From the Desk of the Budget Officer

Background

The purpose of this memo is to summarize the proposed FY2024 Dallas County operating and capital budgets. The full detail of the proposed budget has been filed with the Clerk of the Court and County Auditor as required by state law.

General Fund Summary

Table I presents a summary of the FY2024 General Fund budget compared with the FY2023 Budget. The revenues have been projected by the County Auditor, as prescribed by state law. The budget meets the established policy directive of the Commissioners Court requiring that the General Fund budgeted ending balance be no less than 10.5% of budgeted expenditures. FY2024 General Fund Budget of $833 million represents a $52.67 million (6%) increase over the $780.3 million FY2023 Adopted General Fund Budget.

New and Expanded Programs

The Dallas County Commissioners Court prioritized investing in the workforce by including the following compensations in the Proposed Budget for FY2024:

- All non-elected county officials will receive a 5% market adjustment salary increase from December 2023.

- Dallas County Elected Officials will receive a 5% Cost of Living Adjustment, effective January 2024.

- In November 2023, eligible law enforcement personnel will receive a step increase while a true-up of the law enforcement step structure will occur.

- In June 2024, a retention pay bonus will be given to county employees.

- A living wage adjustment of $18.24 will also be implemented.

- Law enforcement personnel and telecommunicators will receive certification and basic licensing pay.

- The salaries for the Sheriff's Chief Level will be adjusted.

- Lastly, the Law Enforcement Education Training (LEET) Program will be implemented.

Tax Rate

The budget is balanced at a tax rate of $0.215718 cents per $100 assessed valuation representing a decrease of $0.002228 from FY2023 rate of $0.217946 cents per $100 tax assessed valuation. The FY2024 recommended tax rate represents the lowest it has been since FY2011.

Equipment and Major Capital

The enclosed document also contains the FY2024 appropriations and continuation of projects for the County’s three capital funds: Major Technology, Major Capital Development, and Permanent Improvement, each of which receives a relative annual portion of the proposed property tax.

Reserves

The proposed budget contains a General Fund Unallocated Reserve of $4.3 million and General Fund Emergency Reserves of $87.46 million, each meeting the key policy targets established by Commissioners Court.

Other Funds

Table II summarizes the budgets for all Tax-Support and the budgets for all County Funds. Dallas County FY2024 All Funds Budget of $1.694 billion represents a $142.4 million decrease from FY2023 Adopted All Funds Budget of $1.84 billion. The all-funds overall decrease is attributed to a $262.4 million budget decrease in the American Rescue Plan FY2024 Budget.

Recommendation

The Office of Budget and Evaluation recommends adoption of the attached budget for Fiscal Year 2024. The Office of Budget and Evaluation (OBE) would like to express our heartfelt gratitude for the support and collaboration of all the elected officials, appointed directors, and County staff who assisted us in putting together the Proposed Budget for FY2024. We especially want to recognize the County Auditor’s Office and his staff for their dedicated efforts in preparing the budget. We also extend our thanks to the Tax Assessor and his staff for their invaluable assistance throughout the budget process.