Hello, friend,

Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert wasted little time following her own hiring less than two weeks ago to launch a national search for the next Dallas police chief.

In a memo to Mayor Eric L. Johnson and City Council members on Friday, Tolbert said she is aiming to have a new chief in place by early spring. What she says she’s looking for in what will likely be her most consequential hire to date is fairly typical for a successful big city police chief: a visionary and inspirational leader who is committed to “operational excellence.”

More specifically, she needs a chief who will ensure that crime continues to fall not just on paper, but in the eyes of Dallas residents who see and feel otherwise (including the sting from an historic robbery committed against our city by Los Angeles late last night). She needs a chief who can ramp up hiring to comply with a controversial new Charter amendment pushed by outside interests. And she needs a chief who is liked and respected by her own 15 bosses, a healthy chunk of their 1.3 million constituents, and the 3,100 police officers he or she will oversee.

Oh, and she needs a chief who can effectively communicate with immigrant communities fearful that law enforcement at all levels will be working to deport them or their loved ones. 

Tolbert does not necessarily need another Eddie Garcia. The former chief was a skilled communicator who was as popular with street cops as he was with politicians and community leaders. But successful police chiefs do not have to be rock stars with a national profile.

Interim Police Chief Michael Igo has so far shown himself to be measured, thoughtful, and relatively soft-spoken for his line of work. With a deep commitment to Dallas over more than 30 years on the force, he will be a strong contender for the permanent job. So could a handful of other former Dallas police commanders who have retired or gone on to chief jobs elsewhere in recent years (I’ll withhold more speculation until we see who actually applies for the job).

In our city’s council-manager form of government, the city manager has the sole authority to hire and fire her police chief. But just about everyone in the orbit of City Hall — the mayor, city council members, business leaders, community advocates, weekly newsletter writers, and more — will be in her ear about who she ought to hire. The chatter is well underway.

If a new chief succeeds, others will take credit for the hire. If he or she fails, Tolbert will get all the blame.

📖 Table of Contents

• 📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings

• 📝 Memos of Interest

• 🤝 Meetings of Interest: Feb. 3 - 7

  • Monday, February 3

    • Parks, Trails & Environment Committee

    • Economic Development Committee

  • Wednesday, February 5

    • Dallas City Council

  • Thursday, February 6

    • City Plan Commission

    • Park & Recreation Board

• 🗳️ Tracking May 2025 City Council Candidates

📰 Highlights From Last Week’s Meetings

• Dallas’ lead homelessness response agency, nonprofit Housing Forward, is seeking $5.6 million in federal pandemic relief funds to bolster the Street to Home initiative, The Dallas Morning News reports. The City Council must approve the funds in two tranches at upcoming meetings.

• Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) board members approved an increase in the board vote threshold from a simple majority to two-thirds to add transit services in any member city, KERA reports. The move comes amid ongoing negotiations between DART officials and some member cities that say they aren’t getting services equal to their costs. “The ultimate goal should be to preserve DART’s funding structure while providing service that reflects each city’s investment and serves their needs while protecting the regional spirit of the system,” writes The Dallas Morning News editorial board.

📝 Memos of Interest

• City staff will push ahead with a new Request For Proposals (RFP) seeking a company to install digital advertising video boards on public sidewalks despite overwhelming public opposition. A majority of City Council members support the program, which city staff estimate could generate about $20,000 annually per sidewalk obstruction. Read more about the planned RFP. A selected proposer would come to City Council for approval as soon as April.

• City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert will work with City Council members and key stakeholders to develop “a strategic set of goals that reflect our city’s priorities and values and will guide our work for the next 10 years.” Read more.

• Three City Council members want to rename sections of two streets within Fair Park for the late Richard Knight Jr., the first Black Dallas city manager, and Dr. Harry Robinson Jr., the founding president of the African American Museum at Fair Park.

• Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, January 31, 2025.

🤝 Meetings of Interest: Feb. 3 - 7

Monday, February 3

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

• Much of this meeting will be focused on White Rock Lake, including separate briefings on completed and ongoing improvements and an annual master plan update.

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

• Downtown’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts continued to show substantial commercial, residential, and hotel growth last year, according to annual TIF reports summarized in this memo. TIFs reinvest a portion of property tax revenue growth from new real estate back into the area for planned improvements.

Wednesday, February 5

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

• Most surveyed residents rate Dallas highly as a place to live, work, and do business, according to the City’s most recent annual community survey. Respondents gave mostly “poor” or “fair” ratings on the City’s infrastructure maintenance, planning and zoning, and police services. Read the complete briefing. Review similar surveys going back to 2005.

• Here’s the latest look at how Dallas plans to spend more than $100 million in remaining federal pandemic relief funds. The briefing includes some discussion of how a federal funding freeze would hurt City operations.

• City Council members will talk in closed session about a potential real estate transaction involving the former Dallas Morning News headquarters at 508 Young Street. The discussions follow public reports last year that a revised convention center redevelopment footprint may depend on acquiring a portion of that Downtown property.

Thursday, February 6

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

• The controversial Far North Dallas Pepper Square zoning case is back on the agenda again (item 25). Some surrounding neighbors don’t want rezoning that would clear the way for a mixed-use development with a 12-story high-rise at the corner of Belt Line and Preston roads, reports Noor Adatia of the Dallas Business Journal.

Dallas Park & Recreation Board, 10 a.m., 6FN Conference Room, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.

• Park Board members (including me) will be asked to approve acceptance of a $6.4 million federal grant and $1.6 million from the nonprofit Trust for Public Land to support developing the Five Mile Creek Trail.

🗳️ Tracking May 2025 City Council Candidates

Voters across Dallas will elect at least four new City Council members this May. Council Members Carolyn King Arnold*, Omar Narvaez, and Tennell Atkins are term-limited and cannot run again, according to the City Charter. Council Member Jaynie Schultz has said she will not seek a third term.

The candidate filing period opened on January 15 and runs through February 14. Explore the candidates who have been certified to appear on the ballot so far at the link below. I’ll be updating the list regularly.

*Council member Arnold filed for re-election despite a recent voter-approved Charter amendment that bars her from running for City Council after she completes her current term. The City Secretary’s office formally ruled her ineligible, but Arnold said in recent days she’s still fighting to get on the ballot.

🗣️ Quote of Interest

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