Dallas officials have set general dates for public feedback on next year’s budget. Residents can share their thoughts on the FY27 biennial budget in various ways, including an annual community survey, spring listening sessions, city council hearings, and town halls from February to August.
“The City’s budget development process is structured to ensure that (1) the City Council has an opportunity to discuss policy priorities early, (2) residents have multiple opportunities to provide input, and (3) the City Manager has adequate time to develop and refine a recommended biennial budget that aligns with City Council direction,” according to a January 23 memo from Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland.
Residents can participate in an annual community survey from February to May and share their thoughts in spring listening sessions from March 23 to 26, according to the memo. They can also speak to city council members at public hearings on March 25, May 27, and August 25, and attend town hall meetings hosted by council members from August 11 to 25.
Council members will discuss policy priorities during budget workshops on April 1, May 6, and June 17, according to the memo.
City Manager Kim Tolbert and staff have already begun budget development and are planning to present a “balanced” budget on August 11.
Tolbert will use feedback to “propose refinements” on September 2.
As of April 2025, the city was $8.2 billion in debt – and struggling to pay its bills, The Dallas Express reported at the time.
The council adopted a $5.2 billion budget for fiscal year 2025-26 in September. This was the first time the city budget had surpassed $5 billion.
For the current budget, the council used a “restructured budget process” with “Priority Based Budgeting,” evaluating program costs, performance, and outcomes to allocate funding, according to the memo.
City officials are planning to continue using this framework to develop the fiscal year 2027 -2028 budget.
The current budget package fell short of the necessary funding for the Dallas Police Department, boosting hiring to 3,424 officers, short of the 4,000-officer requirement voters approved in 2024, as The Dallas Express reported.
“We’re going to be looking into what the City of Dallas has or has not done with regard to funding the police, and see if there’s a violation of the state law that I signed,” Abbott said to DX on January 6. “Dallas is bearing the burden of their failure to have fully staffed law enforcement, their failure to contain a homeless problem.”
