You're watching the meeting of the dallas city council with mayor eric l johnson, Mayor pro tem jaime resendez,
deputy mayor pro tem maxie johnson. The council members chad west, Zarin d gracey jessie moreno gay donnell willis.
laura. Cadena, adam. Bazaldua. Lori. Blair. Paula.
blackmon. Cathy stewart. William roth cara mendelsohn.
paul e. Ridley. City manager. Kimberly bizor tolbert.
city secretary billy ray johnson and interim city attorney bert vandenberg.
all right. Thank you so much. Good morning. We have a quorum. Today is wednesday, august the 5th, 2026, the times 9:30 a.m..
and I call this meeting of the dallas city council to order. This morning. Our invocation is going to be given by our colleague.
if he could start to make his way towards the podium. It's a deputy mayor pro tem maxie johnson, who represents district four, And he's also the pastor at the new morning star missionary baptist church in west dallas.
so I'll turn it over to chairman deputy mayor pro tem pastor maxie johnson for our Invocation.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Would we all please stand?
let's bow our heads. Father, we thank you this morning for another day that wasn't Promised to us.
we thank you, god, because we realize that someone laid down last night that didn't get up This morning. But you blessed us to be here one more time.
and so for that god, we say, thank you, god, We give you praise and we give you glory because you blessed us with so many things our
jobs, our homes, our neighborhoods, our communities, And god, we thank you for friends.
we thank you for fellowship. We thank you for family. God, I ask that you continue to bless our city, Bless our community.
bless our citizens. Bless our mayor, our city manager, This council.
god. We're doing the work that you have called us to do, And we don't take it for granted. But god,
we ask as we make these decisions, god as we work together. Some may disagree and some may agree, but god, We ask that you make sure that we stay connected in love.
god continue to bring us together even when there's some tough decisions that has to be Made.
god, we put you first, god, no matter what we do, God, we always give you the glory because it's in you.
we move, we live and have our being. And so, God, this morning we ask that you anoint us,
continue to bless us, continue to guide us, direct us. God, your word said the steps of a righteous man are ordered by the lord.
and so god. This morning we ask that you direct us and cover us with your precious blood.
now, lord, I ask that you continue to just let your will be done. Not I will, lord, but your will. And we sing that song, That that hymn that says, father,
I stretch my hands to thee. Hallelujah. No other help I know if thou withdraw thyself from The worship we go.
we need you in every decision we make. And everywhere we go. God, we need you to guide us. And for that we praise you.
for that we honor you for that glory to god, For that we give you glory. And we thank you right now for all that you've done. Continue to bless our children.
continue to bless our community. And we thank you. It's in your. And see your holy name we pray.
let everyone say amen. Everyone, please remain standing for the pledges to the united States flag and the texas flag.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for Which it stands one nation under god,
indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Honor the texas flag. I pledge allegiance to the texas one state under god, One and indivisible.
you may be seated, everyone. Thank you so much. And we have a few announcements this morning.
I'll do the first one. I want to tell everyone about something that I love.
I'm very excited about. And that's the the mayor's back to school fair. It's the 30th annual dallas mayor's back to school fair this friday.
and we're going to have nearly 13,000 students who've signed up to receive school supplies And other essential services that they need for the upcoming school year,
which de isd starts back on tuesday. So that's pretty cool.
and as always, the the fair's free to our families, No cost for any of the services or the things that they'll be receiving.
so looking forward to seeing all the dallas families that come out to that event every Year.
again, it's the 30th annual one of these. So it's pretty, Pretty awesome.
that's my announcement for this morning. And I'll turn it over to our city manager for a Couple of announcements as well. Good morning to the mayor and city council.
welcome back. And thank you so very much for the opportunity to present you with two Special recognitions this morning.
first, we'd like to recognize the incredible team behind the african american museum of Dallas and the many partners who helped bring a very important
and set of improvements to life. If you guys would please come down this morning, The african american museum is more than a cultural institution.
