Dallas City Budget – The Other Side Dallas

June 22, 2022June 22, 2022

Another City Council Equity Giveaway

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.

One nonprofit called it a classic bait and switch.

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.

May 14, 2022May 13, 2022

The Road Not Taken…

Earlier in the week Dallas City Council chose the road not taken: the one where taxpayers pay a contractor the low bid amount for a project.

The $11.5M project is now suspended pending the outcome of legal action filed by Gadberry Construction and owner Dustin Gadberry in Dallas County District Court.

The project for the Design District had previously been approved by both city staff and parks and recreation.

The lawsuit names Mayor Eric Johnson and all members of city council except Jesse Moreno (D2), Jaime Resendez (D5), Narvaez (D6), and Paul Ridley (D14).

Moreno, Narvez, and Ridley all voted against the project, Resendez did not cast a vote on the matter.

The Road Not Taken: Taxpayers

On Wednesday, Judge Kristina Williams, formally blocked the city from proceeding with the contract and disallowed Dallas and the Fain Group from performing any work related to the project.

A May 25th hearing has been scheduled to review Gadsberry’s request for an injunction.

Williams’ order in part read: “If defendants are permitted to contract with the second-lowest bidder, defendants will violate their obligations under Chapter 252 of the Texas Local Government Code, and more than $700,000 of taxpayer money will be wasted.”

Williams is Judge for the 192nd Civil District Court and one of the few elected Republicans still in office. She is currently running for the 5th Court of Appeals, Place 7.

Unlike city staff, she appears to be on the road not taken by city council, defending the city taxpayer from wasteful and excessive spending.

The Road Not Taken: Ethics Disclosures

Some have complained the trail project is delayed because the road not taken in this case was Ethics 101.

Some city council watchers complained that city council member Omar Narvaez did not publicly disclose Dustin Gadberry was his campaign treasurer, but Narvaez disputes that.

Narvaez said, “I did publicly disclose he was my campaign treasurer. Every time I filed a campaign finance report his name is listed in the paperwork, and it’s a public record that anyone can find.”

Narvaez told local news that he’d been told by the city attorney’s office that he didn’t have to recuse himself because he didn’t have any financial interest in Gadberry’s construction company.

Other Side Dallas will follow this story and continue to update as developments occur.

December 12, 2020December 12, 2020

Four Friday Night Shootings

There were four unrelated Friday night shootings in approximately twenty-three minutes that Dallas Police responded. The result is two people dead and two more injured.

Friday Night Shootings – A Reflection Of Larger Trend

Dallas has been a hotbed of crime all year long, prior to COVID19 becoming a contributing factor.

Earlier in the year members of City Council cut police overtime for arts and environmental projects despite Dallas’s murder and violent crime rates. Locally Dallas is on pace for more murders this year than last which broke local records.

Dallas Police have had issues staffing the 9-1-1 call center and there have been multiple allegations against Chief Reneé Hall that go unaswered by city officials.

October 17, 2020October 16, 2020

Shock and Fail: The Lorenzo Hotel Was To Get COVID19 Relief Dollars?

The Lorenzo Hotel almost got $1.9M in CARES Act funding through a provision City Manager’s staff tried to push through this week.

Cara Mendelsohn, Dallas City Council member for District 12, on Thursday called out the city manager’s office for seemingly trying to hide the proposed $1.9M in COVID19 relief money to a prominent hotel developer.

The agenda item was described in a presentation as a $1.8 million debt payment, with no mention the money would be for the Lorenzo Hotel in the Cedars.

A deal the city council reached in 2013 used federal HUD money to turn a blighted abandoned building into the boutique Lorenzo Hotel. Visit Dallas has been unable to help and like many hotels is struggling. If the owner does not make the payments to HUD that is owes, the city is the guarantor.

Lorenzo Hotel or Rental Assistance

Months ago we did a story about rental assistance going to richer landlords and not South or West Dallas tenants in need. $1.9M would be almost 20% of the budget alloted for rental assistance. Instead of dollars going into an upscale private entity it is worth asking if those dollars would be better spent towards many with rental assistance needs.

