Dallas orders 3 employee unpaid furlough days as budget shortfall deepens

The city of Dallas announced Tuesday that General Fund employees will be required to take three unpaid furlough days this year as city leaders scramble to close a widening budget gap, the latest in a series of cost-cutting measures since the city flagged financial trouble in recent months.

Non-uniform employees funded by the General Fund must take leave without pay on July 10, September 4 and September 28, with no option to use sick leave, vacation or comp time to cover the days, according to a statement released by the city. Executives at or above the assistant director level face two additional floating furlough days before September 16. Police, fire, EMS and 911 personnel are exempt, as are workers in self-funded enterprise departments like Dallas Water Utilities and Aviation.

City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert called the furloughs a last resort. “Furloughs are not our preferred solution; however, they enable us to reduce expenses, protect jobs and employee health benefits, and continue delivering services to our residents,” she said in the statement, adding the move helps position Dallas for the upcoming “FY27 and FY28 biennial budget.”

The furloughs build on an April hiring freeze and overtime cuts, but the city says expenses are still outpacing revenue.

The fiscal strain isn’t new. In June, the Observer reported on how the city is facing a $51 million shortfall for the upcoming fiscal year — its largest gap since COVID-19, driven by a shrinking tax base, a stagnant job market and falling commercial property values, especially downtown. Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland tied part of the overspending to rising employee medical costs, including increased use of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic.

Council members signaled tough choices ahead even before Tuesday’s furlough announcement. District 14’s Paul Ridley said the state’s revenue cap “really hamstrings” the city’s budget, while council member Paula Blackmon argued the city is “a little bloated on personnel” and that staffing should be reviewed before other cuts. Blackmon said “everything should be on the table,” including a potential sale of City Hall.

Other general fund departments were already running $16.4 million over budget, and rising contributions to the Dallas Police and Fire Pension plan are adding further pressure as the council heads toward its FY27 budget decisions this fall.