8 August 21 - 27, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents colleagues across the state, this is part of a larger trend that we’re seeing now,” Keller said. UNT did not respond to the Observer’s request for comment. A budget draft published by the University of Texas Board of Regents shows the Univer- sity of Texas at Arlington facing a decline in tu- ition revenue between $13 million and $15.6 million in the next fiscal year. The university is anticipating a “40% reduction in international graduate students,” and 300 fewer undergrad- uate students, thanks to a June 2025 court rul- ing that found undocumented residents ineligible for in-state tuition. Last spring, UTA reported that 5,223 in- ternational students had enrolled in classes. Fall enrollment numbers are not yet available. A spokesperson for Texas Woman’s Uni- versity, which has a significantly smaller in- ternational population than UNT, told the Observer that international enrollment is level with previous years’ data. For the fall 2025 semester, 177 international students are registered for classes compared to 199 in the spring. Still, with two weeks left until classes begin, the university said an addi- tional 10 to 15 students will likely enroll. International enrollment projections were unavailable for the University of Texas at Dallas, the state’s second-highest at- tended university by international students. The NAFSA report states that Texas alone could see 14,000 fewer international students enrolled in classes this fall com- pared to last year, amounting to $388.5 mil- lion in forgone revenue. According to Politico, sweeping new poli- cies regarding how embassies screen appli- cants for student or other education-related visas went into effect this past June. Those policies included screening applicants’ so- cial media profiles for “any indications of hostility towards the citizens, culture, gov- ernment, institutions or founding principles of the United States,” which NAFSA believes could have resulted in a number of students’ visa applications being denied, or deterred potential students from applying at all. Foreign embassies also temporarily paused student visa interviews in May, which could have caused some foreign stu- dents to fail to meet critical deadlines for the fall semester. Data provided to the Observer by the In- ternational Institute of Education shows that across the United States, 40% of univer- sities anticipate a dip in international enroll- ment on the undergraduate level in the upcoming school year, and 49% anticipate a decline in graduate-level enrollment. “Visa application process-related issues re- main the most frequently cited concern, with 87% of respondents noting that delays or deni- als may impact enrollment,” the institute said, adding that universities have consistently re- ported visa-related concerns for several years. For North Texas universities, complica- tions to the visa process in a few specific countries could have an immediate effect on fall enrollment numbers. NAFSA reports that consulates in India, China, Nigeria and Japan have offered lim- ited or no appointments for student visa ap- plicants throughout the summer. An overwhelming majority of North Texas’ in- ternational student population hails from India, the International Institute of Educa- tion said, with China being a second major supplier of international students. ▼ CITY HALL GETTING SOAKED YOUR WATER BILL IS GOING UP, PLUS 2 OTHER TAKEAWAYS FROM DALLAS. $5 BILLION BUDGET. BY EMMA RUBY F or the first time, Dallas’ annual budget could top $5 billion. That’s based on the recently re- leased first draft of the city’s operating bud- get. If approved, the funding plan will go into effect at the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. The budget creation was managed by City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert — her second year leading the process after taking over for her predecessor in the city’s top job. At 753 pages, we aren’t going to pretend we read the proposal cover to cover. But we were able to read through enough to see a few notable changes in how the city plans to prioritize funding in the year ahead; a change that was necessitated by shrinking revenue streams and a city charter amend- ment that mandates increased funding for Dallas’ police department. “It is going to be a painful summer,” Tolbert told the City Council back in May, when the city realized that challenges to property tax as- sessments were going to leave Dallas $6.7 mil- lion short of expected revenue. “There are no sacred cows when it comes to the approach we have to take looking at the budget.” In an introductory message, Tolbert wrote that changes in funding for the up- coming year were made by prioritizing the departments and services that align with feedback left in the most recent community survey. The Dallas City Council will begin holding town halls to hear community feed- back on the budget this Thursday, and a vote will be held on a final plan next month. Water Bills Going Up T he proposed budget mentions, on eight occasions, that