it is a place where history is preserved, stories are shared and generations come to Learn,
reflect and celebrate the rich contributions of african americans to dallas and to our Nation.
we want to, first of all, thank state representative yvonne davis for her support in Partnering and helping us partner with the texas parks and wildlife department,
and to be able to bring some important improvements to the museum.
the dedicated work of this team. They were able to complete significant preservation, Accessibility,
safety and modernization improvements at the museum that we know will serve for many years To come.
we want to give our special thank you to our director of arts and culture, Martin philippe.
nicky christmas. The office of arts and culture is the assistant city manager.
lisa said our park and rec department, under the leadership of john jenkins convention and Services under the leadership of rosa fleming,
the office of budget and management services. Jeanette weeden, the office of procurement services, Juanita ortiz, and the city attorney's office.
there were many consultants, many contractors and other employees who came together across All city departments to make this project possible.
we'd like to recognize lisa ross, the president of the african american museum.
lisa could not be here this morning due to the passing of her father. So we ask that you would keep lisa in your prayers.
the unwavering commitment and the support that this team has demonstrated in helping us Preserve history of the african american museum we know will continue to inspire
future generations to come. This project has been a wonderful example of what we can learn And accomplish together.
when we work together, and we share a commitment and investment. We'd also like to thank council member bazaldua and his support for helping push and hold Us accountable for getting this project across the finish line.
so at this time, please join me in thanking these individuals for their work and truly Making this project a success.
thank you all so very much.
mr. Mayor, I'd like to ask leah to come and make a few comments, And then if we can, we'd like to get a further group to have a photo with the city
council. Of course, liz, the floor is yours. And then afterwards, If you all would come inside the railing and arrange yourselves here for a photo.
thank you, mayor, and thank you, city manager. Thank you. Members of the city council, liz perera, Representing the vibrant portfolio and representing this aye team right beside me.
I would just like to to thank everyone for their full support. We'd like to thank, of course, representative davis, Of course, texas parks and wildlife department,
and dana lagarde, who has been our grants administrator in austin.
this has been a work of love, and we can't imagine all the people who will benefit it.
and if you haven't gone to see the new exhibit featuring the.
amazing, iconic nelson mandela. We ask you to to take advantage of that because it's now Open and showing at our newly remodeled,
newly refurbished african american museum of dallas. I especially want to thank margie reese of the african american museum and ernest moore, Who's here representing the african american museum.
we certainly could have done without their partnership. So thank you again to all the team Who participated.
every one of you mattered. We could not have gotten this done in the time constraints that We had without each one,
each and every one of you team members. Thank you.
mr. Mayor and city council, we have one more recognition for this morning.
we would like to recognize the incredible city of dallas employees, The partner agencies whose hard work,
professionalism and commitment made the 2026 fifa world cup an extraordinary success.
will you guys please come down this morning to the front?
for one remarkable month. Dallas welcomed the world.
hundreds of thousands of fans experienced our city.
they attended matches celebrating at the fifa fanfest gathering at watch parties.
spending time in our parks and exploring everything that dallas has to offer.
at the same time, through the international broadcast center, The stories of the fifa world cup reached billions of viewers across the globe.
place in dallas, at the center of one of the world's largest sporting events.
while the goals and the celebrations captured the headlines, None of that would have been possible without the people that you see here today.
our city employees, our partners, they delivered and they delivered on the big stage.
they planned for years. They solved problems. They worked together. And many of the challenges that we never knew about, They had already worked those out.
they worked early mornings. They worked late nights. They worked weekends. They worked the holidays, Often without anyone even knowing their names.
from our public safety personnel who kept our residents and our visitors safe to the Transportation teams.
