Like a lot of Oregon cities, Dallas needs more money to keep doing things it has for done for decades. The cost of police and firefighting is more than a few years ago, and things like maintaining parks and keeping the pool open are projected to be more costly, too.
For months, the debate in Dallas has centered on how to make up for a projected shortfall. Options that were considered included cutting staff positions, including police and firefighters, trying to get voters to pass an operations levy and spinning off parks to a separate district.
The city council decided, on a 7-2 vote, to increase the public safety fee for each renter, home owner and business to $12.50 per month from $4.95. The increase goes into effect July 1.
The city said the estimated $1.1 million from the increase will only be used to pay for police, fire and EMS personnel starting with the 2024-25 fiscal year.
“Now we just move on and hopefully it helps,” Dallas Mayor Ken Woods Jr. said.