Dallas Police and Fire Chiefs Detail the Public-Safety Needs Behind Proposition A

 

Chief Daniel Comeaux and Chief Justin Ball explain why Dallas needs modern police-training facilities, secure evidence storage, an updated emergency-communications center and a replacement for Fire Station No. 4.

Dallas voters will consider a $443 million public-safety bond proposition on November 3, 2026. Proposition A would provide funding for five major projects affecting police training, evidence management, emergency communications and fire-rescue operations.

In an August 25 interview with The Dallas Morning News, Dallas Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux and Dallas Fire-Rescue Chief Justin Ball discussed the conditions behind several of those projects and explained why their departments consider the proposed facilities necessary.

The chiefs may provide factual information about departmental needs, but they cannot use city time or public resources to campaign for passage of the proposition.

A Police Academy Promised for Decades

Dallas police officers are still trained at a rented Red Bird facility that opened in 1990 and was originally intended to be temporary.

Dallas voters have approved funding connected to a replacement academy on several previous occasions. Earlier bond programs provided money for planning, land acquisition, design or construction, but a complete academy was never delivered.

Chief Comeaux told the newspaper that his present concern is the condition of the department’s existing training infrastructure. Dallas is one of the country’s largest cities and operates one of its largest police departments, yet he believes its academy and firearms-training facilities rank near the bottom among comparable major-city departments.

Comeaux connected the quality of police performance directly to the quality of training officers receive. The proposed Law Enforcement Training Center at the University of North Texas at Dallas would place the academy in a university environment, which he said could also create valuable recruiting opportunities.

Proposition A includes $82 million to close the remaining funding gap for that project.

Specialized Training Requires a Separate Complex

The proposition also includes $149 million for a specialized Public Safety Training Complex near Dallas Executive Airport.

Plans for that location include a firearms range, emergency-vehicle operations course and tactical-training village. These functions cannot reasonably be placed on the UNT Dallas campus, particularly the firearms range.

The two locations would serve different but complementary purposes. The university site would house the primary academy and classroom environment. The specialized complex would support the driving, tactical and firearms instruction officers require throughout their careers.

Police Property and Evidence Storage

The largest individual allocation is $150 million for a consolidated police property room, crime laboratory and evidentiary-vehicle storage facility.

Chief Comeaux described the existing property room as being in extremely poor condition and said the department has outgrown the available space. The proposed facility would consolidate functions that are now handled through aging or inadequate infrastructure.

The condition of an evidence facility is not merely a matter of appearance. Property rooms must protect chain of custody, preserve physical evidence and maintain materials that may be needed in criminal prosecutions, appeals or future forensic testing.

Relocating 911 and Emergency Operations

Proposition A includes $40 million to relocate and modernize Dallas 911 and Emergency Operations Center functions currently housed in the basement of City Hall.

Comeaux identified technology as a significant concern. He explained that the basement location and the construction of City Hall make it difficult to operate and modernize critical communications systems.

Chief Ball said the working environment does not need to be lavish, but it should meet a reasonable standard for the employees responsible for emergency communications and coordination.

The proposed relocation has also become the most politically disputed part of the package. Some council members oppose combining it with the police academy and other projects, while city officials maintain that modernized emergency communications and coordination facilities are necessary.

Replacing Fire Station No. 4

The remaining $22 million would replace Dallas Fire-Rescue Station No. 4 on Akard Street in downtown Dallas.

The station was rebuilt in 1953 and is now more than seven decades old. Chief Ball said it ranks at the top of the department’s replacement criteria, which consider a station’s age and physical condition.

Ball also identified aging emergency generators as a broader fire-station concern. These systems are costly but essential for keeping public-safety facilities operational during electrical failures and major emergencies.

Five Projects, One Public-Safety Decision

Proposition A combines five projects into one ballot measure:

• $82 million for the Law Enforcement Training Center at UNT Dallas

• $149 million for the specialized Public Safety Training Complex

• $150 million for the property room, crime lab and evidence-vehicle storage facility

• $40 million for the 911 and Emergency Operations Center

• $22 million for the replacement of Fire Station No. 4

Together, the projects represent different parts of the same public-safety system: training personnel, maintaining operational readiness, protecting evidence, coordinating emergency response and sustaining fire-rescue coverage.

The complete interview with Chief Comeaux and Chief Ball was reported by Chase Rogers and published by The Dallas Morning News on August 25, 2026.

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Read the original Dallas Morning News article