Dallas, TX
Dallas management gets a failing grade for finances
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The city of Dallas is going to ask voters to pass a bond package of $1.25 billion. Even this much money does not come close to covering the city’s need. Sadly, no money has been earmarked to address the $28 million needed to repair City Hall. Most alarming, it fails to address the pension problem that threatens Dallas.
Voters will have to decide if now is the time to borrow that much money. Dallas has a huge inventory of needs, but voters will have to ask: Is it prudent to borrow more money when we are already in such debt?
A just-released study on the fiscal health of American cities by the Truth in Accounting think tank provides a stark appraisal of Dallas’ fiduciary situation. The city earned a grade of “D.” That’s not the kind of Big D we want. Dallas finished worst among cities in Texas and among the bottom 10 of American cities overall.
Truth in Accounting was founded in 2002 by Sheila Weinberg, a practicing CPA with more than 40 years’ experience. The organization is “dedicated to educating and empowering citizens with understandable, reliable, and transparent government financial information.”
Each year Weinberg’s group studies the top 75 cities in the country and grades their fiscal responsibility. The study also attaches the dollar amount that would be required by every taxpayer to cover the city’s debts. This year Dallas finished 63rd out of the 75 cities, but improved from the previous year. By contrast, Washington, D.C., finished first and had a surplus of $2.8 billion, creating a surplus per taxpayer of $10,700.
Times have been good for Dallas. There has been Federal COVID-19 relief money, a huge sales tax boom and rapidly rising property appraisals. But somehow the city of Dallas still has a tax burden of $9,600 per resident, according to the Truth in Accounting study.
Even worse, Truth in Accounting reported, “The pension debt included in this report and the city’s financial report is based using 2021 data when pension investments were performing well. If the city’s pension investments experienced the same major decrease that most other cities experienced in 2022, Dallas’ pension debt would be higher. … Dallas had set aside only 61 cents for every dollar of promised pension benefits and no money set aside for promised retiree health care benefits.”
Underfunded municipal retirement programs are a risk to the U.S. economy. “Cities should focus on overfunding their retirement plans so they can weather market downturns,” Weinberg said in a press release. “If elected officials choose to ignore this perpetual issue, then taxpayers will be on the hook to pay higher taxes to cover the benefits promised to past government employees.”
According to the study, Dallas only has $3.4 billion available to pay $7.1 billion worth of bills. This $3.7 billion shortfall is an improvement by $1.9 billion from the prior year. So, the city improved and still earned a D — not good.
Dallas is losing residents. Its population shrank by 0.4% between April 2020 and July 2022, according to U.S. Census data. Even worse, we are losing young families. Many of those move to suburbs, which get high grades by Truth in Accounting. Plano finished third in the country and best in the state, earning it a B and a healthy surplus of $5,100 per citizen. Arlington ranked 16th and also earned a B thanks to its ability to run a surplus.
The budget for the city of Dallas continues to grow larger and larger, yet the delivery of services does not improve. The city offers far more services than it once did and promotes numerous programs. Whether it can afford all these, and if they are essential, is unclear.
I believe the city will have to address its spending habits. The city recently had to sell bonds to pay off its $55 million judgment in a gas drilling disaster. The City Council is already talking about more bonds (outside those in the bond package) to cover repairs at City Hall.
The upcoming bond election is necessary. The city must address its infrastructure. It must also repair the pension funds. Breaking the bond items into individual referendums gives voters the opportunity to determine which rise and fall on their own merits.
The city should not, however, expect a bailout from the state Legislature. Houston, Dallas and Austin have culturally and fiscally seceded from the rest of the state of Texas. The big cities may have a rude awakening when they look for a bailout of their pension funds. The state’s affluence and influence has shifted away from big cities and toward their bustling suburbs.
If Dallas cannot right the ship financially there could be dire consequences. Citizens could see the rising taxes and the elimination of the over 65 property tax exemption. Voters could find themselves thinking about the appropriate level of austerity.
While municipal bankruptcies are rare, they do occur. In 2020, a Pew Charitable Trust study determined 31 cities had done so since 2001, most famously Detroit in 2013. Interestingly, Detroit earned a grade of C in the most recent study, placing 39th. When you are looking up at Detroit in the standings, maybe you need to take a hard look at what you are doing.
The citizen satisfaction survey determined nearly half (47%) of citizens polled believe they are not receiving a good value for their tax dollars. Likewise, only 28% of citizens polled were “pleased with the overall direction that the city is taking.” Dallasites are frustrated with the series of debacles that have befallen the Broadnax administration.
It’s the administration of outgoing City Manager T.C. Broadnax that has determined that City Hall should be borrowing to the max. Can that judgment be trusted? Will our future city manager be as aggressive?
During a boom time, Dallas has increased its debt and earned a failing grade. Now, the city must hire someone capable of properly managing so much money.
