Interim City Manager Kimberly Tolbert allegedly pushed misinformation when voicing her opposition to a citizen-led charter amendment proposition that would increase police department resources.
Tolbert spoke at a Dallas City Council meeting on Wednesday about the proposed amendment. If approved by voters, the measure would require the City to hire roughly 1,000 police officers, increase police pay to competitive levels, and bolster the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System.
Dallas residents will vote on this proposal, which stems from a citizen-led petition organized by the nonprofit Dallas HERO, in November.
Tolbert, however, claimed the initiative would imperil the City’s finances and services.
“Overall, you would be looking at drastic, very extreme cuts that we would have to make across the board,” she claimed at Wednesday’s meeting.
“And that’s not just day-to-day, but that’s a drastic cut in every single service that we provided the city in order to be able to assume that additional number without giving us an opportunity to continue to do the work that we’re doing now,” she continued.
Pete Marocco, the executive director of Dallas HERO, said Tolbert fabricated a narrative in her remarks.
“Kim Tolbert’s spurious allegation that every other City agency would have to cut resources is absolutely untrue and appears to be deliberate voter disenfranchisement,” he told The Dallas Express.
Marocco cited specific language in his group’s proposed charter amendment to counter Tolbert’s claims. Half of the City’s annual excess revenue would fund the amendment proposals, and Tolbert would have the other half to use on other City spending priorities.
“The proportion clearly identifies that the plan comes from 50% of new revenue toward the priority of public safety, which is what citizens want, what citizens have told the City, and what they have ignored,” Marocco told DX. “Kim Tolbert should clearly be disqualified for consideration as city manager.”
Tolbert’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Dallas HERO rallied residents to submit enough signatures to ensure the charter amendment was added to the November ballot.
The Dallas Police Department has been struggling with staffing issues for several years now, a situation that has dampened its efforts to fight crime. Only around 3,000 sworn officers are currently in the field, despite a prior City analysis recommending a force of roughly 4,000 based on the Dallas’ population.
The Dallas City Council will finalize the ballot language next week. Local officials in Texas have, on occasion, attempted to mislead voters by messing with the ballot language from citizen-led initiatives they oppose, as previously reported by DX.
