Union leaders representing Dallas first responders are asking the City Council to prioritize the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System in the upcoming bond program.
Fox 4 KDFW reportedly obtained a “confidential” email in which Arun Agarwal, chair of the Community Bond Task Force, wrote to Mayor Eric Johnson and members of the City Council advising that they should direct more funds to the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System (DPFP) as part of the 2024 Capital Bond Program.
Agarwal sent the email after receiving feedback from Dallas Police Association President Mike Mata and Dallas Fire Fighters Association President Jim McDade.
“It was my duty to inform the mayor and city council,” Agarwal said, according to Fox 4. “They would request that the bond process should take a pause.”
Agarwal is responsible for analyzing the financial needs of various City departments and assisting council members in determining how bond funds should be allocated.
He said the City has already identified $1.8 billion in needs, noting that the bond currently prioritizes streets and transportation, erosion and flood control, housing and economic development, parks, and critical facilities.
The DPFP has $3 billion in unfunded liabilities, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. It has been wrought with dysfunction for years and nearly collapsed but was reorganized in 2017 through a deal with the Texas Legislature.
Investments by former managers have cost the fund hundreds of millions of dollars. One such investment involved the $200 million museum tower in downtown Dallas. Another involved luxury homes in California, Hawaii, and Aspen, Colorado.
Mata and McDade wrote to the mayor and City Council on Monday requesting they delay the bond vote until officials determine how to fund the pension system.
McDade said the City must triple the current proposal to direct $400 million toward the pension.
“The committee the other day hit on the number about $1.5 billion that gets us heading in the right direction,” he said, per Fox 4.
Council Member Tennell Atkins (District 8) serves as the chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on Pensions. He said the City must resolve the pension troubles, claiming he will consider every option on the table to achieve that goal.
The Dallas Police Department has been dealing with a serious staffing shortage for the last few years, maintaining a force of fewer than 3,200 officers. A City analysis previously recommended that DPD needed upwards of 4,000 sworn personnel to properly maintain public safety.