November 10, 2022
Hello DPROA Members,
I’m writing you today to bring everyone up to speed with what your association has been working on the last few months.
- Our Annual Adjustment and Benefit Supplement Lawsuit (Case No. 05-22-00644-CV) is currently on the docket at the 5th Court of Appeals. We are posting our briefs on the DPROA website, but you can also follow the link below to the court’s website and search the case number above. Here you will find our briefs, the Pension System’s briefs, as well as any amicus curiae briefs filed. PLEASE CLICK HERE.
- Ken Seguin and I met with Ms. Cara Mendelsohn, Dallas City Councilmember for District 12 back on September 20th. We reached out to her following news reports of her challenging City Manager T.J. Broadnax’s use of funds designated in the proposed 2023 budget for the stabilization of the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System. Paraphrasing here, she was heard to say the figure of $14 million was laughable and even if he added another zero to make it $140 million it would still not be enough. We were both impressed with her knowledge of the pension and its problems as well as her desire to fix it. She described herself as our #1 ally on the council, followed closely by Mayor Eric Johnson. She thinks he is committed to fixing the pension, but he is not sharing when and how at this point.
We feel our membership should hear from her directly; and so we have invited her to address our membership on November 30th at 11:00am, in the Knights of Columbus Hall, 10110 Shoreview Rd. Dallas, TX. This will take the place of our normally scheduled meeting for December. We will hold an abbreviated version of our usual General Membership meeting at the conclusion of her remarks. THERE WILL NOT BE ANOTHER MEETING IN DECEMBER.
Everyone please remember, she is our ally and desires to work for us and with us to insure we all have a pension for years to come. She is not responsible for the problems of the past so please treat her with respect. Because the information she will be sharing is so vital to every retiree, the DPROA Executive Board has decided to open the meeting up to all retirees and their beneficiaries. If you have a retiree friend who is not a member of DPROA please invite them to come with you.
- Councilmember Mendelsohn also serves as the Chair for the Government Performance & Financial Management Committee. She has scheduled DP&FP Executive Director Kelly Gottschalk to brief her committee at 1:00 p.m. in Council Chambers on November 15th. This is an open meeting should anyone be interested in attending. We have supplied Councilmember Mendelsohn with some questions we would like to have asked.
- Over the past month I have sent two emails to the Mayor and Council containing information about our association and the negative impacts of HB 3158 on our membership. My intent is to continue sending these brief messages to inform councilmembers of the sacrifices retirees have been forced to endure, all while civilian employees continue to enjoy full benefits. These messages will be posted on our website under the President’s Briefs.
- We are quickly approaching the end of the year and soon it will be time to pay your annual dues. Annual dues for retired police are $270 and retired Fire (Associate Membership) $135 and they are due by January 31, 2023. That is unless you have signed up for auto pay with the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System. This is the method I use and they deduct $22.50 a month out of my pension check. For Associate Members it is $11.25 a month and you never have to renew dues again. You can also pay by check or Zelle. You cannot pay through the website or with a credit card.
I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Sincerely,
David Elliston
President, DPROA