City Council Spends $195M in Taxpayer Money

In its last meeting of the year on Wednesday, the Dallas City Council authorized spending $195,989,878 of taxpayer funds, approving many long-term price agreements for the purchase of services and equipment for City use.

Sources of funding included not only the City of Dallas general fund but also grants from the State of Texas and the federal government. The most expensive item authorized by the council was a $20,648,340 three-year service price agreement with National Electrical Services for the maintenance, repair, and parts of electrical switchgears.

Furthermore, council members approved a $16,790,000 construction services contract for the installation of a 2-million-gallon elevated water storage tank in District 9 near the corner of Northwest Highway and Executive Drive. The tank will be installed by Landmark Structures, the lowest of two bidders.

Other expenses approved by the council on December 13 included construction services for City facilities, housing developments, and equipment for various City departments. The remaining expenditures are as follows:

• $15,000,000 — construction services for repairs, alterations, renovations, remediation, and minor construction at City facilities including, but not limited to, aquatic facilities, athletic facilities, the Cedar Ridge Preserve, the Dallas Arboretum, golf courses, park pavilions, recreation centers, the Audubon, and Elm Fork facilities.
• $14,872,233.09 — dock master services through the sally port facility at Dallas Love Field.
• $12,423,572.50 — installing water and wastewater main improvements and extension of water and wastewater mains at 18 locations.
• $12,300,000 — providing forensic, drug, toxicological, environmental, and physical evidence analysis, as well as other forensic analytical services.
• $8,236,511.64 — developing a mixed-income housing development at 9220 Ferguson Rd.
• $7,646,555 — increasing a development loan agreement for a 168-unit mixed-income multifamily complex at 14119 Montfort Dr.
• $6,598,577.53 — funding activities related to enhancing preparedness and building capacity to prepare for, prevent, and respond to terrorist attacks.
• $5,995,975.70 — construction services to restore stormwater storage capacity and basin functionality at five locations throughout Dallas.
• $5,742,750 — price agreement for parts and repair of hardware for the ALERT system that monitors flood incidents for the Water Utilities Department.
• $5,521,500 — purchasing original equipment manufacturer apparatus parts and associated services for Dallas Fire-Rescue.
• $5,000,000 — constructing the Loop Project-U.S. 175 at Lake June Road Bridge along with a pedestrian bridge and trail connections.
• $5,000,000 — replacing and widening the existing bridge at Lake June Road, including the construction of a new pedestrian trail bridge.
• $4,952,024.05 — increasing and extending a service contract for continued licensing, configuration, hosting, maintenance, and technical support for the City’s existing human resource and payroll system.
• $4,950,000 — reconstructing the Cadiz Street railroad bridge and adding a lane to the roadway along with bicycle and pedestrian improvements on Cadiz Street from West of Hotel Street to Botham Jean Boulevard.
• $4,804,936.83 — continued licenses, maintenance, hosting, and support for the existing integrated library system.
• $4,742,599.91 — technological and physical maintenance and support for a large-scale hazardous waste and deicing control system at Dallas Love Field.
• $3,591,641.18 — engineering design services for the McKinney Avenue/Cole Avenue Two-way Conversion Project.
• $3,577,146.02 — purchasing batteries for vehicles and heavy equipment for citywide use.
• $2,803,601 — continuing the Environmental Education Initiative Program at the University of North Texas.
• $2,716,713.46 — purchasing vehicles and equipment for the Aviation Department.
• $2,500,000 — renovating the City-owned property at 4150 Independence Dr. to provide supportive housing and services for lower-income households.
• $2,491,279 — increasing construction services for additional wastewater pipeline improvements at five locations in Dallas.
• $1,188,096 — price agreement for on-site alteration services for civilian and uniformed personnel.
• $1,703,035.70 — price agreement for helicopter parts, maintenance, and repairs for the Dallas Police Department’s Helicopter Unit.
• $1,337,685.72 — purchasing software-defined wide-area network technology solution for the IT Department.
• $1,093,980 — issuing Combination Tax and Revenue Certificates of Obligations.
• $1,000,000 — construction services with Chamberlin Dallas for waterproofing and roofing repairs, replacements, alterations, and improvements at City facilities.
• $961,684 — purchasing rifle-resistant body armor for DPD.
• $935,000 — upgrading and replacing the current Record Management System for more efficient record-keeping.
