Dallas flushes $55M in taxpayer dollars with a yawn after a consent agenda item to pay out the sum to Trinity East Energy.
The agenda item can be seen here was referenced in a story by Tim Rogers at D Magazine.
Former city manager Mary Suhm engaged the city in a secret side deal with Trinity East Energy. The deal provided the city with tens of millions of dollars. In exchange the got drilling rights under park property.
Eventually, this side deal led to a lawsuit against the City of Dallas and taxpayers holding the bag.
Rogers’ point though was who is watching out for taxpayers.
In another era where city council is going to ask citizens for a loan to cover their unbudgeted pension obligations, who is watching the store?
Dallas Flushes $55M Again Before Asking For More
The fact that the Dallas pension in crisis is hardly news. The idea no one seems to mind asking the taxpayers to finance their mistakes should be.
DMN surprised by pension mess they helped create with their electoral endorsements help in 2019 for current mayor, Eric Johnson.
Today’s oped brings another glimpse into the lack of reality that is the Dallas Morning News editorial team.
The morning PR post starts “First responders are there when we need them most. When someone calls 911, they are first on the scene…”
The ivory tower approach misses the regular concern of citizens who do not understand why officers do not respond.
They don’t respond for auto theft, burglary, and many other crimes – all of which is part of the current plan.
Exact crime figures are hard to know because Chief Garcia has gone out of his way to limit crime data for citizens and the media.
Meanwhile other city council members have gone along kicking the proverbial can down the road on pension funding.
The result is a $4 billion – with a B – shortfall, we reported on in August. The Dallas pension in crisis story is far from over.
DMN Surprised By Pension
Actuaries suggest the pension systems need an immediate infusion of $1.3B to stay afloat.
In August there was a suggestion for a half billion dollar pension obligation bond during city budget discussion.
These figures though require no promise of future fiscal sanity from the financial arsonists the newspaper continues to endorse.
Other Side Dallas expects voters will see a November ballot question to take on more debt while the city wastes funds on politically expedient projects.
Ransomware attack report leaves concern after 30000 users had personal details leaked. The city remains tightlipped about the loss.
City officials postponted the official After-Action Review of Chief Information Officer Bill Zielinski.
Candy’s Dirt was able to get a copy of the presentation for the September 6 city council meeting.
The ransomware hack of resources disrupted city operations across the city. Problems occurred for building permits, libraries, and even emergency response operations.
Zielinski told Candy’s Dirty they are budgeting eight figures in the FY2024 budget.
This comes after issues with back up of city data causing terabytes of data loss. The data loss caused case load issues where the police could not prosecute cases.
Ransomware Attack Report
The city says this is an ongoing criminal investigation, but will not comment if they paid the ransom.
Dallas Central Appraisal District (DCAD) was also targeted in November 2022. They paid roughly $170000 in ransom. Some say this encourages the attackers.
Dallas Budget Showdown 2023 is here now that the budget was released over two weeks ago and the usual sparklers, not fireworks, have begun.
Late last week, Mayor Eric Johnson sent a memo to TC Broadnax, directing him to develop a new FY 2023–24 Budget. The new budget is based upon a no-new-revenue tax rate.
The mayor is following the lead of Cara Mendelsohn, who has been a consistent voice on the budget since Lee Kleinman left city council two years ago.
Dallas Budget Showdown 2023 Details
Other Side Dallas notes that year in and year out some council members provide performative actions against the budget.
These consistently result in no tax savings to the taxpayer or structural support long term.
Specifically, Dallas has a shortfall anticipated in the next five years that may total one billion dollars. Part of the problem is non response to another structural problem with public safety pensions.
Smoke and mirrors have provided some illusion of lower crime, but most citizens see crime problems creeping further into Dallas.
The Dallas pension in crisis is not news to anyone who was here for the 2016 debacle that led to its near collapse.
The new pension crisis has been expected since 2016. The city budget debate coming is shedding new light on the old problem.
