If Proposition 2, a charter amendment that would more than double Dallas City Council members’ salaries, makes it on the November ballot and gets approved by voters, the council members would rank among the highest paid in Texas.
After the Charter Review Commission (CRC) recommended raising council members’ pay from $60,000 to $125,000 and the mayor’s salary from $80,000 to $140,000 in May, the governing body could not decide on how much of an increase they should receive or whether they should receive one at all. A few weeks later, council members delayed a vote to call for a special election on the proposed charter amendments.
However, the charter amendment that became Proposition 2 — “Shall Chapter III, Section 4(a) of the Dallas City Charter be amended to increase the annual salary for the mayor to $140,000 and the annual salaries for councilmembers to $125,000, effective upon the swearing in of the mayor and councilmembers in June 2025?” — has neither been formally nor informally voted on by council members.
“We have not taken a straw poll about salaries, for example,” Council Member Paul Ridley (District 14) said during a council meeting on June 26.
Since May, council members have conducted straw polls during several briefings to eliminate or continue considering their own amendments and those proposed by the CRC before taking a final vote. Because the council was unable to make a decision on Proposition 2, City staff incorporated it into the ordinance calling for the special election on November 4.
“This is now an action item,” City Attorney Tammy Palomino explained during the June 26 council meeting. “So, everything going forward is going to be incorporated into the ordinance… We’re beyond straw polling now.”
Earlier in June, council members argued whether they deserve to be paid more and, if so, how much they should receive. They also talked about how many of them consider the position of council member a full-time job that requires a significant amount of their time.
“I do think it comes at a bad time,” Ridley said, citing pending spending reductions and the need to reconcile the Dallas Police and Fire Pension. “I think it strikes a bad note to our residents that we would be considering feathering our own nests by an increase of almost 60% of our pay, and I just cannot support that.”
Council Members Adam Bazaldua (District 7) and Kathy Stewart (District 10) offered amendments to the proposed increases to set salaries at different amounts. Stewart asked the council to consider $80,000 for council members and $105,000 for the mayor, while Bazaldua proposed $95,000 for council members and $115,000 for the mayor.
“I believe that, from the feedback I’ve heard, what was proposed at $125,000 … was a little too high when it came to voters’ opinions,” Bazaldua said. “There was a clear understanding that we deserve more pay. I am not afraid to say we deserve more pay.”
In an email obtained by The Dallas Express, the manager of the Office of Government Affairs, Jake Anderson, told council members that “results vary widely” from city to city on how much council members and mayors are paid. Here are some examples from Texas and elsewhere in the United States:
Texas
- Austin — $116,688; $134,192
- Houston — $62,983; $236,189
- Dallas — $60,000; $80,000
- El Paso — $52,500; $78,750
- San Antonio — $45,722; $61,725
- Fort Worth — $25,000; $29,000
- Corpus Christi — $6,000; $9,000
- Plano — $1,000; $2,000
- Lubbock — $300; $900
- Arlington — $200/month; $250/month
- Richardson — $100/meeting; $100 meeting
- Garland — $0; $0
Metro Cities
- San Diego — $178,859; $238,479
- Philadelphia — $158,949; $261,497
- San Jose — $136,174; $215,591
- Denver — $110,596; $205,991
- Columbus — $69,220; $234,351
- Phoenix — $66,000; $88,000
- Jacksonville — $56,804; $230,816
- Charlotte — $34,000; $41,000
- Indianapolis — $31,075; $95,000
The deadline for the Dallas City Council to adopt the ordinance calling for the special election is August 19.