MPA Opposes Proposition A A Tax Increase on Mesquite
You read that correctly: the Mesquite Police Association is AGAINST a tax increase that the City of Mesquite is promoting as a way to make Mesquite Police Officer pay “competitive.” The truth is simple — it’s a false promise.
Proposition A raises property taxes to 73¢ per $100 valuation, putting an unnecessary burden on taxpayers. Despite being marketed as a public safety pay solution by the City, Proposition A fails to move Mesquite Police Officers out of the bottom tier of comparable city salaries. Mesquite Police Officers have been in last place for years — and Proposition A won’t change that, so don’t be fooled.
Our message to voters is simple — Don’t be misled by political spin. Proposition A raises your taxes while keeping officers underpaid.
Vote AGAINST Proposition A.
Vote AGAINST higher taxes with no real results.
Our position is based on the City‘s stated plan for how new revenue would be allocated if approved. While we fully support competitive and equitable pay for all City employees, the plan as presented is fiscally irresponsible and disproportionately benefits certain departments and employees over others.
For more than six months, our members have voiced concerns at City Council meetings regarding the City’s spending priorities. Many employees across several departments such as Police, Sanitation, Streets, Parks, and others, remain well below market average pay. Rather than addressing these disparities, the current proposal allocates a large portion of new funds to positions that are already at or above market levels while leaving other employees in the same position they previously were: under market.
We deeply value the work of all City employees; however, when so many are significantly behind the curve, a one size fits all approach is not a solution. For employees far below market, a “raise” of this kind merely functions as a partial adjustment toward an average salary, not a step toward competitiveness. Under the proposed “up to 5%” across the board plan, employees already at or above market would continue to advance further ahead, while those below market, such as Police and other City departments, would not see the increases necessary to close the competitive gap with peer cities.
In many cases, general government employees who are furthest behind market averages may receive only a 3% adjustment. Some may receive none at all. This is a result of department directors determining which employees receive an adjustment and how much that adjustment would be. This approach overlooks the workforce as a whole and exacerbates existing inequities, especially for employees whose salaries are below market.
The City has promoted Proposition A as a solution for public safety, but the facts do not support that claim. Publicly available market analyses clearly show that this proposal does not bring Police Officers’ compensation to market average levels, let alone to a competitive standard. True public safety requires balanced investment across all departments, not selective funding.
We are not opposed to a tax increase when the resulting funds are allocated responsibly. In fact, we have made clear to both City staff and City Council that we would support a lower adjustment for Police salaries if the remaining funds were directed toward departments most in need. Unfortunately, City leadership chose to disregard this responsible alternative, which — even though it would have provided Police slightly less than Proposition A — would have addressed broader workforce disparities and promoted equity across departments most in need.
Citizens are now being asked to bear the burden of higher taxes without assurance that these funds will be distributed fairly or efficiently. Many employees who maintain our streets, collect our trash, care for our parks, and serve our community as Police Officers will remain underpaid and undervalued under Proposition A. That outcome is neither fiscally sound nor fair to employees or taxpayers.
The Mesquite Police Association cannot support a tax election that fails to meet the pressing needs of the City’s workforce. We believe Mesquite deserves a plan that values all employees, invests where it is most needed, and demonstrates real accountability to its residents.
Until such a plan is presented, we must stand opposed.