The lengthy November ballot will include a presidential election, a hotly-contested Senate race, and state house and senate races. Dallas voters should expect to keep going after the top of their ballots. They will also weigh in on 18 proposed amendments to the city charter, a document that dictates how the city operates.
Every 10 years, state law requires cities to review their charters. It’s ostensibly an opportunity for municipalities to update the rules of local governance. Once the City Council settles and votes on the amendments, they are put on a November ballot for voters to decide.
Dallas began its review process last summer. Mayor Eric Johnson named attorney and former Texas Rep. Allen Vaught the chairman of the city’s Charter Review Commission. He was joined by 14 other members appointed by their City Council district, a group that included a former Dallas ISD trustee and three former council members. The commission waded through 123 submissions, winnowing it down to a final 27 they passed on in the spring for the City Council to review.
In some years, maybe one or two new amendments will end up on the ballot. In 2014, the last time the charter was reviewed, there were nine propositions. This year’s 18 amendments include 14 from the Council and four from resident petitions. If a group obtains enough signatures to get their proposed amendment to the ballot, state law requires the Council to do so. (You can see the full list of amendments here and the language you’ll see on the ballot here.)
Three of those amendments made it to the ballot due to the efforts of a group called Dallas HERO. This nonprofit organization collected enough signatures for Propositions S, T, and U to appear on the ballot. If voters approve, those propositions would require the city to hire 900 more police officers and set aside new revenue to public safety. It would also tie the city manager’s bonuses and continued employment to an annual resident satisfaction survey. It would also allow residents to sue the city if they believe it is not abiding by the charter, city ordinances, or state law. You can read more about those amendments (and what they would mean to the city) here and here.
The City Council approved three amendments that would have effectively neutered those amendments. However, a judge threw out those amendments after a lawsuit was filed by one of the petition signers, finding that the language in those amendments would confuse voters because it was similar to HERO’s amendments. Your ballot will skip Propositions K, M, and N.
Every city council member and Mayor Eric Johnson, albeit in different ways, have come out in opposition to the amendments. City Attorney Tammy Palamino sent a memo to council members and city staff outlining how they could proceed if they wished to campaign against the three HERO amendments. In short, Council members can campaign against any amendments they want, but they can’t spend city money or use city resources. Personal funds and resources are permissible in their advocacy. A growing campaign helmed by former City leaders (including four former mayors) has been launched against the three propositions, too.
Ground Game Texas’ Proposition R, dubbed the Dallas Freedom Act, was the fourth petition-driven amendment. It would ban the police department from arresting or citing people carrying four ounces or less of marijuana unless that arrest was part of a larger felony investigation. It would also prevent the smell of marijuana from being a probable cause for a search. Currently, having less than 2 ounces is a Class B misdemeanor that can carry a penalty of 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine. Carrying between 2 to 4 ounces is a Class A misdemeanor and is punishable by up to a year in jail and a $4,000 fine.
Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia told the Council that 4 ounces is a significant amount and that last year, 71 percent of Dallas’ drug-related homicides involved pot. “In my 32 years of law enforcement, in my opinion, it could lead to increased illegal sales and deterioration of quality of life in certain areas of our city,” he said.
Ground Game Texas says the policy will free up resources to focus on more violent and serious crimes and will reduce the number of people going to jail for possessing “a substance that is now legal in close to half of the U.S.”
“The Dallas Freedom Act is about more than just marijuana — it’s a step toward broader social justice, smarter use of public resources, and protecting civil liberties in Dallas,” said Ground Game field director Natalie Marquez.
Now, let’s take a look at the other propositions that you’ll be asked to vote on. We’ve ordered them by what we think will most in line with public interest.
Proposition C would increase the salaries of the mayor and council members. The mayor would go from earning $80,000 a year to $110,000, while council members would jump from $60,000 to $90,000. Should voters approve the amendment, those pay increases would go into effect in January and could be increased each year according to the consumer price index. In 2014, an amendment increasing council member pay from $37,500 to $60,000 and the mayor’s salary from $60,000 to $80,000 passed by a slim majority of 2,311 votes. In 2005, a measure that would have increased the mayor’s salary from $60,000 to $120,000 failed.