I see our clean sweep team. They were busy picking up trash.
we were managing traffic and ensuring that people could move and flow through our city Safely and freely.
our sanitation crews worked and they helped us make sure that we presented the very best Dallas.
our park and recreation employees transformed our parks into gathering places for fans From around the world.
convention and services staff. They supported one of the largest international media Operations ever hosted in our city.
our emergency management professionals. They coordinated across multiple agencies, Ensuring that we were prepared for every possibility.
and we know about all the countless departments behind the scenes who stepped into roles.
they took on additional responsibilities and made sure that they helped present dallas to The world.
this was truly a one dallas effort. It was also made possible through the collaboration of All of our outstanding community partners
who worked with the city every step of the way.
their expertise, their leadership, and their commitment helped showcase dallas and north Texas to the world.
I want to especially recognize this morning monica, Paul and the entire north texas fifa world cup organizing committee.
thank you for your vision. Thank you for your leadership. Thank you for the partnership and how you helped us navigate this historic journey.
together. We helped north texas successfully host nine fifa world cup matches the most of Any city,
and we welcomed hundreds and thousands of visitors safely and professionally with the Hospitality that continues to define dallas this morning.
because of your work, we know that our reputation has been strengthened around the world, Not only as a city that can host major events,
but a city that knows how to deliver excellence. I often say that dallas is the best city this side of heaven.
and this past month you showed the world exactly why.
thank you to the mayor and to our entire city council. Thank you for the support that you have given throughout this time and over the years.
as we planned. You asked the right questions and you made sure that you held us Accountable.
so we want to also thank you for your service and your dedication and how you supported Our team during this period.
at this time, please join me in congratulating the outstanding public servants that you See before you today and many others who could not be here this morning for helping make
dallas shine. God bless you all.
mr. Mayor, I'd like to see if monica paul would like to make any comments, And we're going to help her get through it. We're going to help her get through it. Oh.
you know, I just asked him when I came up here, I'm like, am I going to have to speak? They didn't prep me that I was going to need to do a speech.
but I don't know, it's a little surreal for me that our time with the world cup has, Is over that nine years worth of planning.
and we are here in august, but I don't think it could have come off any better.
I don't think we could have planned. We could have executed an event.
way exceeded my expectations. And one thing I want to say to the city of dallas, Both the council,
city manager, mayor, and all the staff and the staff that weren't here. I have had the privilege of working beside you for at least the last 3 or 4 years when We've been in the operational side of things,
and I have never seen a group come together more so and be very dedicated to a task at Hand.
and I think how we delivered, showed, and I'm sure you may work like this on a very Regular basis.
I just don't get the privilege of being able to see it behind the scenes, But it's something that that has stuck with me.
and I think if we look at what we're able to accomplish, I think there are so many other opportunities in line for us,
for the city that we can accomplish if we're all working together and rowing in the same Direction.
I, I'm going to start naming people and I'm going to forget people as you always, Always do. You're not supposed to start singling out people,
but from our public safety teams. Thank you for your countless hours from police to fire, Office of emergency management the transportation team that
has put together so many plans over the years and working with throughout from a regional Standpoint.
and I have to really say thank you to the city of dallas because at the end of the day, You're the one who stepped up nine years ago and said,
this is something that we want. And you led the charge for from a regional perspective.
so thank you for stepping up because otherwise this world cup and what we've experienced These last two months may not have been possible.
so thank you.
okay, we're going to do something we've never done before. We're going to reverse the Direction of the photo because there's more of you than us. So we're going to have the
photographers come here and shoot that direction. That was the city manager suggestion. I think it's a good one. So everyone stay where they Are and we're going to go that direction. And anybody who wants to go over yes, anybody
wants to. Yes. If you want to be in the photo, You need to go to that side. Yes. So at least I hear oh.
okay.
there they come.
that's the highlight of it for me. Yes.
it's a happy day.
thank you. Lovely. Thank you. Thank you. I'm
not a guy who, like, waits for everybody else to go. Yeah.
that's just the way it works sometimes.
okay, everyone, as you make your way back to your seats. I believe we have one more special presentation by council member blair.
so you're recognized for a special presentation.
good morning, mayor, colleagues, city manager tolbert and everyone joining us today.