City council and city officials now face tough decisions about how to start building back the two public safety funds.
In 2016, the fund nearly went bankrupt. This happened after money that had been invested in luxury real estate did not turn a profit. There had been a risk of default at the time
City staff says there is currently $4B in in unfunded liabilities for both the Police and Fire Pension Fund and the city’s employee retirement fund.
Dallas Pension In Crisis – Hurting Recruitment?
There are requests to hire nearly 300 more police officers and 100 more firefighters. There are also new requests for overtime funding for both sides of the public safety spectrum.
One consideration is to issue nearly half a billion dollars in pension obligation bonds, i.e. take out a loan to pay the current loan owed.
Other Side Dallas will provide Dallas local breaking news and updates to this important public safety story.
The Dallas Budget 23-24 is now public after TC Broadnax released his plan to lower crime or tax bills for local residents.
Broadnax’s recommendations for the 2023-2024 budget include more money for police and fire personnel. There is a modest cut to the overall tax rate. The new rate is still a tax increase against appraisals that are rising by ten percent or more.
The budget also includes more money for staff to enforce city council’s move against short term rentals.
The budget also has funding for new technology infrastructure.
Ransomware attacks in Dallas caused problems for Dallas Fire Rescue response and basic services. For weeks, library patrons could not use the request system to check out items.
Another city council equity giveaway was on the Consent Agenda this morning. The item has moved after District 12’s Cara Mendelsohn pulled it from the agenda.
Council Member Mendelsohn asked why a 2018 policy needed to be updated so soon.
David Noguera said he anticipates minimal staff time from his team.
A question asked how can Dallas trust an out of state entity for a policy if they can’t handle their own state incorporation paperwork. It seems Noguera and Housing can not provide adequate oversight to this project.
Today city council is considering a $300,000 payment for a Phase II consulting contract. The contract would be to draft policy and engage stakeholders. The professional services contract was first to be paid to Michele S Williams LLC. There is an amendment to make payment to Michele S Williams, sole proprietor.
A big issue for city council to consider is the fact Michele S Williams LLC is not a Texas registered business. The LLC does not have a registered agent in Texas per state officials.
Additionally, Michelle S Williams LLC is not in good standing per Maryland.
Citizen Opposition
A resident of District 11, Christopher Suprun, also spoke against the contract. He noted the large number of local organizations who could perform this contract. He mentions the issues about using a firm that has issues with its own state incorporation.
Suprun then asked why city staff was not aware of incorporation issues. He posed to city council why they would use an outsider. Suprun believes there are many firms with local ties who better understand Dallas.
Why Another City Council Equity Giveaway?
As the city advertised, B.U.I.L.D. grants. BUILD stands for Broaden Urban Investments to Leverage Dallas.
The city launched the small business grant program in 2020. The goal was to assist small businesses hit by global COVID-19 pandemic. The program said it would provide selected businesses with one-time grant of up to $3,000.
In January 2021, Other Side Dallas documented eight local organizations who never received their grant. It is unclear who kept or used those funds.
Another education based nonprofit noted they received a notification Friday. The notice demanded agreement to new terms not outlined in the original advertisement. They were then given one businesses day to agree.
Afterward, the nonprofit then still never received their funds. Their reaction to this bait and switch was outrage.
Other Side Dallas has been unable to get city staff to respond to inquiries about this contract or the BUILD grant problems.
On Friday, Mayor Johnson and others on Dallas City Council made clear they plan to oust him from his position.
Mayor Johnson has made clear he believes Broadnax should be relieved of his duties given ongoing problems under Broadnax’s supervision.
Johnson and three council members, Blackmon (D9), Mendolsohn (D12), and Willis (D13) have asked for the closed session meeting.
The result is a week of arm twisting to get to eight votes. In Facebook posts, Cara Mendolsohn makes clear she thinks they are there.
There is a long list of accountability issues with Broadnax’s tenure. Some of those include general management accountability including failure to supervise former Police Chief Reneé Hall, the loss of terabytes of city data, and a nonfunctional permit office inhibiting economic growth.
