DALLAS — Aside from the larger races on the ballot, for citizens of Dallas, there are 18 city charter amendment propositions to consider.
Many of the propositions haven’t garnered much attention; however, Propositions R, along with Propositions S, T, and U, have drummed up controversy.
Below is a full list of propositions:
Proposition A - to allow the city to contribute additional funding to the city’s employees’ retirement fund, including the pension fund for employees aside from police and firefighters.
Proposition B - to amend the Dallas city charter to add a preamble “that declares the city to be an equitable democracy, composed of representatives that act to make the city fair, equitable, just and safe for all residents.”
Proposition C - to amend the Dallas city charter to increase the annual salary for the mayor from $80,000 to $110,000 and the annual salary for city council members from $60,000 to $90,000 with salaries subject to a yearly adjustment equal to the year-over-year percentage increase in the local consumer price index, effective Jan. 1, 2025.
Proposition D - to amend the city charter to delete language requiring city council elections be held in May “and instead be held according to state law and as designated by city resolution or ordinance.”
Proposition E - to amend the Dallas city charter to eliminate the ability for city council members to run again after serving four two-year terms and eliminate the ability for the mayor to run for their seat after serving two four-year terms.
Proposition F - to amend portions of the city charter that require the city council to provide assistants to the city secretary and city auditor, to also require the city council to provide employees to the city secretary and city auditor.
Proposition G - to amend a section of the city charter to add eligibility criteria for serving on the city’s redistricting commission.
Proposition H - to amend portions of the city charter to eliminate the requirement that members of the redistricting commission, city plan commission, civil service board and park and recreation be registered to vote, qualified voters or qualified taxpaying citizens.
Proposition I - to change the portion of the city charter that lays out procedures for initiative and referendum ordinances, to extend the deadline for petitioners to collect the required signatures from 60 days to 120 days and reduce the number of signatures required on a petition from 10% of the qualified Dallas voters to 5%.
Proposition J - to change the city charter to allow the city council’s appointments to city boards and commissions to be replaced by city council prior to completion of a member’s two-year term.
Proposition K - to change the city charter to define a quorum of the city’s charter review commission.
Proposition L - to change the Dallas city charter to make the city’s Inspector General appointed by the city council and outline the duties of the Inspector General.
Proposition O- to amend the city charter to clarify the terms of associate municipal judges and state that associate municipal judges are appointed by city council, receive assignments from the administrative judge or the administrative judge’s designee, and must be residents of Dallas within four months of the date of appointment and practicing attorneys in good standing
Proposition P - to delete the requirement that a city employee who appeals their firing or demotion pays half of the costs associated with the appeal hearing.
Proposition Q - to make a series of changes meant to align the city charter with city code or state law and better match current city practices.
Proposition R- commonly referred to as the “Dallas Freedom Act.” Proposition R would amend the city charter to “prohibit the Dallas Police Department from making arrests or issuing citations for marijuana possession or considering the odor of marijuana as probable cause for search or seizure, except as part of a violent felony or high priority narcotics felony investigation” for those with four ounces or less of marijuana.
Proposition S - to give “standing to any resident of Dallas to bring a lawsuit against the city to require the city to comply with provisions of the city charter, city ordinances and state law.”
Proposition T - this would require the city to conduct a city-commissioned community survey each year of a minimum of 1,400 Dallas residents that would cause either the city manager earning a performance-based pay raise or the city manager’s firing.
Proposition U- this has two elements. One would earmark at least 50% of new revenue each year to fund the Dallas Police and Fire Pension. The other would require the city to maintain a force of at least 4,000 police officers and increase starting pay for officers.
Proposition R was brought forth by Ground Game Texas, an Austin-based nonprofit that has worked on similar local marijuana decriminalization propositions throughout Texas. Recently, Ground Game Texas announced country singer Willie Nelson is supporting the amendment.
Some city officials have said they oppose Prop R. That includes Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn and Mayor Eric Johnson, who co-wrote an opinion article for The Dallas Morning News asking voters to oppose all charter amendments on the ballot.
Propositions S, T and U were brought forward by the group Dallas Hero after it collected the required signatures. According to its website, the group is “a bipartisan 501c4 organization that seeks to introduce citizen-powered amendments to the Dallas City Charter.” The group says its goal is to improve public safety and hold city leaders accountable.
Advocates say the propositions would give Dallas residents place the power of accountability back in Dallas residents' hands and increase police staffing.
However, several local and law enforcement officials have spoken out against Propositions S, T and U. The Dallas Police Association told CBS News Texas the propositions would hinder the Dallas Police Department.
“[DPA] is strongly opposed to all three of these amendments - which were contrived by a small group of people who do not live in Dallas, with no open dialogue, no experience on the subject matter and no communications with police association leaders that would be impacted by these amendments,” DPA President Jaime Castro said.