today seems to be our theatrical day because it is my distinct honor to welcome a truly Extraordinary guest to dallas
padma shri awardee prabhu deva. I knew I was going to do that.
widely known as the michael jackson of india is one of the world's most celebrated Dancers,
choreographers, filmmakers and performers. His remarkable career has inspired millions Around the world and helped bridge cultures through the universal
language of music, dance, and film. We are especially pleased to have him with us in Dallas,
a city that embraces innovation, celebrates diversity and values the arts as a catalyst For community and economic growth.
his visit highlights the strong and growing relationship between india and the united States,
and recognizes the tremendous contributions of the indian american community whose Leadership,
entrepreneurship, and civic engagement continues to strengthen our city.
what makes today's visit especially meaningful is that mr. Devos dallas not only as a place to visit, but a place of opportunity.
he has expressed an interest in exploring future investments in our city, Particularly in dance,
the performing arts and other economic ventures. This that speaks volumes about dallas growth, Growing reputation as a global destination where creativity,
culture and commerce comes together. And in this particular instance, It took the commerce through a very
special district eight friend, machete conti shetty.
it's through the partnership with miss shetty as a community investor and community owner And district eight that it continuously
brings the indian culture to the city of dallas. Thank you, mr. Deva. Thank you for spending time with us and for considering dallas as a Place to build new partnerships and inspire future
generations. We are honored to welcome you to city hall and look forward to the Opportunities our relationship with city may
create in the years ahead. Please join me in a warm giving, A warm dallas welcome to padma
shri awardee, mr. Deva and and all that his guests that he has brought with him.
mayor, one of what I would like to also highlight that with this this, This entourage
we have there, mr. Deva did a show, a michael jackson show this weekend.
it was a sold out show and it was hosted by one of the the members here today.
she is looking forward to doing more work here in dallas.
she's looking for doing more theater here in dallas.
and as we develop district eight, I want a theater, A place where we continue to embrace the partnership and the
relationship with this group and the city of dallas. Thank you. Thank you. Welcome. Are we going to are we going to get a.
are we going to get a snippet of a song or anything? Well, a moonwalk something. Mr.. If. Mr.. Diva would like to do anything, A little snippet.
he's more than welcome to do that. He's welcome. There is a microphone right there. There's a microphone. You can do as you as you would Like if you wish.
I knew I was, I knew I was trapped. Good morning all.
honorable mayor johnson council members. Special thanks to miss lori blair and mr.
gordy. Thank you. Thanks for this honor and I will never forget this day, Time and place.
dallas. It's honored to be here. And I'm an indian artist.
so giving honor to me, it's like giving love to all we do.
love you all, love you, thank you, thank you. And mayor, there's one thing about this community that is also unique.
we came here. We are here today to honor them. But in honoring them, one of the things I have always found by this community is they give Back.
so each one of them has given is brought to us their culture of respect and shawls and a Plaque for each one of the council members.
so you guys will be given the plaque and they would love to present the the shawl of Respect to the council members here today.
thank you very much. That's very sweet. Thank you so much and welcome.
and mayor, can we also take a picture? Yes, of course, Of course. Thank you. If you could have them come inside the rail and arrange themselves, We'll do one last photo.
all right, everyone, we're going to move on to our open microphone speakers now, Madam secretary and members,
if you can make your way back to your seats, You don't want to miss this open microphone.
that's part of the meeting. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Good morning and welcome back. The dallas city council will now hear his first five Registered speakers.
I'll recite the speaker guidelines. Speakers must observe the same rules of propriety, Decorum and good conduct applicable to members of the city council.
any speaker, making personal and pertinent, profane or slanderous remarks, Or who becomes boisterous,
will be removed from the room. For those individuals who are in person. For those virtual speakers, you will be removed from the session.
individuals will be given three minutes to speak. For those in-person speakers, you will notice your time on the monitor at the podium.
when your time is up, please stop. For those virtual speakers.