Additionally, this is another example of city economic development not creating trust between itself and the citizens it serves. The current Economic Development Director Courtney Pogue has been rumored to be leaving for some time now.

October 2, 2020October 2, 2020

Did Dallas Defund 9-1-1 Call Takers Too?

Where are the 9-1-1 call takers?

Multiple news reports said a man died early Sunday after he was shot while in his vehicle outside the Westin Galleria, Dallas police say. This comes less than a week after the Dallas City Council voted to defund Dallas Police overtime, but a social media account suggests the response was slowed due to lack of 9-1-1 call takers.

Officers responded about 2:47 a.m. to the shooting call in the 13340 block of Dallas Parkway, where witnesses told police a group of males in a dark-colored sedan shot at a white Mercedes in front of the hotel.

Both the shooter’s vehicle and the victim left the area, but police found the victim near the service road with a gunshot wound.

9-1-1 Call Takers Inaction An Ongoing Problem

9-1-1 call takers are an ongoing problem in numerous big cities. Dave Statter of Statter911 has a long history of reporting issues with Washington, DC’s Operation Center.

Dallas appears to be having some of the same issues per the social media responses above including a fight in progress and uninterrupted” automatic gun fire.

September 24, 2020September 24, 2020

City Budget Choices Leaves Everybody Unhappy

The Dallas City Council budget choices appear to have everyone mad after a 9-6 vote which cuts $7M from the police overtime budget, but adds another $8M in year over year spending.

The council passed the new budget late Wednesday that increases overall police funding despite promises from progressive members of the council to to slash it. In the backdrop were a crowd of marchers who assembled outside City Hall to protest police violence.

Budget Choices

The budget places an emphasis on ending historical inequities by injecting more money into disadvantaged southern Dallas neighborhoods. There are millions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief for programs like rental assistance filling some of those gaps, but Dallas’ own program ended up sending money to North Dallas.

Local activists did try to cut nearly forty percent from the Dallas Police Department budget – but their proposal for a $200M cut – won no votes. The $200M cut is well over the $77M cut previously rumored for Defund DPD 2.0.

City Council members also did not support Mayor Eric Johnson’s plan to defund the bureaucracy or mention the pending departure of the City’s Economic Development Director Courtney Pogue.

September 16, 2020September 16, 2020

Trust Missing Still From South Dallas-Fair Park Opportunity Fund

Some things don’t change. Trust missing from South Dallas-Fair Park Opportunity Fund it seems.

As the Mayor and City Council debate today the Defund DPD or pay cuts to top level employees the economic development staff issued a Notice of Funding Availability that side stepped normal city procurement policy despite a long history of South Dallas-Fair Park Opportunity Fund being poor accountants of the public’s tax dollars.

Trust Missing Still From South Dallas Fair Park Opportunity Fund

Staff for the South Dallas-Fair Park Opportunity Fund also extended the deadline for applications. An anonymous city staff member noted the advisory board mostly applauded, but who and what is being funded is still up in the air. Previously the fund has mostly been a cash cow for certain connected individuals who use the fund as a low cost loan provider at taxpayer expense.

The advisory board has previously avoided a majore reform proposed by City Manager TC Broadnax – axing the ongoing social-services grants and focusing on loans.

It isn’t clear what actions the advisory board is taking to improve the outlook for the Fair Park area, but to date, it appears they are only providing acquiesence and not advice.

Trust Missing…Still and Forever?

Decades’ of city audits reveal the fund is broken and almost broke, after dispensing some $7 million of taxpayer money. The results? There is little to show for it except unpaid-loan lawsuits and just a handful of success stories fueled with forgivable loans.

September 11, 2020September 16, 2020

Mayor Eric Johnson’s Plans to Defund Dallas Bloated Bureaucracy

Defund Dallas may be the new cry against Defund DPD. Mayor Eric Johnson has recently stirred up controversy for trying to cut government salaries. It all started on September 1st when the mayor posted a tweet highlighting the discrepancy of salaries of Dallas among other government salaries.

