Dallas police to lose $7 million in overtime pay

By Tanya Eiserer
Dallas Morning News

DALLAS — The Dallas Police Department is slated to lose $7 million in overtime funding in next fiscal year's proposed budget.

Police Chief David Kunkle said the department willingly gave up the overtime money.

"We've tried to reduce overtime as we add positions," he said. "It's something that we think are realistic savings."

In the past, the department needed more overtime so it could keep up with the burgeoning call load.

"That has become less and less necessary" as the ranks of grown, he said.

In the proposed budget, the department would still get about $21 million for overtime.

There are a whole raft of things are not yet funded in the proposed budget: $2.4 million for police records, $3.4 million for criminal intelligence and protective services, $5 million for headquarters management, $6.5 million for police internal affairs and public integrity, and $2.6 million for the helicopter unit, $5.4 million for police recruiting and personnel service.

The list goes on and on. $2.8 million for the mounted unit. $3.5 million for school crossing guards ( a state-mandated program). $4 million for the police auto pound.

Kunkle did did not seem overly concerned at this point.

"It's early in the budget process and I don't know yet what will be decided," he said. "But the council has always made public safety their top priority, particularly police."

First Assistant City Manager Ryan Evans said officials are working toward finding the funding for many of those items.

"We'll have to continue to make reductions throughout the organization to be able to fund some of these things," he said. "We're also going to have to look for new revenue sources."

Copyright 2009 Dallas Morning News