Endless Charter Summer 😵‍💫

Sunday, June 30, 2024

Good evening:

When faced with tough decisions, procrastination is always an option.

The Dallas City Council on Wednesday punted to after the July recess final decisions on City Charter amendments I told you about in last week’s newsletter. They will debate and hold unofficial straw voting on amendments during an August 7 briefing meeting, with a formal vote planned for August 14. The state deadline to order items be placed on the November ballot is August 19.

One week ago, it appeared City Council members were likely to ask November voters to double their annual salaries, double their term lengths, weaken the powers of the mayor, and eliminate the requirement that members of four powerful City boards be qualified or registered voters or taxpaying citizens, among other changes.

As the hours drew closer to Wednesday’s meeting, the buzz grew that a delay was being considered on a package of reforms that The Dallas Morning News editorial board dubbed “a progressive mess.”

Most of the 15 amendments up for debate “demonstrate that too much of the council is out of touch with what residents want this city focused on and what they think of the job the city council is doing setting policy for Dallas,” the editorial board wrote. “The amendments on the table largely serve to give the council more power, more money and less accountability while also indulging progressive pieties.”

The delay also allows time for City Council members to learn whether four citizen-led petitions for charter amendments have enough signatures to get on the same November ballot. Those amendments deal with decriminalizing low levels of marijuana, public safety funding, evaluation of the city manager, and enforcement of city ordinances.

With the July City Council recess underway, there’s no telling what other Charter amendments could be back on the table for discussion in early August. We will continue to keep you informed.

Read on for more on:

• What’s next on a proposed horse-drawn carriage ban that failed to gain enough votes for approval.

• Why the 2026 FIFA World Cup will likely provide a special boost for Downtown.

• The latest City Council committee leadership shakeup.

⚡ Highlights From Last Week's Meetings of Interest:

— The City Council on Wednesday approved:

•  Item 2: A contract for emergency repairs on elevators at the City-owned Hall Arts Garage, which serves the Meyerson Symphony Center and other Arts District venues. Read more about the item in this memo.

• Item 6: An underwriting syndicate of 10 firms for the issuance of bonds for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas redevelopment and Fair Park upgrades approved by voters in 2022. Read more in this memo.

• Item 12: Appointing City of Dallas Chief Financial Officer Jack Ireland as President of the Dallas Convention Center Hotel Development Corporation, the body that oversees the City-owned Omni Dallas Hotel in Downtown.

• Item 32: Amendments to the City of Dallas Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Bylaws, as recommended by the EDC Board of Directors. The changes were summarized in this memo from a few weeks ago. They are detailed here.

• Item 72: A user agreement for “a soccer federation” to use the Downtown Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center for nine months in 2026. City officials confirmed the agreement is to help secure the 2026 FIFA World Cup International Broadcast Center, drawing tens of thousands of additional international visitors to Downtown. Read more from The Dallas Morning News.

—The City Council sent Item 62, a proposed ban on horse-drawn carriages from public streets, back to the Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee for further review. DDI joined the West End Association in opposing the ban, which would effectively put a single operator out of business. We instead asked the City Council to consider enhancing measures on the books to protect working horses.

Thanks to DDI's Nikia Summerlin, Urban Planning Manager, for monitoring hours of meetings every week and contributing to these summaries.Questions? Nikia can be reached at [email protected].

📝 Memos of Interest:

— The Dallas City Council will vote on August 14 whether to sell at auction the City-owned former Family Gateway building at 711 South St. Paul Street in Downtown (pictured above), according to this memo. If approved, the sale could close before the end of the year. Council member Jesse Moreno recently detailed terribly unsanitary conditions at the vacant building and asked for an action plan and regular updates.

— Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson appointed Council member Paul E. Ridley chair of the Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee and Carolyn King Arnold chair of the Workforce, Education, and Equity Committee, according to this memo. Ridley replaces Council member Adam Bazaldua. Arnold replaces Council member Jaynie Schultz.

— The City’s 311 Customer Service division is being consolidated with Communications, Outreach, and Marketing to form a new Office of Communications and Customer Experience, according to this memo. City Hall veteran Daisy Fast, the current head of 311, will oversee the new division, which is expected to save more than $800,000 beginning in fiscal 2024-25.

— The City’s Real Estate Division will transition from the Department of Public Works to the new Department of Facilities and Real Estate Management (formerly the Building Services Department, according to this memo.

— Tomorrow marks 60 days since Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert was appointed to the post. She updates the City Council on the status of deliverables in her 100-day transition plan here.— Check out all the latest City Hall memos here and here.

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

Have a great July. The newsletter will return with City Council in August.

Best,

Scott Goldstein

Downtown Dallas, Inc.