Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson failed again Wednesday to win sufficient support for the big property tax rate reduction he has been requesting.
By a vote of 10 to 5, the city council gave final approval to the new budget proposal from City Manager T.C. Broadnax, which includes a smaller property tax rate reduction.
Most members said residents want the services included in the budget and not the service cuts required for a lower tax rate.
Due to rising property values, the lower tax rate of $0.7393 per $100 valuation will still increase final tax bills for many property owners.
Wednesday’s longest budget discussion was over the historic Majestic Theater and the Office of Arts and Culture that is housed there.
The century-old theater is all that’s left of the downtown theater row that once occupied Elm Street in Dallas.
The elaborate lobby and performance space still get weekly public use.
But the 43-year-old elevator, added in a 1980 renovation, is in need of repair.
The 4th and 5th floor space used by the Dallas Office of Arts and Culture has 30 employees but space for only 19.
Restrooms with stairs and narrow doors do not provide access for disabled workers, as prescribed by the Americans With Disabilities Act in the US decades ago.
City employees working in the building must also pay for expensive downtown parking if they choose to use cars for transportation or walk a long way to free parking lots.
“This is one of those decisions that has a real impact on the morale of the employees,” said Councilman Zarin Gracey, a former city employee himself.
He was among the council members voting against an amendment to block $190,000 in the $4.6 billion budget for Office of Arts and Culture office improvement.
Councilman Adam Bazaldua said it was improper micro-management of city staff recommendations.
“We’re going to sit here and talk for a couple of hours about $190,000? This is insane,” Bazaldua said.
The amendment resulted from complaints from arts groups, shared with council members, that spending for the office would come at the expense of much-needed funding for their organizations.
“Coming back from Covid, I know arts have struggled with that, and every dollar we can find for artists and for grants, I want to push out there versus an office move,” Councilman Chad West said.
The original budget book said the money would pay for an office relocation.
“I don’t have a district office. I go to coffee shops, gas stations, that’s where I hang out,” Council Member Gay Donnell Willis said. “This set off alarm bells, and I think that’s why what was in the book has shifted.”
Office of Arts and Culture Director Martine Elyse Philippe clarified Wednesday that the updated plan for the spending includes elevator repair, reconfiguring temporary space in the building for more workers, downtown worker parking subsidies, and a study of a possible move within the next few years.
“It would be great if they could work out in the community, but we say in the same sentence, there is no space out in the community for the arts organizations actually to work in,” City Manager T.C. Broadnax said.
The amendment blocking the $190,000 was rejected. The City Manager’s budget proposal was approved with minor changes over the past several weeks of city council review.
It takes effect October 1.
