The City's Budget Shortfall is $131.1 Million, So Far. Forthcoming: Service Cuts, City Hall Layoffs and Fee Increases. And, a Tax Hike?

• I think they need to look at their Housing Department with all those Assistant Directors. What department needs all of those managers in one department?

• Give them more money and they will waste more money. They will be in the same position next year and asking for even more money. Several months ago I asked my council member to see if the city could provide me of a balance sheet and income statement that would show the sources of money and where it went to. No not the budget of what they hope to make you think that they spend; but a document that shows what they actually spent. Even with several reminders I have yet to see any such document. Either they don�t know or they don�t want us to know. The hotel, park deck suspension bridges, toll road and other examples of miss management seem to be favored over libraries, pot holes and basic infrastructure. This coupled with too many meetings by the city where the purpose is to convince themselves that �it�s not happening here� in terms of economic decline that has been effecting many cities for well over several years now. It�s hard to see the reality when you are constantly putting your head in the ground.

• Dallas has a mismanager

• With respect to revenue, Wanna Know and Jean Val Jean are right on target. Commercial property is wildly undervalued on the tax rolls. The fix is to ask your state legislator to require public disclosure of property sale prices. Then the appraisal districts would have information to work with. If that resulted in taxes too high to retain/attract business, taxing entities could adjust rates based on honest data. And I'm with Clancy on false burglar alarms, which make up the vast percentage of 911 police calls--97% of burglar alarms are false. Dallas passed a verified response ordinance that fixed this problem by requiring security companies to respond to alarms. But Mayor Tom got that repealed because a major campaign supporter didn't like the way the ordinance cut into his obscene profit margin. So once again we taxpayers foot the bill for poorly made alarm equipment by having our cops substitute for private security guards, instead of the company and its customers paying their own freight.

• The budget short-fall is $102.42 per resident. To start its new hotel, Dallas spent what, $40 Million to buy 8.5 acres that was on the tax rolls at $7.3 Million? Maybe the commercial tax rolls need to be updated. But like the others said, the city, county and DISD piss away more money annually than the shortfall. Nature abhors a vacuum and government abhors a capital surplus.

• COD==USELESS $$$$ spent + the Morons in control = no $$ in my pocket to live on.. way to go....

• I think we need to start by increasing code enforcement violations by commercial developers by 20,000%. Today I happened to drive up on a conversation taking place at an abandoned neighborhood development eyesore/bum magnet/weed and trash heap (with port-a-potty left for the convenience of the bums) between 4 middle-aged white guys. I stopped to inquire about the future of the eyesore/bum magnet/weed and trash heap, reminding the scout troup that code enforcement had already been there (orange placard still in place) and that we neighborhood lefties would get them back out regularly if necessary. The friendly developer/banker/$30,000 millionaire smiled and telegraphed "big deal, so what?" That's the economic development future Ms. Suhm is counting on. Good luck with that, Mary.

• Well...maybe Dallas can't afford to open swimming pools and libraries,or fix pot holes, or pay even provide hourly employees 40 hours a week.....BUT....we're going to have a damn fine new hotel, a cool deck park and a really swell bridge to north Oak Cliff. Hey...we're a World Class City BABY. Rightttttt.

• I hate to agree w/ No! but I think that is correct. The assumption behind raising taxes is that money is currently spent efficiently. We all know that's not true. It's not true at City Hall, it's not true at DISD. And it's not just a problem for municipalities - this is how it works in corporate life too. The only difference is that corporations don't have a captive pool of residents to hit up for more money; they have to actually make hard decisions when they can't pay their bills. I'd note that making hard decisions at City Hall and DISD wouldn't be so hard if there weren't a lot of private contractors (consultants, construction, etc) making so much money off their profligacy. Instead, we get talks about outsourcing Code. I honestly can't think of a worse idea. It will become just any contract for cronyism and you can forget about accountability or service. Instead of cutting back on corporate welfare, or development of hotels, or building bridges so some rich people can cash in on their investments in West Dallas, we talk about cutting back on one of the few services that a city absolutely SHOULD be providing. Unfortunately, the people making lots of money off the city have resources to lobby to keep themselves in there. Until priorities change, we're throwing good money after bad and they'll be back in another year claiming that we NEED to raise taxes again.

