DALLAS, TX - Leaders in Dallas are searching for new funding sources after voters rejected a public safety bond package that would have helped the department build a new police academy.
Dallas voters rejected a $443 million public safety bond package that would have put millions toward the academy and help fund four other police and fire projects. Dallas is now short $82 million to finish construction on already broken ground at the University of North Texas at Dallas, Officer.com reported.
"We’re in the same position we were a few months ago,” said Jennifer Nicewander, director of the city’s office of bond and construction management. City leaders banked on voter approval to have enough money to pay for the academy and the other projects, Nicewander said during a public safety committee meeting on Monday, November 9.
The Dallas proposition failed by 12 percentage points, and there is clearly not a plan B for the academy or the other projects that were lined up. Dallas voters were asked to approve a $50 million bond in 2024 for the new police academy, which they did, but this year city leaders said that investment was not enough.
The project already relied on sizable private donations and only half of the promised $70 million in donations has been raised. The academy plan does not cover other police training needs. City officials also want to build a separate law enforcement training center that will house a gun range and driving track. The project is estimated to cost $170 million.
It's only 12 percent funded. The city has $15 million from the aviation department's budget to do pre-enabling work and has secured $6 million in sponsorships.
Some council members want to put a May bond election out to pay for the police academy, but others don't want to ask taxpayers for more money. City officials are also looking to go back to the Texas Legislature to get some state dollars.
Former council member Tennell Atkins was emphatic that the academy will be completed. He said the city must ensure the building doesn't end up as yet another project the city asked voters to pay for but was never actually built. Council member Adam Bazaldua said he does not know where the city is going to find the rest of the funds.
He has been part of a camp of city officials who have questioned why taxpayers were being asked to cover the shortfall when the academy was supposed to be funded mainly with donor funds. No one has so far committed to giving more.
Meeting a higher fundraising goal for the academy does not resolve the limbo the other projects are in. Total project costs that were part of the bond proposal included: police academy at University of North Texas at Dallas, $227 million, which now faces an $82 million gap; public safety training complex at Dallas Executive Airport, $170 million, which now faces a $149 million gap; consolidated property room and crime lab, $150 million, which is now unfunded; 911 emergency center, $40 million, which is now unfunded; and fire station 4, $22 million, which is now unfunded.
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