The Dallas City Council has finalized the 2024 Bond Program and formally called for the bond to be placed on the ballot in May so Dallas residents can vote on the package.
After more than two months of deliberation, the council officially authorized the $1.25 billion bond program on Wednesday with the following allocations:
- Streets and transportation — $521,200,000
- Park and recreation — $345,270,000
- Libraries — $43,530,000
- Housing — $26,400,000
- Economic development — $72,300,000
- Homelessness — $19,000,000
- Flood protection and storm drainage — $52,100,000
- Public safety — $90,000,000
- Cultural arts facilities — $75,200,000
- Information technology — $5,000,000
These allocations include the “discretionary” dollars of each council member. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, each member of the horseshoe was able to determine how $5 million of the bond program would be spent in their individual district, with these funds totaling $75,000,000 of the bond.
Wednesday’s approval of the bond program and May election was passed in a 14-1 vote, with the dissenting vote cast by Council Member Adam Bazaldua.
Earlier in the meeting, Bazaldua proposed an alternative set of allocations that added $27,900,000 for maintenance and repairs at the City Hall building while decreasing funds for streets and parks and eliminating funding for the IT department entirely. However, this motion failed to gain the support of the rest of the council.
“I wish I was able to support this bond, but as long as it isn’t one that supports our city staff and our city’s homeless and housing crisis, then I don’t feel it’s truly a reflection of our city’s greatest needs,” Bazaldua said on social media.
However, Arun Agarwal, who served as chair of the Community Bond Task Force last year, told DX he was very pleased with the final bond proposal.
“I think this is the best bond package the mayor and city council have passed,” he said. “Being chair of the Community Bond Task Force, it’s pretty close to what we had recommended.”
“We told them housing is not an option. [At the] 11th hour, they came up with shenanigans about housing,” he continued. “The people said they want streets. They want parks. They want public safety.”
Agarwal told DX the council’s process of determining the bond was “tedious” and involved “a lot of politics,” but at the end of the day, he believes the bond package is “very, very strong.”
“Now we just have to get behind it to get it to the public to get it passed,” he said.
Mayor Johnson and council members championed the bond package and thanked the Community Bond Task Force and City staff for their work.
Staff are scheduled to finalize their specific project listings by the end of February, and Dallas voters will take up the $1.25 billion proposal on May 4.