Sunday, August 18, 2024

Good evening:

A bipartisan group of Dallas business and civic leaders led by former Mayors Mike Rawlings, Tom Leppert, and Ron Kirk warned the City Council last week against putting 12 City Charter amendments on the ballot this November.

The plea was made in a Dallas Morning News editorial hours before the City Council was set to vote. (See how they did that? Very demure. Very mindful.)

When the nearly 10-hour marathon meeting was finished, City Council members had killed or altered half of the amendments that the mayors said “would do more harm than good,” including three amendments to undercut mayoral power and two more to double term lengths from two to four years for council members and municipal judges. They significantly edited down a proposed charter “preamble.”

Among potentially controversial amendments that the City Council chose to keep on the ballot for voters to decide:

• An increase in the annual salary for the mayor from $80,000 to $110,000 and  for council members from $60,000 to $90,000. Importantly, the salaries would then automatically be adjusted every year “equal to the year-over-year percentage increase in the local consumer price index.”

• Eliminate the requirement that members of certain boards and commissions be registered to vote, qualified voters, or qualified taxpaying citizens. The identical amendment failed in May 2021 by a 2-1 margin.

• Allow City Council members to fire their board and commission appointees before completion of their terms.

The City Council had no choice but to put four additional amendments backed by voter petitions on the ballot that are likely to be a focus of any “vote no” campaign this fall.

Three of those amendments were drafted by a group that calls itself Dallas Hero and  is led by a former Trump administration appointee who recently indicated he lives in University Park. They would: 1.) allow residents to sue the City to force compliance with the Charter and state and local laws; 2.) evaluate the city manager’s performance and adjust his/her salary or terminate him/her based on annual resident survey results; 3.) require the City to use a specified percentage of new revenues to fund the Dallas Police and Fire Pension, hire 1,000 more officers, and pay police more.

The progressive group Ground Game Texas authored another proposal to prohibit Dallas Police from enforcing certain marijuana offenses and requiring them to de-prioritize others. Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia has called this amendment a public safety threat.

Check out the complete list of 21 propositions Dallas voters will be asked to consider in November. I’ll detail some of the other proposals, what they mean, and what people think of them in future editions.

Read on for more on:

• An ongoing operation to close Downtown homeless encampments and house the people living in them.

• The latest on the search for the next city manager of Dallas.

• The 2024 Bond Program implementation plan.

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⚡ Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings of Interest:

Also Wednesday, the Dallas City Council:

• Approved Item 2, an ordinance to transition the City’s Real Estate Division from the Department of Public Works to the renamed Department of Facilities and Real Estate Management (FRM), formerly the Building Services Department. More background on this budget-neutral change can be found in this June 28 memo.

• Approved Item 32, acceptance of a $900,000 federal grant to support planning and design for projects surrounding the planned Southern Gateway Park over Interstate 35E next to the Dallas Zoo. Read more in this memo.

• Approved Item 42, a nearly $10 million architectural services contract with Downtown Dallas-based HKS, Inc., architecture firm for the planned Dallas Police training academy, formally known as the Regional Law Enforcement Training Center. The $130 million academy is being funded with 2024 bond money, state funds, and private donations. It will be located on the University of North Texas at Dallas campus in southern Dallas. Read more about the project in this memo.

• Approved Item 45 to call an annual public hearing on August 28 to receive comments regarding the proposed 2025 assessment of $0.139 per $100 valuation on Downtown property owners to fund the Dallas Downtown Improvement District, managed by Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI), for more than 30 years. This assessment is what funds DDI’s supplemental services, including the nonprofit’s Security, Clean, Homeless Outreach, and Ambassador teams, as well as marketing, events, and economic development initiatives. This assessment also includes the cost for DDI to plant approximately 500 new trees throughout Downtown.

• Deferred to October 23 a $200,000 service contract with Bellcam Group for in-home garden kits “to provide residents with a recurring supply of fresh grown produce.” The proposed 18-month deal is funded with federal pandemic relief money.

• Approved creation of a new sign subdistrict in the West End to allow for supergraphic advertising signage on the Katy Building at 701 Commerce Street. Read more.

— On Thursday night, City officials held another public meeting at City Hall to discuss a proposed plan to install digital advertising kiosks on sidewalks. In a notable shift, the Planning and Development Department has shown a willingness to reassess its approach to the contentious proposal, signaling a commitment to meaningful public engagement. Concerns persist, but DDI is committed to engaging throughout the process.

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:

— Homeless encampments that were surrounding the Downtown J. Erik Jonsson Central Library have been closed and the people living in them have been housed with intensive support services, according to this memo from Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. It is part of an ongoing collaboration of the City of Dallas, Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI), and the All Neighbors Coalition (led by Housing Forward).

— Pioneer Park and Cemetery in the shadow of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center will likely need at least $10 million in repairs as part of the convention center redevelopment. Read more.

— City Council will vote later this month on a resolution to advance Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan (CECAP) targets into 2024 Bond Program projects. Read more.

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

Meetings of Interest: August 19 - 23, 2024

Watch City of Dallas Meetings Live

Monday, August 19

City Council Quality of Life, Arts, and Culture Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street

— It took Dallas Sanitation Services about 66 days to collect most of the debris from the May 28 windstorm. Here’s how they did it.

— Here’s some background on the City’s facility management contract with the Dallas Black Dance Theater (DBDT), in the news recently for firing their entire company of dancers, The Dallas Morning News reports.

— This is an update memo on how the Dallas library system will work toward the eight strategic plan goals approved by City Council earlier this year.

— Discussion may continue on proposed state and federal legislative priorities under this committee’s oversight.

City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs, 11:30 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla Street

— This committee, chaired by Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, is meeting to discuss and consider information “regarding the search for the city manager, including desired qualifications, community survey results, employee survey results, and the brochure prepared by Baker Tilly.” Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has not publicly shared whether she will apply for the permanent job.

Wednesday, August 21

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

— Jenny from the Bond is back this week with an update on what’s left of the 2017 bond program and what the plan is for implementing the voter-approved $1.25 billion 2024 bond monies over the next five years. Read the briefing.

One of DDI’s 2024 bond priorities is a complete street project on Harwood Street from Woodall Rodgers to Main Street that includes installation of a two-way cycle track, as recommended in DDI's strategic 360 Plan for Downtown. The City plan has it slated for year three implementation (slide 13).

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— Dallas Police project they’ll spend $55.5 million on overtime in the current fiscal year, which runs through September. This briefing includes steps being taken to reduce overtime costs going forward.

— Dallas Fire-Rescue’s version of the overtime briefing has prettier pictures and an estimated $40.7 million spend on overtime this year.

— City Council is also expected to go into closed session to discuss potential sale, lease, or valuation of the Dallas permitting building at 7800 N. Stemmons Freeway that opened without proper permits and abruptly closed earlier this year.

— Also on the executive session docket is talk of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s threat to sue the City over the State Fair of Texas’ new gun policy. The new policy allows only active police officers and qualified retired officers to carry guns at the Fair. In other words, plenty of “good guys with guns” would still be on the grounds daily.  

Thursday, August 22

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

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.