Dallas city manager says more tough decisions ahead after furloughs

Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax said more tough decisions are ahead after 472 employees were furloughed Wednesday to address the city’s budget shortfall this fiscal year due to the coronavirus.

Broadnax told council members Thursday that some park facilities or library branches may have to remain closed over the summer.

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam McGough said some of those Park and Recreation services are used as much-needed child care. But Broadnax said youth day camps offered by the Park and Rec Department, for example, aren’t allowed to open at this point.

“The question, at least in my mind … is the discussion about which ones to close,” Broadnax said. “It’s really about, which one of those and how many of those centers will we be able to open back up as we continue to move through the revenue issues with the pandemic.”

The 11-week furloughs — which hit Park and Recreation, library and arts departments — will save the city an estimated $4 million. It faces a $25 million budget shortfall this fiscal year.

City officials said it impacted employees who had been sent home late March and were designated as nonessential. Dallas closed all 43 recreation facilities, 29 libraries and four neighborhood cultural centers March 14

Many employees who were furloughed worked from home, while others were on mandatory paid leave leading up to the furloughs.

McGough told the city manager that council members want to see the criteria he’s using to make those decisions.

The city’s golf courses, tennis centers and gun ranges reopened in May. Park director John Jenkins told council members he saw a 10% to 40% decline in golf and tennis attendants, which totaled about 3,600 since the reopening.

Jenkins said the department plans to include dog parks, skateparks, disc golf and park pavilions in the second phase of reopening, though no date has been determined.

The extended furloughs allowed for those employees to collect unemployment benefits, Tolbert said. She said the office has established a “dedicated employee care team” that would help direct furloughed employees to resources.

Tolbert said city officials are considering other cost-saving measures that could include layoffs. She said they’re also considering early retirement incentives and will “scrub every single budget” in every department for options.

“We know there are going to be some more difficult decisions that we’re going to have to make,” Tolbert said.

Elizabeth Reich, the city’s chief financial officer, said using the city’s reserves could be an option but it would be a last resort. She said she plans to come to council members with a plan for the budget on June 17.