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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has initiated legal action against Dallas officials, accusing them of failing to allocate sufficient funds to the city’s police department as stipulated by a public safety initiative approved by voters.
As part of his campaign for the U.S. Senate, Paxton, a Republican, claimed that Dallas has not adhered to Proposition U, a measure that was passed by the city’s electorate in 2024 to enhance public safety funding.
Proposition U mandates that 50% of any new annual revenue acquired by the city must be invested in police and fire department pensions. Additionally, the measure requires the city to maintain a police force of at least 4,000 officers, which is approximately 900 more than the number employed in 2024.
The lawsuit, which Paxton unveiled on Friday, specifically targets Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland Jr. as the primary defendants.
The lawsuit, announced on Friday, names Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert and Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland Jr. as defendants.
“I filed this lawsuit to ensure that the City of Dallas fully funds law enforcement, upholds public safety, and is accountable to its constituents,” Paxton said in a press release.
“When voters demand more funding for law enforcement, local officials must immediately comply,” he continued. “As members of law enforcement across the country increasingly face attacks from the radical Left, it’s crucial that we fully fund the brave men and women in law enforcement defending law and order in our communities. This lawsuit aims to do just that by ensuring Dallas follows its own charter and gives police officers the support they need to protect the public.”
Ken Paxton, Texas attorney general, accused Dallas of unlawfully refusing to comply with Proposition U. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Paxton alleges Dallas officials under-calculated the total of excess money the city had in its current budget to put toward safety measures in Proposition U. The additional revenue for the 2025-2026 fiscal year should be $220 million, according to Paxton, but the city only reported approximately $61 million in excess revenue.Â
The lawsuit also accuses Dallas of failing to hire an independent third-party firm to conduct an annual police compensation survey, as required under the measure.
The lawsuit accuses Dallas of failing to hire an independent third-party firm to conduct an annual police compensation survey. (HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The complaint demands that the city properly allocate the excess revenue towards police pensions, officer pay and increasing the number of officers in accordance with Proposition U.
Dallas city leaders have taken action to comply with Proposition U, according to Fox 4. In December, the city council approved a 30-year, $11 billion dollar pension funding plan for the police department.