A Budget Town Hall was held Monday night at the Lake Highlands North Recreation Center.

District 10 Council member Kathy Stewart hosted a Budget Town Hall at the Lake Highlands North Recreation Center Monday night, with representatives from various city departments on hand to answer questions. The $5.2 billion budget  — the city’s largest ever — was approved by the full council following a marathon meeting in September.

Almost $1.3 billion will be dedicated to public safety, with increases for the Dallas Police Department to $758 million and Dallas Fire-Rescue to $453 million.

Expenditures of $952.7 million will be used for several major projects, including a new Dallas Police Academy at the University of North Texas at Dallas, improvements to 750 miles of roadway, traffic safety improvements to advance the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan, expansion of the bike network and housing for unsheltered residents/homelessness prevention.

About $539 million will be spent on the city’s quest to remain an economic leader, including investments in the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and updates to the city’s development code.

About $533 million will be used to address affordable housing and homelessness. The effort will include consolidation of the offices of Community Care & Empowerment, Equity & Inclusion, Housing & Community Development and Homeless Solutions.

About $281 million will be used to expand the Nighttime Entertainment Strike Team and improve the city’s animal services.

Spending will be funded by property taxes (57%), sales tax (24%) and a variety of service fees and fines (18%).

When asked about the city’s push to build more affordable housing in neighborhoods all across town, Stewart said Lake Highlands already has plenty.

“District 10 has a large number of ‘naturally occurring affordable housing units’ — more than any other district by 5,000 units. Some of our apartments have aged such that rents here are lower,” she said. “I have worked in the Forest Audelia area for almost 10 years, and it is challenging. I’ve worked as a PID (public improvement district) director, a resident and a council member. It is a high priority for me to address the public safety issues within these apartment complexes — mostly for the people who live there. We have made tremendous strides in this area. It is not what it was. It is so much better. There’s now a park there, and a community center is coming which will provide services to residents of this area. We are making a commitment to make this area safer.”

Stewart also alluded to future changes — moves on the chessboard which she couldn’t yet make public but which would improve the area north of LBJ.

She introduced Major Yancey Nelson, who now leads the Northeast Division of the Dallas Police Department. Nelson worked Northeast as a young officer, and he’s back now as Top Man.

“The Northeast Division has the lowest violent crime rate in the city,” he said, “and we are committed to hiring more officers and getting them out on the street.”

Sanitation Director Clifton Gillespie fielded several questions about alley trash pickup (he’s accustomed to that by now), but he was also asked about recycling. A neighbor heard a rumor that items in his blue rolling bin and his grey one all end up in the same place.

“It’s not true,” Gillespie said. “They’re picked up by different trucks and they do both go to (the transfer station at) McCommas Bluff, but the recycle items are sorted, baled and sold as commodities. You may learn more by downloading the Dallas Sanitation Services app.”

He also confirmed that cardboard boxes left at the curb for bulk trash get trashed, not recycled.

If you missed the meeting and you’ve got a complaint or question, you’re invited to email Stewart at Katherine.stewart@dallas.gov.