DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF) – Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is urging safety and transparency in the city’s economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
While speaking on WBAP’s Chris Salcedo Show on Thursday, Mayor Johnson called out the City Manager for proposing a property tax hike on this week’s City Council agenda to compensate for lost sales tax revenue during the pandemic.
“I don’t think it’s fair, I don’t think it’s respectful, I don’t think it’s even good policy to consider an authorization to raise taxes before we’ve even talked about a single cut to the bureaucracy,” said Mayor Johnson. “In the middle of a pandemic I can’t think of anything more inappropriate to discuss before we’ve discussed anything like what every private sector company is having to talk about right now.”
As city leaders contemplate ways to overcome the financial burden brought on by the pandemic, Dallas is being mentioned as a possible backup site for the Republican National Convention and a hub city for the NHL playoffs. Both events would bring revenue to local bars, hotels, and restaurants. The Mayor said he is referring to local doctors on whether or not hosting the events would be safe.
“At this point it’s a public health question,” Mayor Johnson said. “But I have not been asked about this. I’m not involved in the decision making process on this.”
According to the Mayor, if there wasn’t a pandemic to consider he’d be on board with both events being held in Dallas.
Listen to Clayton Neville’s story below:
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