We welcome your thoughts in a letter to the editor. See the guidelines and submit your letter here. If you have problems with the form, you can submit via email at letters@dallasnews.com
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Dallas, TX
Dallas Mavericks to Re-Sign Former NBA Champion
![Dallas Mavericks to Re-Sign Former NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks to Re-Sign Former NBA Champion](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_7552,h_4248,x_0,y_80/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/dallas_basketball/01j7762xc1tm4p3eq6zc.jpg)
After a few months of a rumored return, the Dallas Mavericks have agreed to terms to bring back veteran forward Markieff Morris. They’ll have to open up a roster spot to make the move official, which likely means A.J. Lawson’s unguaranteed contract will be waived.
Morris was traded to the Mavericks as part of the Kyrie Irving trade in 2023 and has been a key veteran presence in the locker room. He appeared in just 26 games for the Mavs last season, averaging 2.5 PPG. He did get a chance to check into the NBA Finals for the second time, hitting a three-pointer in Game 4 against the Boston Celtics.
READ MORE: Luka Doncic Made Jayson Tatum Question His Career
The Dallas Mavericks valued the leadership Morris brought to the locker room and while some fans wanted him on the bench as an assistant coach, Morris preferred to keep playing and is now back in Dallas.
Morris has played on eight different teams since being selected in the lottery of the 2011 NBA Draft. He most notably won a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020, averaging 5.9 PPG in that playoff run. While he won’t get his wish of playing with his twin brother Marcus, he should be happy to return to Dallas after mentioning it all offseason.
READ MORE: Shaquille O’Neal Gives Luka Doncic Contract Advice
Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the NBA Offseason
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Dallas, TX
Former Dallas Cowboys Star and NFL Hall of Famer Still Believes in Clemson
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There aren’t many people around football who believe Clemson will turn things around. The past 12 months would suggest they won’t, but history says they will.
Let’s not get too over the top here. Clemson is still a very talented football team, and losing to the consensus No. 1 team in America didn’t change that.
However, they need to start playing better. There’s no debating that. They’ll have an opportunity to do so on Saturday against an App State team that could beat them if they come out flat.
Emmitt Smith, the former Dallas Cowboys all-time great, shared that message. He spoke with Derrian Carter of The Greenville News about how important it is for them to come together and go on an impressive stretch.
“The good thing about having an early loss (is) as you start to gain momentum, and your team comes together, you get some wins on your belt (and) you get on the run, you never know how the end of the season may end,” Smith said. “They started off with the best, the No. 1 team in the nation. … Now, it’s about not having a mental let down (Saturday) and allowing Appalachian State to come in and shock you.”
Smith will attend Saturday’s game at Clemson, giving him a first-hand look at the team.
His advice to Clemson wasn’t the only thing he touched on. Smith also spoke about the potential conference change, as the Tigers are in a legal battle with the ACC.
“The SEC is already full, so don’t come there,” Smith said. “You’re better off staying in the ACC than going into the SEC because ain’t gonna be many more national championships. … I think being in the ACC, that conference has the ability to offer something that the SEC doesn’t offer. I think the ACC, whether you got Duke, you got Stanford now, you got great quality schools in there, I think it offers something different.”
His point is fair. The ACC has high-level academic schools, and while the SEC has a few, it doesn’t compare to the ACC.
However, all of this is about money. Whether Clemson wants to admit that or not is fair, but that’s the reality of the situation. If they believe they’d make more money in a different conference, that’s where they’ll be headed.
Nonetheless, it’ll be awesome to have a legend in the building on Saturday night.
Dallas, TX
Top Dallas-area performers in Texas high school football, Week 2
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Below you’ll find the top performances in rushing, receiving and passing from Dallas-area Texas high school football players in Week 2.
Rushing
Player, School, Yards
Moses Adelowo, Denton Braswell, 253
Sterling Schneider, Denton Guyer, 219
Cam Newton, Prosper Walnut Grove, 202
DeAngelo Perales, Garland Naaman Forest, 201
Christian Rhodes, Lake Highlands, 199
Micah Rivers, Northwest Eaton, 197
Travis Agee, Plano East, 191
Javian Osborne, Forney, 187
Kelden Ryan, DeSoto, 175
Watson Bell, Argyle, 170
Legend Bey, North Forney, 169
Rodney Franklin, Mesquite Horn 163
Receiving
Player, School, Yards
Vincent Aparicio, Princeton, 226
Carterrious Brown, Arlington Seguin, 187
Quentin Gibson, North Crowley, 180
Trantan Miles, Arlington Martin, 171
Xavier Green, The Colony, 168
Ryder Treadway, Frisco Wakeland, 162
McKenzie West, Frisco Independence, 159
Paulo Jimenez, South Garland, 158
Samuel Williams, North Garland, 144
Zion Robinson, Mansfield, 139
Tatum Bell, Jr., Frisco Heritage, 132
Trysten Shaw, Mesquite, 130
Passing
Player, School, Yards
Carson Porter, Keller Timber Creek, 350
Jayden Maples, Frisco Wakeland, 330
Marcus Flowers, Princeton, 328
Keelon Russell, Duncanville, 325
Cornell McGee IV, Richardson Berkner, 324
Daylon Brooks, South Grand Prairie, 311
Noah Schuback, Melissa, 310
Jackson Hays, Plano East, 302
Braeden Imhoff, Prosper, 292
Edward Griffin, Coppell, 283
Presley Harper, Richardson Pearce, 278
Ziondre Williams, Anna, 276
Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.
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