I will announce when your time has expired. Also, Speakers, please be mindful that during your public comments,
you are not allowed to refer to a city council member by name and to address your comments To mayor johnson.
only your first speaker, joe stokes. Joe stokes is not present.
linda newland.
good day. Mayor linda newlin here from district seven.
I've been here for quite a number of times to speak, As have other folks, about ending the addition of that toxic chemical
you call fluoride in our water. But it's actually a byproduct of the fertilizer industry, And it's classified as a
poison in the dictionary. Y'all just don't listen.
and apparently y'all just don't care. I'm going to do something different today.
in the bible it says pray about everything. It's prayer time.
dear god, please reach down to earth and touch all these folks heart to know what you Created in the
beginning was clean water. Remind them that you created clean water.
tell them children and adults are being slowly harmed with hydrofluoric acid, Of which they all call fluoride.
god help them to realize it's okay to have made a decision and then come back with a Different decision.
god help them to realize that this dallas city has been lucky that the toxic chemical has Not created a hazardous
situation. Also, remind them that at any moment, A catastrophe can happen, that lots of money will be needed to
clean up the mess. Plus, lives could be harmed or lost.
god, you once saw me give a speech about those folks that have low kidney function and
how they can't filter out the fluoride. So god, Please open these folks, folks hearts to
compassion for all its citizens. Yes, god, please open the folks eyes and hearts to
know when you created this world. You did a perfect job of creating perfect, Clean water.
tell them they can save lots of money by not adding it.
and thank you, god, for letting me meet regina imburgia and joe stokes, The first
crusaders against fluoridation here in dallas.
amen. Stop putting the poison in our water.
please. Thank you, bruce richardson.
this is exciting. David got the thing worked out with the popping microphones.
it's amazing. Great. Welcome back. I am here with a grateful,
grateful heart. I had a wonderful conversation with a council member.
I appreciated it. And you know, something amazing has happened.
my phone has not stopped ringing all summer long.
our little saved, our city hall movement has grown by thousands of people over the summer.
people have joined us from all over a board of significant chinese americans.
yo yo mei's on it. They have come to our aid.
the national trust put us in their little centerfold, Taking time out from their busy schedule in washington.
and locally, people are screaming at us for the 4x4 signs because they want to identify With this movement.
and thank you. You have brought those people to us.
you have managed to disconnect the core. So those buttons went obsolete.
everybody says yes to downtown. So I don't know what the disagreement is over that.
but we do not need to abandon this building. That, By the way, is perfectly safe because we are all here in it.
you invite us here. God, you're going to have 17 meetings a day pretty soon before this is Over with.
this building is safe. This building is purpose designed. My god, david voss spoke to me. Things that I can't even say out loud about the protocols For our
911 center and how this entire building turns into the most amazing, Secure, full campus
emergency operations center you could ever hope to have.
we would love to have those conversations with you. It seems like everybody gets hours to speak about this building, Except the group of people who know it best.
so I invite you to remember, it costs $0 to say, We are going to stay in this building.
all we have to do is start and care and work together with the synergy and attention
you have brought to us. And we can not only save this building, But we can make it the best city hall
that ever existed. Thank you. Don't worry. You don't have to drag me out.
jessica. Stewart. And they. Thank you. Every time I come before this council
and I live another day. I am thankful as well.
I'm thankful to be in this building, and I know why some people want to tear it down Because it is so powerful.
this building is embedded with the power of the principles of our democracy.
it touches my heart and it takes my breath away. The moment when I drive down the the road and I get to the point where there's a break and There's openness.
there's a reveal between the public sector and the private sector, This building and the site of the building,
the people's plaza. It makes us observe it. It makes us stop and honor the difference Between the private sector and the public
sector, and I am also thankful to have another day to be the voice of a
constituent. And I'm sorry that some people don't understand the role of the constituent, But my role as a resident of
dallas, as a non-elected official, is to hold y'all accountable.
that is my sacred duty. And by god, we have so much to hold you accountable for.