• $848,786 — providing services and program support for the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Society.
• $761,700 — conducting three traffic corridor studies.
• $734,185 — price agreement for citywide emergency generator maintenance and repairs.
• $726,473.26 — purchasing ductile iron pipe for the Water Utilities Department.
• $633,735 — price agreement for bagged ice with storage containers for citywide use.
• $568,764.50 — price agreement for automotive glass and services to replace various automotive glass and window tinting for city vehicles for citywide use.
• $500,000 — youth navigation services for local low- and moderate-income youth.
• $340,600 — settling a condemnation proceeding to acquire a 902,535-square-foot tract of land in Kaufman County for the Lake Tawakoni 144-inch Pipeline Project.
• $303,159.40 — salaries and benefits for two detectives and one police research specialist to fund training, direct operating expenses, and use of overtime to address technology-facilitated child abuse and exploitation.
• $300,000 — legal services relating to the enforcement of the Hensley Field settlement agreement and litigation against the United States related to the environmental contamination at Hensley Field.
• $300,000 —  conducting phase three of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Self Evaluation and Transition Plan, which includes the review of city department services, programs, and activities.
• $252,418.60 — purchasing governance, risk, and compliance software for the IT Department.
• $248,500 — costs associated with the forensic analysis of physical evidence in relation to sexual assault kits.
• $230,216.22 — water and wastewater relocations and appurtenance adjustments for I-30, from I-35 to I-45.
• $219,859.75 — increasing a contract with Schneider Electric Buildings for monitoring and supporting building operating systems to improve and reduce operating costs at City facilities.
• $218,606.30 — purchasing water wall barriers to serve as barricades prohibiting vehicles from exiting Garland Road and crossing into White Rock Lake Trail for the Park & Recreation Department.
• $200,000 — legal services relating to Dallas Love Field airline gate leases.
• $171,800 — purchasing animal identification microchip scanners for the Animal Services Department.
• $164,293 — providing services to the homeless through the Homeless Housing and Services Program.
• $164,293 — adding funding for management and operations at The Bridge Homeless Shelter.
• $156,246.26 — funding for activities related to enhancing preparedness and building capacity to prepare for, prevent, and respond to complex coordinated terrorist attacks.
• $150,196 — reimbursing the Dallas Museum of Art for the de-installation, moving, offsite storage, and reinstallation of artwork to allow facilities to be repaired after the 2022 Severe Weather and Flooding event.
• $150,000 — settling a lawsuit for alleged bodily injuries from a car accident involving a city sanitation truck.
• $150,000 — feasibility study to examine possible alignments for a proposed multi-use trail to connect Bachman Lake to the Campion Trail in Irving.
• $145,000 — construction services for the Cotton Bowl Renovation, Rehabilitation and Addition Project.
• $129,000 — engineering services for perimeter fence, gates design, light poles, surveillance utility, contingency, and additional construction administration services at Dallas Love Field.
• $124,320 — purchasing 960 tons of bunker white premium golf course sand for the Park & Recreation Department.
• $116,678 — acquiring a fee simple title of about 9,987 square feet of land located near the intersection of Dolphin Road and Detonte Street for the Dolphin Road from Spring Avenue to North Haskell Avenue Project.
• $112,998.50 — renovating a newly purchased building for the Kitchen Dog Theater Company through the Cultural Facilities Program.
• $106,877.46 — purchasing construction project signs for citywide use.
• $104,568.96 — providing aid to victims of violent crime through DPD Victim Services.
• $78,480 — purchasing 104 annual DART passes for City employees.
• $34,200 — consulting services pertaining to the vacant City-owned property at 2929 South Hampton Rd.
• $27,500 — traffic signal installation at the intersection of Bonnie View Road and Langdon Road.
• $16,500 — traffic signal installation at the intersection of Turtle Creek Boulevard and Fairmount Street.
• $2,481 — acquiring a 1,654-square-foot tract of land on Brookhaven Drive to be used for the construction of erosion control improvements.

Furthermore, the council approved amending the Personnel Rules of City Code to remove obsolete terminology and correct errors, allow the employment of 15-year-olds as lifeguards, authorize additional professionals to approve Mental Health Leave, and authorize additional executives to hear grievances and appeals, among other things. This item is listed as having an estimated annual cost of $134,057, but city documents note that the actual costs may vary.