Some city services are closed Friday due to furloughs

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, July 9, 2026

The city of Dallas will close multiple public services, including all public libraries and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, on Friday as non-uniform city employees take the first of three unpaid furlough days to address a $30 million budget deficit. Essential services like police, fire, sanitation, and aviation will remain operational, ensuring continuity in critical areas despite the temporary closures.

The city of Dallas will close several public services on Friday as part of employee furloughs aimed at addressing a $30 million budget shortfall. All Dallas Public Library branches and the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center will be closed, in addition to code compliance and homeless outreach offices.

The city announced in June that non-uniform employees paid through the general fund, Dallas’ primary operating budget, are required to take three furlough days. The first of these falls on Friday, with the remaining two scheduled for September 4 and September 28. Employees in certain leadership positions are expected to take two extra furlough days beyond the standard three.

Under the furlough plan, employees must take leave without pay and are not allowed to substitute sick or vacation days for the furlough. The closures impact a range of departments funded by the general fund but exclude uniformed personnel such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and 911 dispatchers, who are exempt from furlough.

Dallas Park and Recreation facilities, including aquatic centers, golf courses, and Fair Park, will continue to operate on Friday. Andrea Hawkins, marketing and media relations manager for the department, said staff are adhering to the furlough requirements but that program continuity necessitates keeping these facilities open. Activities such as summer camps and swim lessons will proceed as planned. The department is adjusting employee schedules accordingly to comply with furlough mandates while maintaining operations.

Enterprise departments including the Department of Sanitation Services, Department of Aviation, and Dallas Water Utilities will also remain open. This means that services like garbage collection and airport operations will continue without interruption. Essential information technology and fleet services personnel are also scheduled to work as normal.

This furlough initiative follows a similar measure in 2020 when 472 city employees were furloughed for about three months to confront pandemic-related budget shortfalls. Those earlier furloughs largely affected employees in the Park and Recreation department, libraries, and the Office of Arts and Culture, during a period when many public facilities had been closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.

This article was reported by synthesizing coverage from multiple independent news outlets to present a balanced, unbiased account. Read about our editorial standards. Spotted an error? Let us know.