $22.5 million after all the cuts, increasing the tax rate was the only alternative. A motion was made to approve the recommended court order, which I seconded. An amended motion was made by Commissioner Mayfield and seconded by Commissioner Dickey to set the tax rate at the existing 22.81 cents, which left the $22.5 million shortfall, a shortfall that should be considered a “gaping hole”, not merely a “gap”. The amended motion passed on a 3-2 vote with Commissioners Mayfield and Dickey and Judge Foster voting in favor and Commissioner Price and I voting against it.
As a result of that vote, every recommended cut, previously rejected by the court, must now go back on the list to be reconsidered along with additional cuts on top of the already eliminated 203 positions and reduced expenditures totaling $25 million.
The reality of it is, in order to make up a $22.5 million shortfall, the majority that voted against the tax increase on the court will have to make serious, long lasting, detrimental cuts to Dallas County services as well as Dallas County employees.
- In 2009, we deleted or froze 101 positions and closed a $35 million shortfall with no tax increase.
- In 2010, we deleted 58 positions and closed a $60 million shortfall with no tax increase, nor did we go up to our effective rate.
- This year, we have proposed to delete 203 positions and have projected a shortfall of $46 million and have closed a $24 million deficit with a remaining $22.5 million left.
Dallas County’s primary source of revenue is through property taxes and we have maintained the lowest tax rate in the State with the exception of Sutton County (population approximately 4,000) with a tax rate of 20.31 cents. I have taken a very conservative approach to taxes for the 16 years I have been on the Commissioners Court. The tax rate has been increased four times, decreased four times, and remained the same seven times over the past 15 years. When looking at the combined tax rate of Dallas County and the Dallas County Hospital District, Dallas County still continues to maintain the combined lowest rate as compared to other large urban counties that also have a public hospital district. Our cap, according to state statute, is 80 cents and we are currently at 22.81 cents, which is an incredible feat, especially since we are on course to being debt free by 2021. I know of no other county in the state or country that can boast such a low tax rate, AAA bond rating by both rating agencies, and a target to being debt free.
I believe that money should be left in the taxpayer’s pockets and if an increase is needed, then and only then should we increase the tax rate. I believe that we are in that situation today. We have diligently scrubbed our budget over the years - department by department - and have cut and cut to the point where it is having a major affect on the employees and services of Dallas County. I personally have reduced my staff from 35 employees to 8, which is a 77% reduction, in an effort to lead by example. I continue to look for new ways to impact the budget in a positive manner through collaborations for sharing costs as well as implementing new projects to bring in new revenues sources.
It is my hope that the taxpayers of Dallas County would support those County elected officials that work hard day in and day out to manage the finances of Dallas County in a responsible manner. We give money back to the taxpayers in the good years without socking it away because it’s the right thing to do. Hopefully, citizens will see that we have acted responsibly and they will continue to be supportive during a particularly challenging time for the County.
