Dallas County voters narrowly reject homelessness funding measure; what's next?

Housing Forward plans to work with local and state governments, businesses, philanthropic organizations and other partners to identify funding to continue and expand the work.

Dallas County voters narrowly rejected Proposition A, a measure that would have increased property taxes to generate about $100 million annually for homelessness services across the county.

According to the county, the proposal would have cost the average homeowner an estimated $60 more per year and was intended to fund services including emergency shelter, supportive housing, mental health and substance-use treatment, and other programs aimed at reducing homelessness.

The measure received 48.13% support, with 51.87% voting against it, according to results cited Wednesday in a statement from Housing Forward CEO Sarah Kahn and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

While advocates have not identified one definitive reason for the measure's defeat, Kahn said cost-of-living concerns likely played a role.

Voter education may also have been a factor. Roughly 80,000 voters who participated in the election did not cast a vote on Proposition A, according to election results reviewed by NBC 5.

Kahn said the high turnout created a significant challenge for supporters trying to explain the proposition and the work already underway to reduce homelessness.

"There was a massive turnout last night, and I think there were just a lot of voters that we didn't reach," Kahn said.

Kahn says while they're disappointed in the outcome, Housing Forward's efforts will continue.

"The election's over, but obviously the work isn't," Kahn said. "Our commitment to ensuring that people are not forced to live on our streets has not changed. And look, there's a lot of families in crisis and individuals and veterans and young people that are counting on us. And so what comes next is we're going to continue to bring public and private partners together to solve this problem and find a path forward for sustainable funding."

She says the immediate challenge is funding and that current Street to Home resources will move the last people being served with those funds into housing in January.

Housing Forward now plans to work with local and state governments, businesses, philanthropic organizations and other private-sector partners to identify sustainable funding to continue and expand the work.

"We are open to continuing the conversation with government and philanthropy and our private sector partners to figure out where we go from here," Kahn said.

She also argued that homelessness already carries a public cost even without the additional tax proposed under Proposition A.

"I think we've heard that residents know they're already paying for this, just in the most expensive way possible, as people cycle in and out of jail and hospitals," Kahn said.

Housing Forward maintains a community performance dashboard tracking the region's homelessness response, including how many people are being moved into housing.

In a separate statement issued Wednesday, Kahn acknowledged the disappointment of the defeat but said the coalition would continue its work.

"While we're disappointed by the outcome, our commitment to reducing street homelessness hasn't changed," Kahn said. "We've made real progress by working together, and we know there's more work to do. Our coalition will continue building on what's working and helping as many people as we can."

Jenkins, who supported putting the measure before voters, said he viewed Proposition A as an investment in public safety, the economy, and residents' quality of life.

"I believe it was a chance to make our neighborhoods safer, strengthen our economy, and improve quality of life for all Dallas County residents," Jenkins said in the statement. "While this isn't the outcome I hoped for, my commitment to building a safer, stronger Dallas County remains unchanged."