City Manager Broadnax Reacts: The Statement
City Manager Broadnax’s statement is nonconfrontational over the report stating periodic performance review is critical to me…”
He went on to say that these reviews “demonstrate progress” and “ensure transparency…”
A Dallas City Council/TC Broadnax showdown is coming Wednesday, June 15 it appears. The showdown is the culmination of years of infighting between the city council and city manager.
Mayor Johnson has made clear he believes Broadnax should be relieved of his duties.
Johnson and three council members, Blackmon (D9), Mendolsohn (D12), and Willis (D13) have asked that the closed session meeting take place.
Wednesday is typically a staff briefing day.
The mayor’s memo sent Friday says the purpose of the special called meeting is to “discuss and evaluate the performance and employment of Dallas City Manager TC Broadnax.”
In a press statement, Johnson said, “several of my duly elected colleagues on the Dallas City Council have made it clear in recent days that they also believe it is time for a change.”
He continued, “we are ready to move forward and discuss how best to build for the future of our great city and its amazing people, and that is why I have placed the item on the City Council’s agenda for next week.”
There is a long list of accountability issues with Broadnax’s tenure. Some of those include general management accountability including failure to supervise former Police Chief Reneé Hall, the loss of terabytes of city data, and a nonfunctional permit office inhibiting economic growth.
TC Broadnax Showdown: Public Safety
During a June 2002 city council meeting, Mayor Eric Johnson had a lot of questions for Police Chief Renee Reneé Hall during a special meeting about police response to George Floyd protests.
Before the meeting began two hundred local citizens spoke out about the city’s reaction to ongoing protests. They were almost all outraged about what happened on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge.
Beyond the George Floyd protests, a legal challenge can proceed against the city. Dallas lost Qualified Immunity by the family of Tony Timpa.
Beyond, Timpa another in custody death happened just over two weeks ago similar to Timpa’s. City police have not improved their response to mental health issues.
Another area of concern for some city council members is economic development. Mr. Broadnax’s tensure shows a race backward in this area.
Broadnax and then EcoDev chief Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson pushed a $3M grant package to a grocer in South Dallas. The grant had no strings attached and left city taxpayers paying the bill. The grocer was a politically connected friend of Broadnax.
There are also ongoing permitting issues within Dallas.
Dallas permitting can average roughly four months to get a commercial building permit and more than a month for residential permits.
Some say approval times were projected to reach as high as ten to twelve weeks due to staffingg and executive decision making.
One local businessman noted, “No one on staff is invested in making the permit process go smoothly. Least of all TC.”
The issue is further punctuated by Elon Musk’s development outside Austin, Texas. In a recent Elon Musk statementhe said, “in Texas, it took us eighteen months to build a Gigafactory. In California, we’d still be working on the permits.”
Most large Texas cities expedite economic development projects that bring jobs and opportunity to the tax base. Dallas does not seem to show the same interest in doing the same.
There is also no clear city plan is to address homelessness, road maintenance, or 911 call center response.
Broadnax was at a Texas City Management Association conference at a Hyatt resort and spa in Cedar Creek, Texas. Broadnax makes more than $400,000 per year.
That move was described as a budgetary gimmick by some.
Since that time though violent crime has skyrocketed in Dallas making it more dangerous than other cities on a per capita basis.
City Budget Input 2022 Hearings
The City of Dallas holds public hearings to provide residents of Dallas the opportunity to speak on the upcoming year’s budget.
The hearing will be held at Dallas City Hall in the Council Chambers on May 25, 2022 as part of the regularly scheduled City Council meeting, which begins at 9:00 AM.
The deadline to register to speak is Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 5:00PM.
Additionally, the Office of Budget and Management Services is conducting a Budget Priorities Survey, which is available online in English and Spanish from May 2 to July 2, 2022.
Paper copies are also available at select Dallas Public Library and Recreation Center locations. Please visit the survey website here for more information.