Defund Dallas: Mayor Eric Johnson's chart showing government salaries

Apparently the Dallas City Manager, T.C Broadnax, makes more than the President of the United States. Which is certainly odd, considering the wide gap in responsibility between the two jobs. As well as the fact that even the top 10% of City Managers earn significantly less than what T.C Broadnax is currently earning (according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2019)

Should this be the case? Is the wage worth the work? Mayor Eric Johnson doesn’t think so. In fact, the mayor himself wrote an opinion piece on The Dallas Morning News defending his budget amendment.

In it he states his proposal to decrease the salary of some Dallas government officials amidst the pandemic to make room for more services and lower taxes.

Mayor Eric Johnson’s Defund Dallas Program

The budget amendment in a nutshell cuts 10% off the salary of anyone who makes more than $60,000 annually (including the mayor himself who makes $80,000). This does not include anyone working for emergency services.

Cuts made from the salaries are to help fund more services such as better infrastructure (better roads and streetlights), better policing/ public safety, and lower property taxes.

Unfortunately there is no specifics as to what he means by better policing. Nor if the lower property taxes will be a main focus point or simply an extra treat in case there is left over funds. More details will be unveiled once he formally proposes the budget amendment on the 23rd.

Public Perception

When the straw vote was conducted not a single council member voted on even discussing a cut to salaries. Some people agreed with the mayor and where disappointed by the council. Some said the mayor should have also proposed to cut salaries from the Dallas police, and other cuts in general. Others made fun of the mayor for leaving after the straw vote. And a handful questioned the validity of his bloated bureaucracy claim.

As is with government in general, ineffectiveness and useless spending often persevere. Seeing as how the Dallas council has voted in the past its unlikely that the budget amendment will go through despite the COVID-19 struggle and mayor Eric Johnson’s attempts.

“If this is not the time … to trim the top 10% of salaries at the city of Dallas … then there will never be a time,” -Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson

September 9, 2020September 9, 2020

City Council To Defund DPD Overtime?

Defund DPD looks like it is becoming an election issue afterall.

Several members of Dallas City Council, including Adam Baladua and Chad West, are circulating the graphic below showing the reallocation of Dallas Police overtime to other focus areas. The argument they make is that crime prevention dollars are better spent than crime response.

It is not clear how some of these measures are anything except for pet projects in the city. Bike infrastructure and new solar panels have not been linked towards crime prevention in any way and arts funding, useful to the community at large, has little to nothing to do with crime prevention either.

One recent social media post noted it appears some members of city council are trying to balance the budget deficit on the backs of cops after the city council voted to waste millions on Visit Dallas earlier this summer.

Another poster noted that city council knows overtime is hard to budget for and with COVID19 and ongoing George Floyd protests these dollars are being used more quickly than usual.

Defund DPD – Not Really

One issue that is being raised very lightly is the total budget cut from the police force. Despite multiple city council members saying their budget priority was to Defund DPD in June the current reallocation argument amounts to only 0.8%. Where is the real ‘Defund’ movement and will these same members of city council continue to buy armored vehicles for the police as they did earlier this year.

September 3, 2020September 3, 2020

Have You Seen Our Missing Mayor?

Eric Johnson was a Missing Mayor at yesterday’s budget markup after approximately 1:30 PM when Mayor Pro Tem Adam Medrano took over the gavel and Eric Johnson was nowhere to be found.

Dallas City Council was to take up eighty-four budget amendments and did so in many cases without the Mayor. Mayor Johnson left proceedings when his amendments were defeated.

The city currently has a $3.8B budget with numerous holes given the loss of tax revenue from COVID19. During that time the City Council nearly unaimously gave Visit Dallas a new five year contract despite no evidence of actually succeeding in bringing convention or visitors to Dallas and a long history of marketing suburban hotels and events.

Missing Mayor – Again

Eric Johnson’s tenures as Mayor and as a State Representative have been marred by a frequent absenteeism. He was named to Pepperdine University’s Board of Regents further fueling speculation about his focus on Dallas.