Dallas County commissioners have revived a plan that could put a homeless-services tax before voters, taking a 3-2 procedural step Tuesday toward a Nov. 3 ballot measure. The vote does not impose the tax, but it puts the proposal back on a fast-moving track after commissioners initially rejected it.
Commissioner Theresa Daniel asked for the redo after a closed executive session, saying confusion over the wording of the first motion had affected the vote. According to The Dallas Morning News, Daniel switched to support advertising the higher rate, joining County Judge Clay Jenkins and Commissioner Andrew Sommerman; Commissioners Elba Garcia and John Wiley Price remained opposed.
What Dallas County Actually Approved
The court voted to advertise a proposed property-tax rate of 25.31 cents per $100 of valuation for homeless services. Dallas County currently levies a 21.55-cent rate, while officials could adopt a 22.46-cent rate without sending the question to voters, according to the Dallas County government.
For a $350,000 home, the current county tax would be about $754, compared with roughly $786 at the non-election rate and $886 if voters approve the higher proposal. The measure could generate about $150 million for homelessness programs, while data presented to commissioners linked unsheltered homelessness to thousands of jail bookings and tens of thousands of Parkland Hospital visits, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Tax Proposal Splits Commissioners
Garcia and Price have argued that homelessness intervention should not become a county-government responsibility, while supporters say the county is already paying for the consequences through the jail, hospitals and public spaces. Garcia also warned that any new burden would land on property owners across a county of about 2.7 million people, as KERA News previously reported…