The City of Dallas is seeking substantial federal taxpayer funding for a number of new projects.
Carrie Rogers, director of government affairs for the City of Dallas, detailed 17 new projects for the City of Dallas in a memorandum earlier this month. These projects seek funding from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Department of Transportation (DOT), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Rogers explained in the memo that each member of Congress can submit up to 15 requests to be considered for the House of Representatives Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bills. With six representatives, Texas can submit up to 90 such requests, and with requests coming from around the state, the selection process to make a representative’s list of 15 is competitive.
Consideration of the submissions will begin in June
“The Senate is usually several weeks behind the House and often does not complete work on appropriations bills until September,” said Rogers in the memo. Last year, they did not complete the work “and negotiated the final omnibus appropriations bill based on Appropriations Committee draft bills.”
The DOJ projects consist of items like a lighting and electrical update to the Dallas Police Department (DPD) Digital Media Evidence lab, costing taxpayers a prospective $800,000, and $2 million dedicated to “investigative resources” for the department. These resources consist primarily of staffing the department says is needed to ensure the proper transmission of evidence.
Other law enforcement requests include $1 million for deterrence strategies, $500,000 for social media investigation software, and just over $1 million for license plate reading technology.
Requests in other areas include $2 million worth of design improvements to Mockingbird Lane and the construction of a deck over Interstate 30 estimated to cost just over $10 million.
Other requests for improvements to the surrounding area include a $2 million joint library within the DISD STEAM academy, a $1 million multi-modal transit options project for Garland, and various improvements to the safety and usability of Deep Ellum, MLK Community Center, and West Dallas Multipurpose Center ranging between $500,000 and $2.5 million.
“Legislative Chairman Tennell Atkins, Dallas city council members, and City Manager T.C. Broadnax will be in D.C. next week meeting with Dallas Congressional members to underscore the importance of these projects and making sure funds paid in by the taxpayers of Dallas come back to our communities,” said Rogers, according to D Magazine.
