Proposition U requires that the city maintain a police force of at least 4,000 officers. (Photo by AP/Julio Cortez)
A voter-approved amendment from 2024 requires the city to “properly fund” the Dallas police department.
Texas Attorney General and Republican US-Senate hopeful Ken Paxton is suing Dallas city officials for “refusing to comply with Proposition U.”
Prop U is a local amendment voters passed in 2024 that requires at least 50% of new revenue each year to go toward the Dallas Police and Fire Pension. It also requires that the city maintain a police force of at least 4,000 officers, and raises the starting salary for those officers.
It was one of three controversial amendments placed on the ballot after petitioning from Dallas HERO, a nonprofit group with right-wing ties that’s funded by Dallas-area hotelier and GOP megadonor Monty Bennett.
The proposition faced opposition from a coalition of elected officials, local leaders, and community members who warned if more money is shifted to hire police officers, it would cause the city to have to make cuts to other vital services such as access to libraries, street code compliances, parks, and economic development.
In a press release from his office Paxton said that city officials “failed to properly calculate and allocate excess city revenue” and that it is “underfunding” the Dallas police department. He also claims that city officials failed to hire an independent third-party firm to conduct an annual police compensation survey.
Paxton said that the city reported additional revenues of $61 million, but claims that figure should have been $220 million. It’s not clear from the lawsuit or city budget documents how Paxton’s office reached that figure.
Dallas had around 3,100 officers when the proposition passed, and according to current recruitment trends it would take almost 15 years to hit the proposed 4,000 mark, which is estimated to cost at least $175 million to hire, train, and outfit 900 additional cops.
In June 2025, the Dallas City Council voted to change its police-hiring standards to boost recruitment, eliminating its college credit requirement in an effort to hire more officers. Critics said lowering standards to boost hiring could lead to less-qualified officers patrolling the streets.
As of November, the department had 3,314 officers, according to reports from KERA.
“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. “When voters demand more funding for law enforcement, local officials must immediately comply.”
The lawsuit names the City of Dallas, City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, and Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland Jr. as defendants.
It comes as Paxton is running in the Republican primary for US Senate, where he will face incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and US Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Houston).
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