City Approves Nearly $200M in Spending

During the last meeting before its summer recess, the Dallas City Council authorized $196,778,356 in spending.

The federal government covered $20,381,931 of the bill through COVID-19 recovery funds, while one $50,000 item was paid for with a grant from the Texas Veterans Commission. Dallas taxpayers are paying for the remaining balance.

The most expensive item approved by the council at Wednesday’s meeting was the allocation of $30,000,607 for construction services at Dallas Love Field Airport.

The specific project is called the Lemmon Avenue Streetscape Enhancements Project, and it will be undertaken by RoeschCo Construction.

Council members also approved spending $26,208,700 on a construction services contract with Bar Constructors for rehabilitation and pumping improvements at the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The City’s representatives also authorized spending $23,928,072 on a three-year contract for school crossing guards with Court & Detention Services and $22,095,745 on a 10-year agreement for upgrades to the City’s financial software. The software will be purchased from Carahsoft Technology.

Additionally, council members approved allocating $16,500,000 toward the purchase of both emergency and non-emergency medical supplies for Dallas Fire-Rescue. The supplies will be bought from Medline Industries, Henry Schein, Bound Tree Medical, and Life-Assist.

The City Council also authorized $12,325,026 for electric vehicle charging stations and related software from Ford through the Florida Sheriff’s Association Cooperative Agreement.

Additional expenditures improved by the council on Wednesday include:

• $12,281,670 — improving and extending water and wastewater mains at 21 locations in “underserved areas”
• $7,484,335 — parts, repair, and software support for water treatment plans and other water services
• $6,000,000 — terminating a lease agreement at Dallas Executive Airport
• $4,880,099 — construction management services for improvements at several water treatment plants
• $3,911,167 — purchasing a “threat anomaly detection system” for the IT Department from Netsync Network Solutions
• $3,399,822 — engineering services for the Lake June Pump Station and Reservoir Replacement Project
• $3,226,085 — “a budget estimate of the needs and requirements” for the City auditor’s office
• $3,016,700 — human capital management module consulting and implementation for the HR department
• $3,000,000 — master leasing services with Housing Forward for homeless housing
• $2,600,000 — a one-year sub-recipient service contract with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
• $2,548,000 — implementing program assurances services to support the City’s new land management system
• $2,200,000 — implementing the American Rescue Plan Act Residential Septic Tank Program
• $1,476,869 — purchasing an auto property damage/catastrophic fleet damage insurance policy
• $1,200,000 — purchasing youth summer enrichment programming from Youth Guidance, Inc.
• $1,063,612 — engineering work for drainage relief plans for the Dixon Branch and Eustis Avenue
• $1,000,000 — a two-year service contract with United Way Metropolitan Dallas
• $782,258 — installing wastewater mains at two locations
• $725,000 — developing the Dallas Accelerator Program for the Small Business Center Department
• $500,000 — airport safety and work order management
• $416,066 — management software for the Park & Recreation Department
• $369,004 — relocating a water main and wastewater main within the City of Richardson
• $363,724 — airport financial and management consulting
• $345,036 — using WIC Program funds for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
• $328,394 — increase a contract to upgrade the City’s data aggregation platform software
• $293,612 — reimbursing funds to the Dallas County Election Department from the general election held last year on November 8
• $259,000 — architectural reconstruction at the Dallas Museum of Art
• $250,000 — architectural services for the Airport Operation Center and Airport Emergency Operation Center for Dallas Love Field
• $246,623 — installing playground equipment and surfacing a basketball court at Cherrywood Park
• $217,652 — repairing wastewater pipes at the Southside Wastewater Treatment Plant
• $185,524 — maintenance and support for the Water Utilities Department’s supervisory control and data acquisition system
• $175,195 — paying additional dollars to Dallas County for the May 1, 2021, general election
• $175,000 — an agreement with the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to provide the City’s Bureau of Vital Statistics with online access to the DSHS’s Vital Event Registration System
• $170,998 — renovating the office of The Dallas Examiner at 4510 South Malcolm X Blvd.
• $150,000 — legal services for enforcing the Hensley Field settlement agreement
• $140,800 — supporting the Dallas Police Department Fentanyl Education and Enforcement Program
• $70,000 — legal counsel for a case involving Chief Building Official Andrew Espinoza
• $50,000 — using Texas Veterans Commission grant funds for the South Oak Cliff Veterans Treatment Court Project
• $50,000 — developing an “equity-driven selection framework” for future bond proposals
• $31,050 — a use agreement with White Rock Boathouse to store boats for the White Rock Rowing Program
• $15,500 — acquiring a water easement from Lakes of Bent Tree Condominium Association for about 1,848 square feet of land
• $15,250 — purchasing 2,320 square feet of land from Wendy’s for a Northwest Highway project
• $4,970 — purchasing 540 square feet of land from Texas Ranch Land for a wastewater main replacement project

However, the council also approved several items expected to add dollars to City coffers.

Council members approved the sale of several pieces of land for a total of $66,284. However, the City will also forego an estimated $101,201 in taxes through related deals.

Various other items approved by council members are expected to bring in a total of $889,669.

The full agenda for the June 28 council meeting can be found here.