Equity is a word most people associate with property value. However, in the financial world, equity is a word that defines economic power and influence. In Dallas, it was apparent that the city didn't create services equitably or operate in an equitable manner. The first project to come out of the training sessions with GARE resulted in Dallas' start to budgeting for equity. The overall goal was to assess Dallas' operations and services and create a more equitable budget for all of Dallas' residents.
Serving as an assistant project manager, Dominic and two team members worked besides their assistant director to aid in creating the equity forward budget. Dominic's responsibilities were to ensure all city departmental goals and performance measures reflected equitable initiatives tying back to the city's strategic priorities and overarching goals. The budget process for the City of Dallas begins in January with a kickoff and lasts through August with the most stringent tasks and deadlines happening from May through July.
As the budget process continued, meeting with some departments raised concerns when diving into their performances and operations. Department managers and executives alike would claim their respective departments had no impartialities, but didn't realize some of their operations and/or services weren't readily accessible to those who may need or benefit from services offered. Large departments like public works, sanitation, and police were shown to have inequitable performances, while departments like Culture & Arts, Office of Community Affairs, and Park & Recreation were shown to have inequitable services and locations.
The deliverable as submitted by the Office of Budget, proposed by the city manager, and adopted by the mayor and council was a budget book containing program outcomes and key results aiming to make Dallas a more equitable place to live, work, and play. The budgeting for equity process has continued from 2019 into 2022.
