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Monday, May 27, 2024

Good evening:

Jon Fortune would not want me to write this about Jon Fortune.

The Dallas deputy city manager — who last week announced he will join former Dallas city manager T.C. Broadnax in Austin — barely makes the headlines compared to our hugely popular police chief who reports to Fortune, Eddie Garcia.

He is never one to jump in front of the cameras when crisis strikes, even though his portfolio since joining the City in 2017 included the police and fire departments and the Office of Emergency Management.

Instead, he was focused on transparency and accountability, the kind of stuff true public servants focus on.

Before Fortune arrived in Dallas, some City Council members would grumble about not being informed in a timely manner about emergencies.

Fortune quickly instituted an emergency notification system so that he could send voice messages to the mayor and 14 other City Council members as soon as a crisis struck. And there were many crises.

Rocky Vaz, who retired as the long-time emergency management director in January, said of his former boss: “Jon and I experienced many emergencies, starting with sheltering Hurricane evacuees, no notice flooding, high wind disasters that caused the crane collapse on Live Oak, the 2019 tornado and finally the Covid Pandemic, among many other events. Throughout these emergencies, Jon was steadfast in his leadership and providing the support and guidance that helped us respond and provide the services to our residents and guests.”

Among other highlights of Fortune’s tenure:

• He led negotiations with police and fire officials to deliver a new market-based pay structure for our city’s first responders.

• He oversaw implementation of the RIGHT Care program (Rapid Integrated Group Health Care) and civilian mobile crisis response teams to address social and behavioral health needs of residents.

• He established a “deflection center,” offering sobering services as an alternative to arrest for people detained for public intoxication. City officials say it promotes compassionate intervention, and reduces the strain on law enforcement resources.

I am lucky to call Jon a friend going back to our time working together when I served as then-Mayor Mike Rawlings’s chief of policy and communications. I saw first hand how fortunate we all were to have had Jon Fortune’s leadership.

Read on for more on:

• Other senior City staff changes announced last week.

• The latest City Council talk on how to secure the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System — and how baked goods could play a role.

• What’s next for the City’s bike plan update.

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⚡ Highlights From Last Week's Meetings of Interest:

— Dallas City Council members continued to discuss strategies for funding the Dallas Police & Fire Pension System during an ad hoc pensions committee meeting. All options should be on the table, including future gambling revenues (if the State Legislature legalizes), new fees tied to the Downtown convention center, “even bake sales,” said Council member Paula Blackmon. She is one of the proponents for diverting DART funding to the pension (which the City Council can’t unilaterally do).

Dallas Cothrum, president of the largest planning and permitting firm in Texas, writes of the proposal to cut DART funding in The Dallas Morning News, “It’s not DART’s fault the pension fund is broken. When my dryer breaks, I don’t try to teach it a lesson by destroying the washing machine.”

This piece from D Magazine’s Bethany Erickson does a nice job tracking the history of the pension fund’s near total collapse. It followed decades of questionable investments when police officers and firefighters held the majority of seats on the fund board. As part of a package of 2017 state legislative reforms, the Dallas mayor was granted authority to fill the majority of the board seats with finance experts.

***

— The Desoto City Council on Tuesday voted to hire Dallas Assistant City Manager Majed Al-Ghafry as the city’s next city manager in a 4-3 vote. Al-Ghafry is the third assistant city manager to be leaving his post since T.C. Broadnax left for Austin. As noted above, Fortune is joining Broadnax in Austin. Topeka hired Robert Perez to be its next city manager.

***

— The Dallas City Council on May 22 approved:

• Item 23, a resolution adopting the City’s first On-Street Parking and Curb Management Policy. DDI is a big supporter of the plan, which includes variable meter pricing, prioritization of protected bike lanes, and potential for Parking Benefit Districts to redirect parking revenues back into areas where it is generated.

• Item 24, which makes various changes to the City Code tied to the On-Street Parking and Curb Management Policy.

• Items 28 and 29, which designate the City of Dallas as a “media production development zone,” unlocking potential state tax breaks for renovations of South Side Studios in southern Dallas. Read more from The Dallas Morning News.

• Item 48, the reappointment of Dallas DART board members Carmen Garcia and Rodney Schlosser to two-year terms.

Thanks to DDI's Nikia Summerlin, Urban Planning Manager, for monitoring hours of meetings every week and contributing to the above summaries.Questions? Nikia can be reached at summerlin@downtowndallas.com.

📝 Memos of Interest:

— Fortune is not the only City of Dallas executive joining Broadnax in Austin. Genesis Gavino, who joined the City in 2017 and served as Broadnax’s chief of staff in Dallas since 2022, will serve as special assistant to the city manager in Austin. Her last day at Dallas City Hall is this Friday. Read more.

— Meanwhile, Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert announced she won’t hire a traditional chief of staff and has instead appointed former city staffer Elizabeth Saab as interim Chief of Strategy, Engagement, and Alignment (CSEA). Tolbert also appointed Cynthia Rogers-Ellickson as permanent Director of Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization. She had been serving that role in an interim capacity since September. Read more.

— A public input meeting will be held on June 4 at Life in Deep Ellum to discuss the ideal bike connection between the Central Business District and the Santa Fe Trail through Deep Ellum, according to this memo. The meeting is part of the next round of input on the City’s updated bike plan, with a goal to identify the preferred alignment and bicycle facility type to connect these areas.

— Three City-owned Downtown properties are set to be appraised head of potential sale or redevelopment. Read more.

— This memo provides a follow-up to the May 15 City Council Budget Briefing. It includes percentage changes for various revenue categories, the Dallas Central Appraisal District's reappraisal strategy, a breakdown of totally exempt property, and historical data on the split between residential and non-residential properties.

— Growth in Dallas tax exemptions has outpaced tax base growth by 16%, according to this memo, which also provides a comparison of tax exemptions offered by Dallas County and Dallas Independent School District (DISD). The memo notes that tax exemptions represent a small percentage of total value.

— A review of thousands of City emails found five that referenced concerns about working conditions at the City’s new permitting headquarters that was shuttered for lacking proper permits. Read more in this memo.— Check out all the latest City Hall memos here and here.

Meetings of Interest: May 28 - 31

Watch City of Dallas Meetings Live

Tuesday, May 28

🏛️ Ad Hoc Committee on Legislative Affairs, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— A presentation on proposed 2025 state legislative priorities has not yet posted online.

🚊 Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board of Directors, 6 p.m., Board Room, 1401 Pacific Ave., Dallas; Watch live here

— The Board is being asked to approve the agency’s new strategic plan goals and objectives, as well as updated vision and mission statements. The plan was developed with extensive stakeholder input and aims to position DART as a key regional economic and mobility asset, according to agency leaders. Read more.

Friday, May 31

🏞️ Trinity River Corridor Local Government Corporation Special Called Board Meeting, 10 a.m., Council Briefing Room (6ES), Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— The Local Government Corporation focused on development of the planned Harold Simmons Park will discuss park operations, community engagement, and park design advocacy, among other items.

Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings? Let me know.

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Go Mavs! Go Stars!Have a great week.

Best,Scott Goldstein

Downtown Dallas, Inc.

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