Sunday, August 4, 2024

Good evening:

Four short years ago, Dallas Mayor Eric L. Johnson called on his City Council colleagues to “defund the bureaucracy.” Cut the salaries of the top earners at City Hall and use the savings to fund other budget priorities, he argued.

It was partly his answer to the “defund the police” movement and a proposal at that time to cut Dallas police overtime funding, partly a way to address early pandemic fiscal challenges. The mayor lost that battle, with almost none of his City Council colleagues supporting his plan.

But I can’t help but think of that slogan as Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert continues to consolidate operations, some of which were known to be ineffective and inefficient. She has now merged at least eight departments into four.

It’s a refreshing turn for many who believe the org chart at 1500 Marilla Street had grown just a bit too large without any noticeable improvements in service delivery. On the question of value received from property tax dollars and fees, 77% of community survey respondents this year chose “poor” or “fair.”

When Tolbert publishes her proposed fiscal 2024-25 budget later this week, we will get a clearer sense of just how much taxpayer dollars her re-organization might save, as well as what other areas she recommends the City Council cut. Officials said earlier this year they must close a $38 million budget gap.

As The Dallas Morning News notes in recent story on Tolbert, her “sense of urgency may signal she’s no placeholder.” She still has not said publicly if she is applying for the permanent job. Even if she does not apply (and no one expects that), she has already done quite a bit to streamline and hopefully improve operations in what often feels like a bureaucratic maze.

Read on for more on this and:

• What’s next in the the Dallas-to-Fort Worth high-speed rail planning process after a revised proposal emerged that would bypass Downtown.

• Another major 2026 FIFA World Cup facility that could be located in or near Downtown.

• The final countdown to get proposed City Charter amendments on the November ballot for voter approval.

⚡ Highlights From Recent Meetings of Interest:

— The City Plan Commission voted 10-4 in late July to send recommended updates of the City’s comprehensive land-use plan, ForwardDallas 2.0, to City Council for consideration. Parts of the plan have drawn strong opposition from neighborhood advocates who say it could threaten thriving single-family neighborhoods with multi-family projects.

Retired Dallas Observer columnist Jim Schutze writes for The Dallas Morning News about those neighborhood concerns. Former South Dallas City Council member Diane Ragsdale co-bylines a piece for The News in support of the plan.

City staff responds to what it calls misinformation about the plan and summarizes the City Plan Commission recommendations in this memo. As noted below, a City Council committee will be briefed on the plan tomorrow.

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— The Regional Transportation Council (RTC) in early July offered a new Dallas-to-Fort Worth high-speed rail proposal that bypasses Downtown on the west side.

Dallas officials showed cautious optimism. Regional planners will continue refining the option, with an update scheduled for this Thursday's RTC meeting (more on that below). Read more in D Magazine .

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 is expected to vote on September 25 on state and federal legislative priorities for 2025. Among the dozens of policy items still up for consideration:

• Fund Artificial Intelligence initiatives to reduce city expenses (state/federal)

• Seek funding for homelessness services, including cost recovery for unsheltered services provided by certain municipalities (state/federal)

• Increase parks funding and support green infrastructure (state/federal)

• Pursue funding streams to support future public safety and pension obligations (state)

• Amend the Open Records Act to exempt preliminary recommendations derived from early warning software platforms designed to support proactive employee intervention (state)

• Amend state law to capture a portion of the short-term car rental tax for parks and trails improvements (state)

• Support for gambling as a revenue source to fund pension obligations (state)

• Funding for high-speed rail and street cars (state/federal)

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— Tolbert’s previously noted organizational overhaul continued while we were away in July.

She ordered up the consolidation of the Transportation and Public Works departments, and the Emergency Management and Integrated Public Safety Solutions offices.

Transportation Director Ghassan “Gus” Khankarli will lead the new Transportation and Public Works Department (TPW). Public Works Director Ali Hatefi, the City staff champion for an unpopular proposal to install digital advertising kiosks on public sidewalks, is leaving City Hall.

Kevin Oden, director of Integrated Public Safety Solutions, becomes director of the new Office of Emergency Management and Crisis Response (ECR). His deputy will be Travis Houston, who had been leading the Office of Emergency Management.

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— The newly combined Planning and Development Department has six new interim assistant directors, as outlined in this memo, which includes their areas of responsibility. If you interact with this department, you’ll want to bookmark this one.

