Dallas will furlough more than 4,200 city employees for three days to counteract a $30 million budget shortfall expected this year, city officials said Tuesday.

Reasons for the Shortfall

The state’s third largest city has seen higher-than-expected costs this year as its revenue fell short, driven by a drop-off in expected sales tax revenue. Overtime for police officers and firefighters and increased health care costs for employees helped drive costs beyond what the city had planned, Dallas officials said in May.

To help bridge the gap, about half of the city’s civilian employees must take off work without pay on July 10, Sept. 4 and Sept. 28, city officials announced. A group of city executives must also take another two unpaid days off sometime before Sept. 16.

“Furloughs are not our preferred solution,” Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert said in a statement. “However, they enable us to reduce expenses, protect jobs and employee health benefits, and continue delivering services to our residents.”

Response from City Officials

In a statement responding to the furloughs, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson called on the city council to “thoroughly examine every part of our City government for opportunities to reduce spending and improve efficiency.”

“Dallas literally cannot afford to maintain the status quo,” Johnson said.

Police officers, firefighters, paramedics and city employees who staff 911 dispatch centers are exempt from the furlough days. The order also doesn’t apply to workers at Dallas Love Field Airport, in the city’s sanitation department or the city’s Water Utilities department.

Original reporting: Texas Tribune (HLL/CB) — read the source article.