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- Meetings of Interest: Sunday, August 6, 2023
Meetings of Interest: Sunday, August 6, 2023
Meetings of Interest: 💸 Budget Crunch Time
Sunday, August 6, 2023
Good evening, ,
Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax released his proposed $4.63 billion budget on Friday evening. The City Council has less than 60 days to make changes before voting on it in late September.
The proposed budget includes a property tax rate reduction of .65 cents per $100 valuation. If approved, it would be the eighth consecutive year that the rate will be reduced.
But as
, "given rising values, that’s going to add up to little, if any, actual relief in dollars."
Mayor Eric L. Johnson has made clear that
. One key thing to watch in the coming weeks will be how he proposes to do so. It will not be easy.
The stubborn reality is that 62 percent of the general fund budget is devoted to public safety-related activities. As
The News
notes, "residents are sure to want it all, tax relief and great parks, open libraries and a safe city."
In addition to millions in contractually-obligated pay raises for police and fire, this budget would increase security and lighting on parks and trails, expand library hours and staffing, and augment planning and zoning staff for an increasing workload, according to Broadnax.
The budget battles we see in the coming weeks may pale in comparison to what's ahead next year and beyond. With federal pandemic-related funds drying up and sales tax growth likely to slow, much leaner years are on the horizon,
The News
predicts.
Budget town hall meetings to gather feedback from residents begin on Thursday.
. For those who do not have time to read the full 724-page budget book, the City Manager's office released
. Broadnax also put out the below video summary.
The City Council will vote on a final budget in late September. The new budget takes effect on October 1.
Video: Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax on his 2023-24 proposed budget.
📝 Memos to the Dallas City Council:
An updated draft of the ForwardDallas Comprehensive Land Use Plan will be available for review and input by August 15. Open house events will be held from late August through early October to gather additional feedback. DDI President & CEO Jennifer Scripps is a member of the committee updating the plan. Read more.
Check out all the weekly memos here.
Meetings of Interest
The Dallas City Council is back this week after a five-week break from meetings. They will hold a budget workshop on Tuesday and a regular voting meeting on Wednesday.
Here's a sampling of what else is going on this week at City Hall and elsewhere with implications for DDI and Downtown.
Tuesday, August 8
🌆
Comprehensive Land Use Plan Committee (CLUP), 8:30 a.m., Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., 6ES
The committee working on updates to the ForwardDallas land use plan continues its work.
💲
Dallas City Council Budget Workshop, 9 a.m., Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., Council Chambers, 6th Floor
City staff will outline the proposed budget. Mayor Johnson and City Council members will likely give initial indications of where they might want to see changes. Review the briefing here.
🚌
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Committee-of-the-Whole, 2:30 p.m., 1401 Pacific Ave., Board Room
This agenda includes a briefing on Bus Network Redesign Phase Two and Summer 2024 Service Change.
Wednesday, August 9
🏙
Dallas City Council Agenda Meeting, 9 a.m., Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., Council Chambers, 6th Floor
Item 28 is an advance funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) with a contribution of nearly $10 million "for the design and construction of transportation betterments including pedestrian fencing, signal upgrades, and illumination items for the roadways that cross" the Interstate 30 canyon on the south side of Downtown.
Item 30 will authorize the legally required annual public hearing on the assessment rate paid by Downtown Improvement District (DID) property owners. Downtown Dallas, Inc., has run the DID for more than 30 years, providing enhanced security, clean, homeless outreach, and ambassadors services within the Central Business District. Similar hearings will also be called for 12 other Public Improvement Districts in Dallas.
Item 61 is a contract to replace Main Street Garden stone pavers in Downtown. Downtown Dallas, Inc., is contributing $130,000 to the project. We are doing our best to get the park in pristine shape ahead of October's National Recreation and Park Association Conference, which will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas. We anticipate many of the conventioneers will visit Main Street Garden during the three-day conference, the premier national gathering of the park and recreation community.
Thursday, August 10
🏞
Dallas Park and Recreation Board, 9 a.m., Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St., Room 6FN
This special-called meeting will be focused on finalizing 2024 bond recommendations, which will then be sent to the Parks and Trails Subcommittee for further review.
Quote of the Week
Mark Lamster, Architecture Critic, The Dallas Morning News, on the Dallas Museum of Art's chosen firm and design to reimagine the Downtown institution.
"To look at the firm’s proposal is to understand why it was chosen by the museum’s selection committee: It was the most elegant of the six choices and also the most logical, deftly answering the museum’s imperatives to become more transparent, better integrate with its surroundings, bring clarity to its internal spaces and add new gallery space for the large collections of contemporary art it will soon inherit. Above all, it was downright beautiful."
Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings?
.
Were you forwarded this newsletter?
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Enjoy your week.
Best,
Scott GoldsteinChief of External Affairs& Government RelationsDowntown Dallas, Inc.
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