for the tenth year in a row the city is reducing the property tax rate. Seven of those mentions are in the first 70 pages. Starting Oct. 1, you could be spending half a penny less per $100 valuation thanks to City Hall. Don’t spend it all in one place. Realistically, a half-penny property tax reduction won’t be felt significantly for most homeowners, but for the city, that tax break will represent $11.1 million in forgone reve- nue. They’ll be making it up elsewhere. According to the city’s plan, the average Dallas resident should expect to see their water bill go up by 5% (around $4 each month) starting next fiscal year. Fees associ- ated with stormwater and sanitation are ex- pected to go up too, around $1 a month combined. (As you probably imagined, those fee hikes aren’t mentioned nearly as often as the property tax relief bit.) A $5 increase to your monthly check to the city may not sound like much, but the higher prices come after several budget seasons in a row of water and sanitation bills being targeted as a revenue stream for the city. The budget for the 2023-2024 fis- cal year, for instance, introduced a 4.4% in- crease to sanitation fees for a $35.81 monthly bill. Just two years later, the pro- posed 25-26 budget puts that cost at $40.09. And that growth isn’t projected to stop anytime soon. In the city’s projections, wa- ter bills are expected to grow by around 2.8% each year for the next five years, mean- ing by the time 2030 hits, you’ll be spending $10 more each month on water than you do now. Stormwater fees are expected to grow by 6.8 percent in that same forecast period. Closures to City Services A s Tolbert said in May, some feelings were going to be hurt when the new budget came out. We imagine that community activists who last summer worked to keep the Skillman Southwestern Branch Library and Dallas’ community pools off the chopping block are feeling a bit scorned. Both facilities were slated for closure in early drafts of this past year’s budget, but outrage from neighbors helped keep them safe. Now, though, the proposed budget lists both the Skillman library and an unknown number of city-operated pools for closure. The budget draft is a bit more specific in discussing how funding changes are ex- pected to affect Dallas Public Libraries. In addition to Skillman being shuttered, the draft states that in the next fiscal year, DPL will be expected to identify up to four addi- tional library branches as candidates for closure. The funding saved from each loca- tion, the plan states, will be used to help ex- pand hours at other library locations. (Last year, reporting showed that closing Skill- man would save the city around $500,000 annually.) The budget also plans to “realize salary savings” within the library department “through position and hiring management,” and reduce the library’s homeless engage- ment team. The document does not state which of the city’s nine community pools, which opened this summer but had reduced days and hours, will be slated for closure. WFAA reports that two pools face the axe. Facility age and atten- dance will be determining factors. Recreation center hours are also ex- pected to be reduced — or optimized, if you want it in city speak — in the coming year. More Money for Cops I n all, the city’s general fund increased 3.2% from last year, and the majority of the financing is being put towards the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Fire- Rescue budgets. In addition to requiring increased staff- ing in the Dallas Police Department, the Dallas City Charter amendment Proposi- tion U, which was passed by voters last No- vember, mandates that 50% of new revenue be put towards the first responder depart- ments, and requires that additional funding go towards starting salaries for officers. Tolbert’s proposed budget takes care of that, by outlining the funding to end next year with 3,424 officers in the force, the highest number since 2016. The budget would also bring starting salaries to $81,232 annually. The Dallas Police Department website lists $75,397 as the department’s current starting salary. In the last five years, officer starting salaries have increased nearly 50%. The budget outlines plans for an unspeci- fied number of DPD employees in adminis- trative roles to move back into “operational” ones. Responding to Complaints I f you spent much time listening in at the horseshoe this past year, you’ll have heard deferred maintenance on city buildings brought up regularly. Millions are earmarked for “critical in- frastructure failures” across city facilities, including $2 million for specifically public safety-related buildings, twice the amount that was projected last year. The funds will be used to fix up “City Hall, fire sta- tions, libraries, arts and cultural facilities and recreation centers,” and half a million of the funding will be used to specifically target needed repairs on existing solar en- ergy systems. Unfair Park from p6 Adobe Stock Dallas’ budget proposal includes some things Dallas residents will like, and a bunch of things they won’t.
