City of Dallas Institutes Furlough Days for General Fund Employees

The City of Dallas announced that it will institute furlough days for General Fund employees to help address a Fiscal Year 2025-26 shortfall.

The city put the details in a Tuesday afternoon press release. According to the release, these actions are necessary to maintain financial stability as revenues slow and certain operating costs continue to rise.

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The furlough days will be July 10, Sep. 4, and Sep. 28.

In addition to these three mandatory furlough days, all General Fund and Internal Service Fund non-uniform executives at or above the assistant director level are required to take an additional two floating furlough days prior to Sep 16.

Police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and 911 employees are exempt from the furloughs. Enterprise Fund departments, including but not limited to Dallas Water Utilities, Aviation, Convention and Event Services, and Sanitation are also exempt.

Some employees of Fleet Services and Information Technology Services will be exempt based on operational needs.

In April, the city implemented several General Fund budget reduction strategies to help manage growing financial pressures.

Those actions included a selective hiring freeze of all non-uniform hiring in General Fund departments, the elimination of non-uniform overtime except for mission critical needs, and the suspension of non-essential travel.

Despite these actions, General Fund expenses continued to outpace revenue. That prompted the announcement regarding furlough days. The city will continue to monitor revenue and expenditure forecasts as the fiscal year progresses.

"Furloughs are not our preferred solution; however, they enable us to reduce expenses, protect jobs and employee health benefits, and continue delivering services to our residents," said City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. "These steps are necessary to navigate the current financial challenges and to position the city responsibly for the upcoming FY 27 and FY 28 biennial budget."