Really, What Is It With Dallas and Budget Shortfalls? Now, It’s the County.

Dallas County’s FY2009 budget was passed by the commissioners on September 9 and went into effect October 1 — and chief among the Commissioners Court’s objectives was balancing the budget without raising taxes, as you’ll see on Page 2 of the 371-page document. But just two months into the new fiscal year, a single line on this morning’s Commissioners Court briefing agenda (“FY 2009 Budget Update”) has spawned this potentially bad news: There may well be a $25-million budget shortfall next fiscal year due to, among other things, decreasing property values caused by planned projects currently getting crunched by credit. And, as a result of declining property values, notes The News‘ Kevin Krause, “the current budget will probably see a $1.4 million shortfall.” –Robert Wilonsky