Pot reform, reshaping city government among 18 props in Dallas on Nov. 5

Dallas voters are asked to consider 18 amendments to the city's charter, including three that could dramatically reshape how the city government operates. Another proposal could make possession of a small amount of marijuana a low-level priority for police.

Propositions S, T, and U are three charter amendments that, if passed, would allow citizens to sue city officials, tie the city manager’s job to the results of a community survey, and a third, focused on public safety, mandates the hiring of 900 Dallas police officers.

A long list of current and former Dallas leaders, including four former mayors, have called the proposals bad for taxpayers, saying if passed, the measures could cripple city government. The Dallas Police Association was joined by eight City Council members urging a "no" vote. The president of the Dallas chapter of the National Black Police Association said he supported the amendments.

Pete Marocco, with Dallas Hero, the group that placed the three charter amendments on the ballot, told NBC 5 at the start of early voting that many rank-and-file officers support them too, and 170,000 signatures from Dallas voters should speak louder than elected officials in opposition.

“This is the people’s proposition. This is about a solution for the city of Dallas and for the police department,” Marocco said.

The propositions can be read below. There were no propositions for letters K, M, and N. Voters will consider the following propositions and will be asked whether they are "for" or "against" each.

PROPOSITION A -- Retirement fund amendment

Shall Chapter 40A of the Dallas City Code, known as the employees’ retirement fund of the City of Dallas, be amended in accordance with Ordinance No. 32801 to: add, revise, and delete various definitions; provide amended terms and term limits of the board; modify the retirement fund board’s powers and duties; specify the date the board shall adopt the actuarially determined contribution rate, the current total adjusted total obligation rate, the current total obligation rate, and the pension obligation bond credit rate for each fiscal year; provide amended contribution amounts for the city and employees; provide a contribution maximum for Tier A and Tier B employees; provide that the city may contribute additional monies to the retirement fund in its sole discretion; amend the modifications of contribution rates; provide guardrails with respect to the calculation of the actuarially determined contribution and incorporating the guardrails into actuarial assumptions; and amend the procedure to amend Chapter 40A?

PROPOSITION B -- Adding a Preamble to the City Charter

Shall the Dallas City Charter be amended by adding a preamble that declares the city to be an equitable democracy, comprised of representatives that act to make the city fair, equitable, just, and safe for all residents?

PREAMBLE We, the people of the City of Dallas, under the constitution and laws of the state of Texas, establish this preamble in order to secure the benefits of local self-government and set forth the guiding principles for our city. We affirm the values of our city as an equitable democracy, comprised of representatives that act to make our city fair, equitable, just, and safe for all those who reside within it. Updated 9-11-24

PROPOSITION C -- Increasing Salaries for the Mayor and Councilmembers

Shall Chapter III, Section 4(a) of the Dallas City Charter be amended to increase the annual salary for the mayor to $110,000 and the annual salaries for councilmembers to $90,000 with salaries subject to a yearly adjustment equal to the year-over-year percentage increase in the local consumer price index, effective January 1, 2025?

PROPOSITION D -- Removing Election Date from the Charter

Shall Chapter IV, Section 3 of the Dallas City Charter be amended by deleting the requirement that elections for members of the city council be held in May and instead be held according to state law and as designated by city resolution or ordinance?

PROPOSITION E -- Eliminating the Ability for Councilmembers and Mayor to Run Again After Serving the Limit of Terms

Shall Chapter III, Section 3A of the Dallas City Charter be amended to eliminate the ability for members of the city council to run for city council again after serving the maximum four two-year terms and to eliminate the ability for the mayor to run for mayor again after serving the maximum two four-year terms?

PROPOSITION F -- Providing the City Secretary and City Auditor with Employees

Shall Chapter IIIA, Section 2 and Chapter IX, Section 2 of the Dallas City Charter, which requires the city council to provide assistants to the city secretary and city auditor, be amended to also require the city council to provide employees to the city secretary and city auditor?

PROPOSITION G -- Adding Eligibility Criteria for Serving on the Redistricting Commission

Shall Chapter IV, Section 5(b)(2) of the Dallas City Charter, which establishes the redistricting commission, be amended by adding eligibility criteria for serving on the redistricting commission?

PROPOSITION H -- Eliminating the Requirement that Members of Boards and Commissions Created by Charter be Registered to Vote, Qualified Voters, or Qualified Taxpaying Citizens

Shall Chapter IV, Section 5; Chapter XV, Section 3; Chapter XVI, Section 1; and Chapter XVII, Section 2 of the Dallas City Charter be amended by eliminating the requirement that members of the redistricting commission, city plan commission, civil service board, and park and recreation board be registered to vote, qualified voters, or qualified taxpaying citizens?

PROPOSITION I -- Amending Initiative and Referendum Petition Procedure by Extending Deadline for Petition Signature Collection from 60 Days to 120 Days and Reducing Number of Signatures Required on a Petition to Initiate a Referendum

Shall Chapter XVIII, Section 11 of the Dallas City Charter, which establishes procedures for initiative and referendum of ordinances, be amended to extend the deadline petitioners must meet to collect required signatures from 60 days to 120 days and reduce the number of signatures required on a petition from 10 percent of the qualified voters of the City of Dallas to five percent?