It appeared that an effort to move city elections from May to November had died. In fact, it kind of died a couple of times—first at the Charter Review Commission and then again in early meetings and briefings with the Council. But it was resurrected at the last minute and reconstituted into Proposition D. It will delete the date altogether and says that city elections will be held in accordance with state law and city resolution or ordinance. To actually move the elections to November, the Texas Legislature will need to approve it. Some on the Council felt it would ultimately save the city money and improve turnout. Others worried about the prospect of a December runoff.
Proposition E would eliminate the ability for council members and mayors to run again after being term-limited. Currently, a council member could serve four consecutive two-year terms, for instance, sit out an election, and run again for another round of four two-year terms. (Mayors presently can serve two consecutive four-year terms.) You can read more about it here.
Propositions G and H address who council members can appoint to certain boards and commissions. The former prop would add specific eligibility requirements for appointees to the city’s redistricting committee, which is formed every 10 years to advise the council on district boundaries. Should the amendment pass, city lobbyists, council members’ relatives, and contractors with the city would be disqualified from serving on the committee. The latter proposition would eliminate the requirement that appointees to the City Plan Commission, Civil Service Board, Park and Recreation Board, or Redistricting Commission be registered to vote or qualified tax-paying citizens. It would allow noncitizens to serve on those boards, provided they meet the other requirements. Those opposing the measure say it discourages voter participation and doesn’t make sure that those appointed to these seats are genuinely interested in city government. Those supporting the measure say there is no negative to allowing noncitizens to serve on these boards and commissions and that other cities already allow it.
Proposition I would allow more time and a lower benchmark for citizen petitions for initiatives and referendums. It would extend the deadline from 60 to 120 days and reduce the number of signatures required from 10 percent of the city’s qualified voters (about 70,000) to 5 percent. For reference, the last municipal election pulled in 6.14 percent of qualified voters, which means that the current requirement to get an item on a ballot is greater than the total voters who turn up for municipal elections.
The City Council created the Office of the Inspector General in 2021 to investigate fraud and ethics complaints. The position currently reports to the City Attorney’s Office, where the Inspector General is also an assistant city attorney. Proposition L would shift oversight of the office to the City Council, which would take the responsibility of hiring and firing the Inspector General. It would require at least 10 members of the Council to do so. Proponents of the move say it will make the office more independent, while opponents question the need for it.
At the top of the list, Proposition A addresses changes that would allow the Employees’ Retirement Fund—the pension for employees who aren’t police or firefighters—to move closer to overcoming its $1.4 billion shortfall. The Employees’ Retirement Fund, which is a little more than 70 percent funded, administers the retirement, death, and disability benefits for civilian employees. It is not to be confused with the Dallas Fire and Police Pension System, which is about 39 percent funded and is under a state-mandated November deadline to devise a plan to bring it to solvency. This proposition would allow fund to increase the contributions from employees hired before 2017 by 0.68 percent. Employees currently pay 13.32 percent in contributions, and the city pays another 22.68 percent. The change will allow for a steady drip of additional funding over the next five years and removes a 36 percent cap on total contributions. The proposal also gives the city more oversight of the fund’s investment performance. The move has the approval of the Dallas City Retired Employees Association.
The rest of the slate of proposed amendments include:
- Adding a preamble to the charter that “declares the city to be an equitable democracy, comprised of representatives that act to make the city fair, equitable, just, and safe for all residents.” (Proposition B)
- Providing the City Secretary and City Auditor with employees. The charter already provides assistants. (Proposition F)
- Allowing the City Council to replace a board and commission member before the end of that board or commission member’s two-year term with a simple majority vote. (Proposition J)
- Two propositions that involve how municipal court functions. Proposition O would require associate municipal judges to be Dallas residents within four months of appointment and practicing attorneys in good standing. They would be appointed by the City Council and receive their assignments from the administrative judge. Proposition P would delete a requirement that a city employee who appeals their demotion or firing to an administrative law judge pay half the costs associated with the hearing.
- A series of changes to the city charter would align it with city code or state law and bring it closer to what the city’s practices are now. The technical amendments in Proposition Q will also address things like City Council and mayoral candidate residency requirements. Currently, a council candidate must live in their district for six months before election day, and mayoral candidates must live in the city for at least six months and in Texas for at least a year. This amendment would change the timeline to be before the filing deadline.
The last day to register to vote is October 7. The first day of early voting is October 21, and the first day to request a mail-in ballot is October 25. Election Day is November 5. More information can be found here, including polling locations and registration information.
Note: this story was updated on 10/11/24 to reflect changes on the ballot and to update the proposition labels.
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