Sunday, June 18, 2023

Dear

:

Good evening. The Dallas City Council Inauguration is this Tuesday, June 20, at 10 a.m., at the Meyerson Symphony Center in the Dallas Arts District. But Mayor Eric L. Johnson and the City Council members will technically be sworn in tomorrow morning at City Hall, despite the fact that it is Juneteenth, a federal holiday since 2021.

That is because the

City of Dallas Charter

(Chapter IIIA, Section 1) says that duly elected City Council members "shall take office on the first Monday following the 30th calendar day after the final canvass of the general election." The canvassing took place on May 17.

Look for that line to be among proposed amendments in the next Charter review process.

Before we dive into what else is happening this week, here's a few updates on what went down last week.

• The City Council met until nearly midnight on Wednesday, with much of the meeting taken up by public comments and debate about how to regulate short-term rentals, also known as STRs (Airbnb, Vrbo). D Magazine reports on new regulations that will ban the STRs in single-family residential neighborhoods. They will remain legal in multi-family areas, including Downtown.

• The City Council approved an allocation of $90 million in Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) excess sales tax revenues for City of Dallas projects. Here's the breakdown of how the money will be allocated.

• As my friend Matt Goodman of D Magazine writes in his Sunday newsletter, "Local government is important, and so is local news." Check out today's DBrief newsletter for more on the action at City Hall last week.

 City of Dallas

📝 A few City Hall memos of interest:

• Estimated 2024 Bond Program allocations continue to shift. City officials are projecting a $1 billion total package. It is ultimately up to City Council members to decide how much money to allocate to each category or proposition. Voters get the final say in May of next year. Above is the current overview.

• Last call for community input on the draft Dallas Bike Plan. There are several ways to engage, including a virtual meeting to be held this Thursday, June 22, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Zoom link here).

• Check out all the weekly City Manager Memos here.

Meetings of Interest

Monday, June 19

🏙 Special Called City Council Meeting, 8:30 a.m., Council Chambers, Dallas City Hall

• The outgoing City Council will vote to formally accept the results of the June 10 runoff election in which Zarin Gracey was elected to replace southwest Dallas Councilmember Casey Thomas.

• Immediately following this meeting, Mayor Johnson and the 2023 - 25 City Council members will take the oath of office. Downtown Council members Paul Ridley and Jesse Moreno are back for another term representing Districts 14 and 2, respectively. The only other new Council member besides Gracey is Kathy Stewart, representing District 10 (Lake Highlands and Hamilton Park).

🙋🏽‍♀️ Special Called City Council Meeting, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, Dallas City Hall

• The new City Council will meet to elect a Mayor Pro Tem and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, choose their seats around the City Council horseshoe, and select their offices.

Tuesday, June 20

• The Mayor and City Council Inauguration Ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. No more tickets are available. The event will be live streamed here.

💹

City of Dallas Economic Development Corporation (CDEDC) Board of Directors

, 9 a.m., Room 6DN, Dallas City Hall

• The new nonprofit entity charged with leading key economic development tasks for the City will vote on a contract valued up to $150,000 for Korn Ferry (US) to lead search efforts for a Chief Executive Officer.

• The board will also consider a $375,000 contract with TIP Strategies, Inc., for "general CDEDC support." TIP Strategies also developed the city's Economic Development Strategic Plan that led to the formation of the EDC.

A snapshot of the results of the City's 2023 Community Survey.

Wednesday, June 21

🏛 City Council Briefing Meeting and Budget Workshop, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, Dallas City Hall

• Most Dallas residents have a positive perception of the city, according to the 2023 Community Survey of nearly 1,500 people. Infrastructure maintenance and police services are top priorities for residents.

• More discussion on the proposed "technical criteria" used to score potential 2024 Bond Program projects.

• The Fiscal 2024 city budget will likely focus on public safety, transportation infrastructure and mobility, and park maintenance and security, according to this biennial budget update. City Manager T.C. Broadnax will present his proposed budget to the City Council in early August.

Downtown Dallas Quote of the Week

Downtown Dallas, Inc., President & CEO Jennifer Scripps on the redevelopment of our Downtown convention center to compete with other cities:

“If you're in Miami, you are drinking mojitos, you’re listening to music. In Dallas, you are in an office, government area and you spill out into a cemetery. We can do better than that.”

Read the full story

Did we miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to say hi?

Let me know

.

Have an awesome week in Downtown Dallas.

Best,

Scott GoldsteinChief of External Affairs& Government RelationsDowntown Dallas, Inc.

DDI Security operates in a supplemental role to the Dallas Police Department, responding to non-emergency tips and helping patrol Downtown seven days a week.Each year, Security responds to nearly 30,000 incidents, including more than 5,000 tips received through the See Say app.Download the See Say app to report non-emergency quality of life issues, such as graffiti, dog waste, or litter. Our dedicated DDI team members will respond within minutes, between the hours of 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., seven days a week.

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