Company Profile
City of Grand Prairie, Texas
Company Overview
THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
The CALEA-certified Police Department has 220 civil service officers, 128 civilian, 10 volunteer reserves and 72 crossing guard employees. The department just moved into a spacious, beautiful 150,000-square-foot headquarters.
Police Department Divisions and Functions: SWAT; traffic; patrol; K9; lake; narcotics; jail; anti street-crime; records; crime analysis; dispatch; criminal investigations; school resource officers; gun range; mobile command unit; mobile lab; Sky-Watch surveillance units; neighborhood offices; lake patrol office; speed boat and jet ski; training center; laser gun range; two fitness rooms; virtual driving simulator; federal task forces.
The department’s budget is $34 million. Each year the department receives approximately 122,000 calls for service, makes 9,000 arrests and issues 48,000 citations.
CITY MISSION STATEMENT
Create Raving Fans by delivering World Class Service
THE COMMUNITY
Conveniently located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Grand Prairie is the 15th largest city in Texas and in the top 150 nationwide. Grand Prairie, population 175,396, offers relaxation, family fun and friendly neighbors. With six school districts from which to choose, families have many options when it comes to the education of their children. In Grand Prairie, families who have lived here for generations welcome newcomers who move here for the same reason the natives don’t leave — location and hometown atmosphere.
The U.S. Census listed Grand Prairie one of the fastest growing cities in the nation in 2005 and 2006. Money Magazine listed Grand Prairie a Best Place to Live in 2008.
With a park system recently named Best in the Nation, businesses and residents feel right at home. Fifty-eight parks include the award-winning Summit Active Adult Center, a conference center, three recreation centers, golf courses, public swimming pools, softball and baseball complexes, soccer fields, tennis courts, a camp ground, beach parks, an aggressive skate park and football fields. With a ¼ cent sales tax devoted to parks, improvements to parks throughout the city are made annually.
More than 6 million people a year visit Grand Prairie’s entertainment and tourist attractions: Lake Joe Pool, Lone Star Park Class I Thoroughbred Horse Race Track, Verizon Theatre, Louis Tussaud’s Palace of Wax, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Traders Village flea market, historic Uptown Theater, Turner Park Disc Golf Course and QuikTrip ballpark, home of the Grand Prairie AirHogs minor league baseball team.
DEMOGRAPHICS
According to 2010 U.S. Census, 30 percent of Grand Prairie residents are Caucasian, 20 percent are African-American, 42 percent are Hispanic of any race and 8 percent are other. Forty-two percent are 24 and younger, 45 percent are 25-54 years old and 13 percent are 50 and older. Single-family homes number almost 42,000 and multi-family units total about 17,000. The median household income is $51,000.
Grand Prairie boasts a wide range of housing stock for all income levels, from quaint older homes to spacious new homes. The average price of a new home is $215,000.
THE CITY GOVERNMENT
The city of Grand Prairie is a Council-Manager form of government. A Mayor and eight Council members provide policy direction. Six Council members represent single member districts. Two are elected at large.
The city provides a full range of services, from aviation to water, planning to public works, environmental services to parks, fire to ambulances, police to courts and more. The operating budget is $202 million, with a General Fund budget of $97 million. The city employs approximately 1,100 full-time employees.
LOCATION
The city is located directly between Dallas and Fort Worth. Just five minutes south of DFW International Airport, the city enjoys easy access to anywhere and everywhere on Interstates 20 and 30, State Highways 161 and 360, Loop 12 and Spur 303. Grand Prairie stretches 30 miles long by 8 miles wide and covers 81 square miles.
Company History
1980-2010
In 1984, Grand Prairie’s own Charley Taylor was inducted into the National Football Hall of Fame. A Dalworth High School graduate, Taylor was a wide receiver for the Washington Redskins.
The Westchester neighborhood celebrated its grand opening in 1985, heralded as one of the finest residential developments in southwest Dallas County.
In 1987, the Grand Prairie Parks Department opened the Charley Taylor Recreation Center and in 1989 opened the Senior Center. That year also saw the Corps of Engineers complete Lake Joe Pool. In March 1990, the Palace of Wax and Ripley’s Believe It Or Not reopened in its current building after a fire destroyed the Wax Museum in 1988.
In 1992, citizens passed a half cent sales tax to be used to build Lone Star Park, a class one horse racetrack. The Post Time Pavilion opened in 1996, with the Grandstand following in 1997. The city’s premier golf course Tangle Ridge, opened in 1995, said to “forever change the face of public golf” in DFW by golf writer Matt McKay.
The year 1997 was big for economic development with 23 new companies opening, including the first major retail in 10 years with Towne Crossing Center, featuring Home Depot and Target.
In 1999, Grand Prairie was named Fastest Growing City for economic development in the Metroplex and citizens passed a quarter cent sales tax to fund parks and recreation projects, ultimately creating a parks system that would earn the “best in the nation” title in 2008 by the National Recreation and Parks Association.
In 2000, the first housing development broke ground on the Estes Peninsula and the city acquired the lake parks on Lake Joe Pool. In 2001, voters approved a 1/4 cent sales tax for street improvements, and the city opened Fire Station No. 9, the Warmack Branch Library and Nokia Theatre.
In 2002, the city opened the Ruthe Jackson Center and a plethora of new parks financed by the 1/4 cent sales tax for parks: Splash Factory, Mountain Creek Soccer center, Charley Taylor baseball fields, McFalls softball fields and Parkhill Park football fields. The same year brought major retail growth with the opening of the Sam’s, PetSmart and Office Depot shopping center.
In 2003, the city successfully got a Cedar Hill ZIP code changed on the Peninsula to a Grand Prairie ZIP code.
In 2004, Lone Star Park hosted the 21st running of the Breeders Cup World Thoroughbred Championship and the city opened the Grand Prairie Memorial Gardens. The city completed the Veteran’s Memorial in 2005, opened the largest putting green in Texas at Prairie Lakes and built a new home every 4 hours, which led to being named a fastest growing city in the nation.
In 2006, the Bowles Life Center and Bear Creek South Park opened; the city purchased the Uptown Theater to renovate the former movie house into a performing arts venue; and landed the Lake Prairie Towne Crossing with Super Target and Home Depot on Camp Wisdom.
In 2007 the city paid off Lone Star Park 18 years early and voters approved continuing the half cent sales tax to build a new public safety headquarters, active adult center and minor league baseball stadium.
The AirHogs minor league baseball team played their inaugural season in 2008, winning the American Association Southern Division Championship. The year 2008 also marked the opening of the restored Uptown Theater to rave reviews, and the city was named a “Best Place to Live” by Money Magazine, a Playful City USA by Kaboom, and won the National Recreation and Parks Association Gold Medal Award for best parks in the nation.
A city of promise, a city of growth, a city of location, Grand Prairie continues into the future on its path of success as we enter our next 100 years…
Benefits
There are many benefits to being a city of Grand Prairie employee!
Benefits at a Glance for Prospective Employees:
A TMRS City 2 to 1 match, 25 years and 5 years vesting
Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance options
Optional Life Insurance up to 3x
457 Retirement options
Dependent Life Coverage options
Flexible Spending Reimbursement Accounts
Pay and Benefits
The city of Grand Prairie is committed to providing competitive pay and benefits to help the city hire and retain good employees.
Life Insurance
Medical, Dental and Vision
Prescription
Disability
Employee Assistance Program
Retirement
Vacation, Holiday, Personal Holiday
Sick Leave
Workers Comp
Bereavement Leave and Special Leave
Longevity and Stability Pay
Language Pay
Social Security
Wellness Program