PROPOSITION J -- Allowing City Council to Replace City Board and Commission Members Before Completion of Board and Commission Terms

Shall Chapter XXIV, Section 17(b) of the Dallas City Charter be amended to allow city council’s appointments to city boards and commissions to be replaced by city council prior to completion of a member’s two-year term?

PROPOSITION L -- Adding the Office of the Inspector General to the Charter

Shall Chapter XI, Section 2 be amended and a new chapter be added to the Dallas City Charter that establishes the Office of the Inspector General with the Inspector General being appointed by city council and lists the duties of the Inspector General?

PROPOSITION O -- Amending the Appointment Procedure and Qualifications of Associate Municipal Judges

Shall Chapter VIII, Section 6 of the Dallas City Charter be amended to clarify the terms of associate municipal judges and state that associate municipal judges are appointed by city council, receive assignments from the administrative judge or the administrative judge’s designee, and must be residents of Dallas within four months of the date of appointment and practicing attorneys in good standing?

PROPOSITION P -- Deleting the Requirement to Pay One-Half the Costs of Administrative Law Judge

Shall Chapter XVI, Section 12.1 of the Dallas City Charter be amended by deleting the requirement that a city employee who appeals his or her discharge or reduction in grade to an administrative law judge pay one-half of the costs attributed to having the administrative law judge conduct the appeal hearing?

PROPOSITION Q -- Technical Amendments to Conform to State Law, City Code, and Actual Practices; to Correct Terms; and to Clarify Language

Shall Chapter III, Section 3; Chapter III, Section 4; Chapter III, Chapter 8(b); Chapter III, Section 13(a); Chapter III, Section 19; Chapter IV, Section 6(a); Chapter IV, Section 6(c)(2); Chapter IV, Section 13; Chapter XI, Section 1; Chapter XI, Section 3; Chapter XII, Section 4; Chapter XIII, Section 2(2); Chapter XIII, Section 9; Chapter XIV, Section 8; Chapter XV, Section 3; Chapter XV, Section 4; Chapter XVI, Section 3(b)(1); Chapter XVI, Section 7; Chapter XVI, Section 10(a); Chapter XVI, Section 11(b); Chapter XVIII, Section 7; Chapter XVIII, Section 11(1); Chapter XVIII, Section 15; Chapter XIX, Section 7; Chapter XXII, Section 2; Chapter XXII, Section 3; Chapter XXII, Section 4(1); Chapter XXII, Section 10; and Chapter XXIV of the Dallas City Charter be amended to conform to state law, conform to the city code, match actual practices, correct terms, clarify language, and other technical amendments?

PROPOSITION R -- Reform Marijuana Enforcement

Shall the Dallas City Charter be amended by adding a new section in Chapter XXIV that reforms marijuana possession enforcement by prohibiting the Dallas Police Department from making arrests or issuing citations for marijuana possession or considering the odor of marijuana as probable cause for search or seizure, except as part of a violent felony or high priority narcotics felony investigation; making enforcement of Class A (currently, two to four ounces) and Class B (currently, up to two ounces) misdemeanor marijuana possession the Dallas Police Department’s lowest enforcement priority; and prohibiting city funds or personnel from being used to test cannabis-related substances to determine whether a substance meets the legal definition of marijuana, except in limited circumstances?

Read and watch the NBC 5 report on Proposition R here.

PROPOSITION S - Granting Standing to Residents and Waiving Governmental Immunity

Shall the Dallas City Charter be amended by adding a new chapter that grants standing to any resident of Dallas to bring a lawsuit against the city to require the city to comply with provisions of the city charter, city ordinances, and state law; entitles claimants to seek declaratory and injunctive relief against the city and recover costs and reasonable attorney’s fees; and waives the city’s governmental immunity from suit and liability in claims brought under this amendment?

PROPOSITION T -- Annual Community Survey

Shall Chapter VI of the Dallas City Charter be amended by adding a new section compelling the city to conduct the city-commissioned Community Survey on an annual basis, to be completed by a minimum of 1,400 Dallas residents on their satisfaction on quality of life issues, the results of which will result in the city manager earning additional performance compensation (between 0 percent and 100 percent of the city manager’s annual base salary) or the termination of the city manager?

PROPOSITION U -- Police and Fire Funding Appropriation

Shall Chapter XI of the Dallas City Charter be amended by adding a new section compelling city council to appropriate no less than 50 percent of annual revenue that exceeds the total annual revenue of the previous year to fund the Dallas Police and Fire Pension, with any monies remaining of that 50% to be appropriated to increasing the starting compensation of officers of the Dallas Police Department and to increase the number of police officers to a minimum of 4,000, and to maintain that ratio of officers to the City of Dallas population as of the date of passage of this amendment?

Read and watch the NBC 5 report on Propositions S, T and U here.