our voice, our voice, our voice. Where is our voice?
it is so important that you listen to us. The values we are screaming, Our hearts, our values,
our values are to save this building because it is embedded with the model of our Democracy.
when I see the building within that reveal. I see the radical idea that the
promise of our democracy is that the people have the power.
and there's this mystery in the idea that you guys are elected or appointed and you have All the power.
and yet the reason why it's supposed to work is because of us, Because we come out here and speak our values,
and then you listen to us and that's how it's supposed to work. That's apparent in this building through the design, The inverted pyramid with the the many it's it's radical and mysterious and
wonderful. And it's done in this robust earth colored building that is meant to stand the Test of time
with this rough, unpolished finish, but I. I ran out of time.
but I also want to talk about how important it is to honor the contracted workers with a Living wage.
that's your time. Thank you. Thank you, ben abbott.
may it please the council honorable, honorable eric johnson. My name is ben abbott. Today I'm here to speak in support of the bond that funds the Dallas law enforcement training facility.
on friday, july 31st, I visited the dallas police academy at redbird lane.
they've been planning this new facility since I received my law license, And I'm now 66 years old.
so I think it's time that we get this done. When I was at the training facility.
I met with carlos. Officer carlos de la fuentes and deputy chief stephen williams.
the facility currently trains 300 police officers at a time.
groups of 50 officers go through about every six weeks. And of course, the goal is to have 4000 police officers on duty.
this facility was a temporary facility in 1990, And it was really an office complex before.
it's not at all suitable for our current needs.
there's no women's locker room, the men's or the weight. The weight room is small. The in-service facility is actually at a different location.
so we have the plans for a new facility at unt, But unfortunately we're $82 million short.
the facility at unt will be a partnership between the voters, The state foundations, the corporations.
thank you. But as I say, we're $82 million short and we need to finish this project.
the new project includes basic training academy and in-service academy, The reality based training at each of the basic training and in-service
academy, a physical tactics training facility, And then a criminal justice center in conjunction with unt.
and that will be where unt holds their criminal justice school.
so in summary, I urge the council to approve the final funding of this much needed Facility.
thank you. Natalie. Ares.
hello. This is my first time ever being in this building, Actually. So thank you guys for allowing me to speak today.
I'm here to talk about the lack of police responsiveness in my neighborhood.
I do want to preface everything I'm about to say with the deepest appreciation for what Our dallas police officers do.
I feel safe in my city as a whole, just not in my neighborhood currently.
I live on starks ave, which is right next to bonton farms or h.s.
thompson elementary school, and I can actually see the bexar satellite police station from My bedroom window.
I have lived there for three years with my husband and now our seven month old baby.
there are currently 12 new builds on my street, Which is wonderful to see, and there are over ten families with small children on my
street. In the last three years, we've had to call 911 multiple times.
there have been many young men waving automatic weapons.
no one came when I called four months later, A man was shot in my driveway, and it was one of those kids.
when my husband's car was stolen out of our driveway, Nobody came.
when a woman had a three hour long mental episode so loud my baby couldn't go down for a Nap.
no one came. And the latest incident was where a neighbor took the electrical wires and Tried to steal electricity.
all of the power in our street went out. The heat was so hot in my house as well as all of My neighbors.
we had to sleep in our cars. We had to call multiple times over and over to 911.
we were told by fire police, unless you make a big deal out of this, No one is coming.
I had to walk and stand outside of the bexar police station until a police officer Stopped,
and I had to beg a cruiser just to go write a report. It's not the first time that these neighbors have done this, But it's the first time the police actually came.
and it will be the first time that there's actually a report about it.
I don't feel I can take my child out into our front yard, And I have some incredible neighbors.
they're so sweet. There's so many wonderful families, And south dallas is becoming a beautiful place.
I'm not asking for too much. I am simply asking that when I call 911 that police officers Will show up to my door.
and again, I know I'm running out of time. I want to thank all of the police officers for All the work that they do.