— The total certified value of Dallas properties grew to $215.1 billion this year, an increase of 8.5% over 2023, according to this memo, which includes the above chart. This is why so many of our property tax bills keep rising, even as this Dallas City Council cuts the tax rate each year.  WFAA has more on this.

— Budget town hall meetings are scheduled from August 15 - 29. This is your opportunity to tell City Hall what you think of the city manager’s proposed budget, which is expected to be released later this week.

— The living wage for Dallas County for the new fiscal year beginning in October is $22.05 per hour, a nearly $4 hourly increase over this year, according to this memo. Under the City’s living wage policy, solicitations for general services contracts after October 1 will include the new wage requirement.

— Check out all the latest City Hall memos here and here.

Meetings of Interest: August 5 - 9, 2024

Watch City of Dallas Meetings Live

Monday, August 5

City Council Parks, Trails, and the Environment Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Here’s a memo update on a Dallas Park & Recreation Board (on which I serve) recommendation for reduced operations of the City’s aging community pools to save money beginning next year. Some of the pools are in disrepair, forcing extended closures. Learn more from WFAA.

— This memo outlines the latest committee recommendations for state and federal legislative priorities.

City Council Economic Development Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— ForwardDallas 2.0, the update to the City’s land-use plan, finally makes its way to the City Council via this briefing. A full City Council briefing and discussion could happen as soon as August 28.

— Dallas leaders did not want the proposed Dallas-to-Fort Worth high-speed rail line cutting through Downtown. But they also do not want to lose the Cedars rail station connection to the new Downtown convention center, this memo notes. The city manager is expected to request the RTC work to include that connection. The City Council is also expected to vote in October on a contract for an economic impact study of the Dallas-to-Fort Worth high-speed rail proposal.

— The City is seeking a location for the 2026 FIFA World Cup “Main Ticketing Center (MTC),” which FIFA prefers “be located in or near Downtown Dallas,” according to this memo. The MTC is often a fan’s first point of physical contact, the memo notes.

In addition, former City Hall veteran executives Brett Wilkinson (government affairs) and Rocky Vaz (emergency management) are back in support roles to prepare for the games. Wilkinson will serve as a FIFA public affairs specialist in Convention and Event Services. Vaz will focus on safety and security working for the Visit Dallas Sports Commission.

—  The above chart outlines timing of ongoing solicitations for pieces of the Downtown convention center project. Read more in this memo.

Tuesday, August 6

Special Called City Council Government Performance and Financial Management Committee, 3 p.m., 6ES Council Briefing Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Committee members will be briefed on the costs, uses, and future action tied to acquisition leases.

— Also on the agenda is a memo update on a proposed permitting process to allow poker rooms in Dallas. The matter is also up for deliberations before the City Plan Commission on Thursday.

Wednesday, August 7

Dallas City Council Briefing Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— The City Council has until August 19th to sort out what City Charter amendments to send to voters for approval in November. This briefing summarizes where things stand and what amendments are still in play, including some scheduled for unofficial straw votes on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, four amendments backed by voter petitions could appear on the ballot regardless of what City Council decides. WFAA’s Y’all-itics podcast recently took a look at three of those amendments pushed by a group that calls itself Dallas Hero and says it is bipartisan. The group’s leader wrote of their proposals in The Dallas Morning News this weekend, including a requirement that the City magically figure out how to hire 1,000 new police officers just because the Charter would say so.

—Also on the agenda is a briefing on proposed plans to stabilize the Dallas police and fire pension and the employee pension systems. The City Council is expected to vote on September 11 on required funding plans to submit to state pension officials.

Thursday, August 8

Dallas City Plan Commission, 9 a.m. Briefing, 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

— Item 15 is for renewal of a permit for operation of a video board attached to a building at the southeast corner of Elm and North Field streets in Downtown. Staff is recommending a six-year renewal of the permit, which was first approved in 2012 and again in 2018.

— Item 20 is consideration of a permitting process that would allow poker rooms in Dallas as long as they meet certain requirements. The Dallas Observer wrote about this long and winding legal saga earlier this year.

Regional Transportation Council, 2 p.m., Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas, 500 West Las Colinas Boulevard, Irving, TX 75039

— A revised Dallas-to-Fort Worth high-speed rail line proposed last month would mean several key Downtown connections are likely lost, potentially including the new convention center, according to this briefing. As noted earlier in this newsletter, Dallas officials do not want to lose the rail connection to the convention center and are advocating that the link be included.

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

Have a great week.

Best,

Scott Goldstein

Communications & Government Relations Consultant

Downtown Dallas, Inc.