Receiving Line

Hello, friend,

Hundreds of Dallas residents attended forums this weekend to meet and hear from the three finalists to be city manager.

Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Fort Worth Assistant City Manager William Johnson, and Sacramento Assistant City Manager Mario Lara answered questions publicly and in receiving lines at two recreation centers and Dallas City Hall on Saturday and today.

Under the City Charter, the city manager acts as the CEO of Dallas, implementing the City Council’s vision, proposing the annual budget, and overseeing the city’s programs, operations, and roughly 13,000 employees. Community members were also asked for feedback on the finalists via an online survey that closed tonight.

It is a nice and necessary gesture to include community input, but this hiring decision ultimately lies with Mayor Eric L. Johnson and his 14 City Council colleagues. To that end, there is little question Tolbert has the inside track. She’s been serving in the role since May and most insiders I talk to agree she has done a great job addressing key challenges, including permitting, homelessness, public safety, and a budget process that started with a nearly $40 million shortfall.

They also commend many of her personnel changes, including the appointment of six senior executives, three from outside City Hall. She came into the job armed with a detailed 100-day transition plan and then held herself accountable with this 100-day progress report, which I encourage you to read.

On Wednesday, City Council members will conduct interviews and deliberate on their choice in closed session. A vote on who to hire is expected by the following Wednesday, January 22.

📖 Table of Contents

• 📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings

• 📝 Memos of Interest

• 🤝 Meetings of Interest: Jan. 13 - 17

  • Monday, January 13

    • Workforce, Education & Equity Committee

    • North Central Texas Council of Governments

    • DFW Airport Board

  • Tuesday, January 14

    • Public Safety Committee

    • DART Board

  • Wednesday, January 15

    • Ad Hoc Legislative Affairs Committee

    • Dallas City Council Briefing

  • Thursday, January 16

    • City Plan Commission

  • Friday, January 17

    • Public Safety Committee

📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings

• The first winter blast of 2025 froze out a few key meetings, including Thursday’s Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Board and the Regional Transportation Council (RTC), as well as Friday’s City Council Public Safety Committee. Airport board members will convene tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. (see below), while the RTC has yet to post a new meeting date. The Public Safety Committee will meet on Tuesday morning.

• Dallas City Council members on Wednesday:

  • Approved Item 2, a $600,000 settlement with the family of late Dallas firefighter David Walters, who died after playing football with his family the day after Thanksgiving in 2018. His widow, Kristi Walters, and the couple’s three sons sued the city for payment of workers’ compensation benefits. The family was not entitled to line-of-duty death benefits, The Dallas Morning News reported in 2019.

  • Approved Item 15, a $6.1 million construction contract with Big Sky Construction Company, Inc. to redo Dallas Museum of Art galleries damaged in August 2022 floods.

  • Approved Items 38 and 39, more than $47 million in contracts tied to the ongoing Downtown Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas redevelopment. Read all about it in the Dallas Business Journal.

  • Approved an 18-month Specific Use Permit (SUP) for Club VIVO at the southwest corner of North Harwood Street and Pacific Avenue in Downtown. The move follows a series of debates at City Council and City Plan Commission that touched on safety concerns tied to the club. Downtown Council member Paul E. Ridley pushed to follow the CPC recommendation for a one-year SUP renewal, saying he was willing to give the operators a chance to prove they can operate safely, while noting “this location has a history of significant criminal activity.”

  • Adopted changes detailed here to the City’s Economic Development Incentive Policy.

• Dallas Area Rapid Transit board members spent two workshops deliberating how to respond to some service area cities’ request for enhanced services and millions of taxpayer dollars. As reported by The Dallas Morning News, board members balked at Plano’s $55 million ask, “but discussed options to expand service to the city.” They also talked potential governance changes.

📝 Memos of Interest

• Dallas business owners and managers are encouraged to attend the Dallas Police Department’s “Business Robbery Symposium” on February 4 at Fair Park. Despite the name, it’s actually an event to help businesses deter robberies. Prospective robbers who show up thinking otherwise are in for a real surprise!

• Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, January 10, 2025.

🤝 Meetings of Interest: Jan. 13 - 17

Monday, January 13

City Council Workforce, Education, & Equity Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• This briefing responds to questions about an initiative to train City security officers interested in becoming sworn Dallas police officers.

North Central Texas Council of Governments Transportation Public Meeting, 12 p.m., 616 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, TX, 76011

• Transportation officials are seeking feedback on regional deployment of electric vehicle charging stations, among other agenda items.

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport Board, 12:30 p.m., 2400 Aviation Drive, Board Room, DFW Airport Headquarters Building, DFW Airport, TX 75261

• Board members will consider a $600,000 two-year contract with consulting firm Korn Ferry US to assist with the search for the airport’s next CEO. Current CEO Sean Donohue is retiring this year.

Tuesday, January 14

Special Called City Council Public Safety Committee, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• Violent crime in Dallas fell by more than 8% in 2024 as compared to 2023, including a 26% drop in murders and a nearly 8% drop in aggravated assaults, according to this presentation. That translates to 65 fewer murder victims last year and nearly 500 fewer victims of aggravated assaults, according to Dallas police data.

Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Board of Directors Committee-of-the-Whole, 3 p.m., DART Conference Room C - 1st Floor, 1401 Pacific Ave., Dallas; Watch Live Here

• Board members will get an update on $224 million in transportation projects throughout the service area, including Downtown Dallas. Read the full briefing here.

Wednesday, January 15

City Council Ad Hoc Legislative Affairs Committee, 8 a.m., Council Briefing Room, 6ES, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• Committee members will discuss recommending potential changes to the City Council-approved state legislative agenda.

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

• It’s no secret that Dallas City Hall has struggled to keep up with construction permitting in recent years. Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert announced last year that her team had dramatically reduced median turnaround time. This briefing delves into how they did it — and what’s coming next.

• Here’s an update on the vision for Downtown’s prized Thanks-Giving Square. City Council members will also discuss in closed session a potential real estate transaction involving the Bullington Truck Terminal under Thanks-Giving Square. This is a continuation of a discussion that began when budget deliberations last year revealed Dallas was paying $500,000 to lease the property, while only making $50,000 in revenue on a sublease.

• City Council members will interview city manager finalists and deliberate on who to hire in closed session.

Thursday, January 16

Special Called City Plan Commission (CPC), 11 a.m. Briefing, 12:30 p.m. Public Hearing, Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• A morning briefing on proposed changes to off-street parking regulations will be followed by an afternoon public hearing on the matter. CPC is expected to make a recommendation for City Council review later this year.

Friday, January 17

Trinity River Corridor Local Government Corporation (LGC), 10 a.m., City Council Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• This meeting is expected to include an update on the planned Harold Simmons Park along the Trinity River west of Downtown.

Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings and memos and other fun stuff? Hit me up.