• The problem isn't that there isn't enough money to run the city, the problem is that much of it is wasted. Same with the school district. As I heard a financial guru say once, "It's not a debt problem, it's an overspending problem." The more we give them, the more they will waste. Unless I personally am put in charge of the state, city, and school district budget, I don't want them to get another dime from me. DISD alone spends millions--millions with an S--on consultants and travel. There are lots of places to cut and save in the city. They're closing pools so there will be an outcry and calls for higher taxes. NO to a Texas income tax that will merely give them more money to waste.

• You don't just hit the rich with property tax increases, you hit everyone, including businesses that are trying to generate wages for their workers. If people really want to see a change, they'll consider a true Texas income tax.

• Over $100,000 per year are you kidding? Trim those salaries and maybe, cumulatively you'll save $1-2 million. What needs to be looked at is the largest expenditures, not the piddly little amounts. Excuse me for feeling that (most of the time) you get what you pay for. So if you're talking about a city attorney, architect, or accountant you must realize that the market rate for some positions are going to be several thousands more than what the city is willing to pay. You cut that back and you end up with the bottom of the barrell - or those willing to cross the legal line to make their money. Only going after those making $100,000 is a witch hunt, with no valid facts behind the reasoning.

• Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics has famously asserted, "there's no free lunch." But what they've produced is a system where the rich get richer and all the others languish. Just as this resentment of people making fair wages. No one at the city is making over $150K; at least not more than 4 people. I'm all for attacking waste, drafting responsible budgets and the like. Sadly, the bond election has gotten the taxpayers to mortgage much of the city's future.

• Not that it would make much difference in the budget shortfall, but whatever happened to the council making $40.00 a meeting?

• It's high time the cowards around the horseshoe faced up to the fact that they need to raise property taxes this year. By a LOT. Yeah, I'm talking to YOU, Leppert. Your bullshit about attracting new businesses rings hollow when they realize the city will be picking up garbage once every 6 months, water will cost $250/gallon, etc. Services are already virtually nonexistent, stupid. If you can't or won't fix the revenue side of the equation, then raise taxes and enable the people who live here NOW to maintain a decent quality of life. Have you ever heard of streets, parks and code enforcement?

• &#64; scott, if I read your last sentence correctly, Mr. Friedman (or his ilk) founded the <b>Park Cities</b>. Maybe Dallas needs to charge Highland Park and University Park a <b>24% Franchise Tax</b>. We could call it <i>"A Turtle Runs Through It."</i>

• The fees are pernicious and the most regressive of taxation. That coward Suhm doesn't have the fortitude to simply raise taxes, instead she'll pick on the poor. What would be even better would be to raise the property tax something closer to $500/home with a subsequent $500 increase in the property tax exemption. There is a way to tax the most fortunate and able to afford these taxes without preying on the poor who've been nailed by the recession, the commodities price gouging thanks to Fed. reserve "stimulus" for mega banks. Hell, the bond interest payments are yet another payoff for the elites among us, when do they pay their fair share? America was built on taxing the wealthy 50's-80, the trickle down economy has hollowed out our economy. Now, we tax you hard, tax you more, then if you are able to survive that, you get the free ride. Or, even better, if you were uber-rich before, it's all been a free ride. Milton Friedman said there's no free lunch, but his plan was to ensure a free lunch for the elites.

• It is time to consider a tax increase. A $75.00 increase for the average residential home would not be unbearable and would produce meaningful improvements in the city services, or at least eliminate some of the cuts that will make Dallas a less attractive place to live. Just because the mayor is running for higher office, the citizens of Dallas should not suffer through the kind of draconian cuts in services he does not seem to mind.

• Website with ALL City of Dallas employee payroll reports http://www.texastribune.org/library/data/government-employee-salaries/dallas/

• Start with an Open Records Request. How many City employees make over $100,000 a year? Why do they? End the 'subsidies' to elite "cultural" organizations. The 99.99% of us who don't go to the Symphony, the Black Dance Arts, etc., will be grateful. Yeah, I know, they're needed to make Dallas a World Class City. My left foot. Leave libraries alone. That's one of the very few departments the average citizen gets any direct benefit from. Recreation centers, swimming pools. Lease them to private business, let them operate 'em. A $5 tax for garage sales? That's gonna make us rich? That won't begin to cover the record keeping. Who is gonna enforce it? A serious serious levy on false burglar alarm reports. As in, what's the real cost of sending police to investigate it. Random thoughts of where to start.

• The state Franchise tax killed us this year - 24% of our net income.

• How about fixing the valuation for commercial property?

• Look at it this way - a <i>lot</i> of those potholes out there will make it through their <b>teen years</b>. (sniff) They grow up so fast. (sobbing)

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