Dallas Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland plans to retire January 5, 2027, after more than 30 years at City Hall, with Dallas’ newly approved budget rising from $5.20 billion to approximately $5.7 billion while the police department remains 590 sworn officers short of the voter-approved minimum.
DPD told The Dallas Express this week that it currently employs 3,410 sworn officers. Although the new budget targets 3,651 officers by the end of fiscal year 2027, that would still leave Dallas 349 officers short of Proposition U’s 4,000-officer mandate.
City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert announced Ireland’s decision in a Friday memo to the mayor and City Council.
Tolbert said she will work with Ireland over the next 90 days on a transition plan for the city’s Fiscally Sound portfolio. The memo did not identify a successor or describe how Dallas will select its next chief financial officer.
“Jack’s retirement leaves a foundation of acute fiscal stewardship and unwavering professionalism in financial transparency,” Tolbert wrote.
Retirement comes after $5.7 billion budget vote
On Wednesday, two days before Tolbert announced the retirement, the Dallas City Council voted 10-5 to approve an approximately $5.7 billion fiscal year 2027 spending plan, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. The budget takes effect October 1.
The plan includes an approximately $2.04 billion General Fund, more than $823 million for the Dallas Police Department and more than $471 million for Dallas Fire-Rescue. Police and fire account for about 63% of General Fund spending. The council also adopted a property tax rate of 69.78 cents per $100 of assessed value, 0.1 cent below the current rate.
Dallas built the budget after projecting a $50.9 million General Fund gap for fiscal year 2027. The city also imposed three unpaid furlough days on most non-uniform General Fund employees this summer to address a separate current-year shortfall.
City credits Ireland with reserves and lower rate
Tolbert credited Ireland with helping increase the General Fund Reserve from $59 million, or 21 days of spending, in fiscal year 2010 to a projected $343 million, or 61 days, for fiscal year 2027.
The city also credited him with facilitating a nearly 10-cent property tax rate reduction from fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2027 and a 173% increase in the over-65 property tax exemption. An August 7 city budget release put the rate reduction at 9.92 cents, or 12.44%, over that period. A lower rate does not guarantee a lower bill for each property owner because taxable values can rise.
Tolbert further credited Ireland with helping Dallas deliver balanced budgets and address the long-term financial condition of the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System and Employee Retirement Fund.
Successor will inherit police and pension pressure
The fiscal year 2027 budget targets 3,651 sworn police officers by the end of the fiscal year, 349 below the 4,000-officer minimum Dallas voters placed in the city charter through Proposition U. The city projects 3,800 officers by the end of fiscal year 2028, still 200 short of that requirement.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Dallas in February, alleging the city failed to comply with Proposition U. Dallas has contested those allegations in court.
The next chief financial officer will help manage those obligations, the city’s reserves and implementation of the new budget. Tolbert’s memo gave no reason for Ireland’s retirement beyond his decision to conclude a City Hall career spanning more than three decades.
