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VOTE411 Voter Guide

City of Dallas Bond Election

CITY OF DALLAS PROPOSITION ATHIS IS A TAX INCREASE: The issuance of $443,000,000 general obligation bonds for public safety improvements and facilities, including fire, police and emergency services; the levying of a tax sufficient to pay principal and interest thereon; the estimated amount of repayment, including principal and interest based on current market conditions being $629,618,180. VOTE FOR OR AGAINST DESCRIPTION Although State Law mandates the words “THIS IS A TAX INCREASE” be printed at the top of the ballot proposition, the city of Dallas is reducing its property tax rate for 2026-27 from $0.6988 per $100 taxable value to $0.6978. The new lower tax rate will raise more revenue because property values have risen and the tax base has experienced some growth.The City of Dallas serves a population of approximately 1,336,000. It seeks authorization to issue $443,000,000 general obligation bonds to fund improvements for:$82 million to close the funding gap for the Law Enforcement Training Center at the University of Texas at Dallas. The current law enforcement training academy is located in a warehouse the city leased as a temporary site in 1990. Funding for a new Law Enforcement Training Center in the amount of $50 million was approved by voters in the 2024 bond election. Construction has started. However, there is not enough funding to complete the project. In addition to the $50 million from the 2024 bond, the city has received $25 million from a state grant and $31.5 million in private philanthropy. The city anticipates receiving an additional $38.5 in private philanthropy. The current revised project budget is $227 million. Assuming the city receives the additional $38.5 in private philanthropy, there is a shortfall of $82 million in funds for this project which this bond authorization would provide.$149 million for the Public Safety Training Complex, with outdoor, driving, tactical, and range capabilities at Dallas Executive Airport. The Public Safety Training Complex is a separate specialized training project that has not been previously funded through earlier bond programs. The University of Texas at Dallas campus will not allow for construction of a vehicle track or a gun range. Therefore, these components cannot be built as part of the Law Enforcement Training Center at the UT Dallas location and will have to be built at a separate site.$150 million for police evidence storage, a property room, and crime lab. The plan combines the currently separate property room, crime scene processing, and evidentiary vehicle storage into a single, unified joint facility. $40 million to relocate the 9-1-1 call center and emergency operation center from City Hall. Federal agencies determined the emergency operation center facilities in City Hall were inadequate during preparation for the recent FIFA games. This authorization would address that deficiency.$22 million to replace Fire Station #4 downtown. Station #4 is located downtown on Akard Street and was built in in the 1950’s. Present day traffic on Akard makes it difficult to maneuver fire engines in and out of the stations. The replacement station site is part of the ongoing renovations to the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center. The last bond election from the City was in May 2024 for $1.25 billion and involved ten voter-approved propositions to fund 850 projects.Dallas’s credit ratings from Moody’s for its tax supported debt is A1. An A1 rating is defined as “upper-medium grade, low credit risk” with Aaa the “highest quality, minimal credit risk.” Moody’s changed the City’s credit rating to stable from negative in June 2026.Moody’s credit ratings of large cities in Texas: Austin Aaa San Antonio Aaa Houston Aa2 Fort Worth Aa3 Dallas A1 2025-26 property taxes rates per $100 taxable value for other large cities in Texas: Houston 0.519190 Austin 0.524017 San Antonio 0.541590 Fort Worth 0.670000 Dallas 0.698800

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    Yes - For the Measure

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    No - Against the Measure

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Reasons to vote Yes or No on Dallas Bond Proposition

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1. With the passage of recent City Charter propositions mandating more police officers, the City needs adequate training facilities. Current facilities are not adequate. This package of public safety related projects would bring training and processing facilities up to a reasonable standard.

2. Construction costs have risen and are continuing to rise. This change is especially apparent in the increased cost for the Law Enforcement Training Center but also impacts the cost of all these projects. In a climate of rising construction costs, it is better that the city constructs the facilities sooner rather than later when costs may be even higher.

3. This authorization can be accommodated with a small property tax rate decrease instead of a tax increase.

4. Major events happening in the city’s core prevented Dallas’ emergency management team from getting to the emergency operations center located in city hall. Austin and Houston have located their emergency management teams outside of their downtowns, and that is generally considered a best practice.

5. The current training academy is located in a warehouse the City leased as a temporary location in 1990. It is not adequate, especially considering the need to train the additional officers being brought on per the charter amendment. Ground has already been broken at UT Dallas for the Law Enforcement Training Center using funds authorized by voters for this purpose in 2024. This necessary improvement should continue to completion.

6. The DPD property room is at 125% above capacity. Upgrading from older, decentralized, or aging facilities helps streamline evidence handling, improves chain-of-custody security.

7. Station #4, located downtown on Akard Street, was built in in the 1950’s. Present day traffic on Akard makes it difficult to maneuver fire engines in and out of the stations.
1. Voters should be allowed to vote for or against each of these projects separately rather than having them all in one proposition.

2. The city should seek ways to simplify these projects to reduce costs. In addition, the city has been successful in raising funds from other sources such as state and federal grants and private philanthropy. It should seek additional resources that way rather than asking for money from voters.

3. Property taxes are too high. If the city were to not proceed with this bond package, it might be able to lower taxes even further in the future.

4. Major events hindering arrival of the emergency management team are extremely rare. $40 million is a lot of money to avoid a rare occurrence. Furthermore, moving the 9-1-1 call center out of City Hall is a step toward abandoning City Hall and would place the 9-1-1 call takers in a less secure environment. The city should instead explore alternative approaches such as reinforcing the existing call center and emergency operations center in City Hall.

5. The city should explore alternatives to constructing two major expensive new facilities, the Law Enforcement Training Center and the Public Safety Training Complex, such as leasing. Since ground has already been broken for the Law Enforcement Training Complex at UT Dallas, perhaps that project could be amended and simplified using the bonds issued in 2024 and the additional funds provided by state and federal grants and private philanthropy. It is not clear what the city’s plan is if this additional bond authorization is not approved.

6. This project should be done with funds from other sources rather than a new bond authorization.

7. The replacement station site is part of the ongoing renovations to the Convention Center. Perhaps Fire Station #4 could be funded as part of the convention center project.
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