The Dallas City Council agreed to continue "good faith negotiations" with public safety pension executives in a mostly ceremonial vote Wednesday, taking a step toward resolving a major source of tension between the city and Dallas Police and Fire Pension System.
In addition to the assurance to work out a deal, the vote could lead to the resolution of pending litigation started by the pension board last year.
The resolution also acknowledged a similar vote taken earlier this month by the board, in which they similarly agreed to "good faith" negotiations with the city.
The resolution passed unanimously without discussion.
Council member Cara Mendelsohn recused herself from this vote and has done so for all similar discussions after submitting a memo in October because of a conflict of interest -- her brother is chief legal counsel for the fund.
But she was previously one of the only dissenting voices siding with the fund in their push to increase retiree benefits despite a city analysis that found the pension board's plan could cost the city millions more.
KERA reached out to Mendelssohn and will update this story with any comment.
The city was required to submit a funding plan to state regulators late last year -- and did so. But the proposal differed from what pension executives say they wanted.
The two plans -- one crafted by the city and the other by pension executives -- are similar. They both fund the system in the time required by law, but one includes a cost-of-living increase for police retirees. The city's plan withholds that increase.
The differences could mean spending tens of millions of dollars of taxpayer money to fund the pension system, which has been grossly underfunded since the 2010s.
Bad investments by pension officials at the time led to the fund nearly collapsing. The Texas Legislature stepped in to help temporarily remedy the crisis -- but its on the city to fully fix the issue.
A Travis County court ruled late last year the city must move forward with the funding recommendations by the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System.
The pension crisis comes at time when Dallas faces a number of financial hurdles. That includes a $6.5 million budget shortfall and a mandate to comply with a new charter amendment requiring the city to hire hundreds more officers.
City Hall and the Dallas Police Department are also learning to navigate the crisis with a new leader. Daniel Comeaux was named the police chief in early April, after a national search conducted by city officials.
While public safety is constantly lauded as a priority at 1500 Marilla Street -- and by Dallas residents at large -- elected officials have yet to agree on what supporting the police department actually looks like.
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