Dallas Council Approves Budget With Officer & Firefighter Raises
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Dallas City Council has approved the budget for the next fiscal year, and it includes raises for police officers and firefighters.
There were protests expected at the meeting, but as of the lunch hour none had taken place.
Activists, who have protested for the last week and a half over the death of Botham Jean, said they'd be at the council meeting this morning because raises for police officers are included in the overall budget.
This morning, the council voted 11-2 to adopt the 2018-2019 fiscal budget for the City of Dallas.
That budget includes boosting starting pay for police and firefighters from $51,000 to $60,000 a year and gives an across-the-board 3-percent pay raise to police and fire.
For days community activists have protested over the death of Botham Jean, who was shot and killed in his own home by an off-duty Dallas police officer.
Before the lunch break the only person who had spoken out was District 11 Councilman Lee Kleinman, who voted against giving police an across-the-board raise.
"At a time, right now when our community is really hurting, when our community is in the streets asking for justice, it just does not seem appropriate to reward that kind of behavior with an increase across the board," he said.
Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings was the only other "no" vote against the city's upcoming budget.