I know that everyone is trying their hardest, But to hear from a part of our government that unless I make a huge deal when I call 911,
nobody's going to show up and then I have to walk myself to go get someone to show up.
it's not the way it should be. So on behalf of people on starks ave, All those families, please.
I ask that you guys support me in making police officers show up. Thank you. Thank you. This concludes your mr.
mayor. We actually have someone prepared to go and speak with. If you'll just wait for just a minute, they're going to come and grab you right here to. Yes, ma'am. Thank you, thank you.
this concludes your first five registered speakers. The remaining speakers will have an opportunity to address the city council at the end of Its at the conclusion of its city business,
mr. Mayor. Okay. All right. Let's move on to our voting agenda then. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Agenda item one is the approval of minutes of the
june 3rd, 2026 city council briefing. June 10th, 2026 special june 17th, 2026 city council briefing and
june 17th, 2026 special call meetings. Looking for a motion motion for approval.
it's been moved. And second, is there any discussion? Seeing none. All in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it.
the minutes are approved. Thank you. Next item. Your next item. Agenda item two is consideration of appointments to boards and Commissions.
this morning you have individual full council.
a city manager appointed board and two chair appointments. Your chair appointments will be by separate vote to allow the mayor to abstain.
your nominees for individual appointment to the commission on disabilities.
all cocaine. Cal conley is being nominated by mayor johnson.
mr. Cal conley meets the person with disabilities. Special qualification to the community development commission.
michael p sitar. Sir tarczewski is being nominated by council member moreno to the ethics Advisory commission.
peter l lo is being nominated by council member ridley. Mr. Lo meets the possess, possesses a juris doctorate degree from an institution of higher Learning to the environmental commission.
julie hiromoto is being nominated by mayor johnson. Miss hiromoto meets the general public special qualification to the martin luther king Junior community center.
board betty huey's being nominated by mayor johnson to the senior affairs commission.
ethel jackson is being nominated by deputy mayor pro tem johnson.
miss jackson meets the 55 plus years of age special qualification to the youth commission,
celeste m bazaldua being nominated by council member blackmon.
your nominees for full council appointment to the civil service board.
terrence welch is being nominated by council member roth to the reinvestment zone.
three board oak cliff. Christopher haslam is being nominated by mayor johnson to the Reinvestment zone five board city center.
katie slade is being nominated by councilmember ridley to the reinvestment zone seven Board sports arena.
althea aye harrington is being nominated by councilmember cadena to the reinvestment zone 11 board.
downtown connection katie slade is being nominated by councilmember ridley to the Reinvestment zone 12 board.
deep ellum karl anderson is being nominated by councilmember ridley to the reinvestment Zone 12 board as well.
deep ellum. Evan auguste is being nominated by councilmember moreno to the reinvestment Zone 13 board,
grand park. Michael hubbard is being nominated by mayor johnson to the reinvestment zone.
18 board maple mockingbird. Jared burnette is being nominated by council member moreno to The reinvestment zone.
19 board cypress waters meraki. Flowers is being nominated by council member cadena,
your city manager nominee to the building inspection advisory examining and appeals board.
juna davis livingston is being presented for nomination by city manager.
tolbert, these are your nominees, mister mayor, Is there a motion for approval?
I have a motion and a second. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. All in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it.
congratulations to those nominees. Next item please. Your officer appointment. You have two chair appointments.
stephanie casey is being nominated chair of the animal advisory commission by mayor Johnson,
and christopher aslam is being nominated chair of the reinvestment zone three board.
oak cliff gateway. Oak cliff gateway by mayor johnson. These are your nominees, mr. Mayor. Is there a motion?
it's been moved and seconded. Is there any discussion? Seeing none. All in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Ayes have it.
please note my abstention. Your abstention is noted, Mr. Mayor.
your next item is agenda item three. Agenda item three is casting of lots.
casting of lots to identify the recommended vendor resulting from tie bids between mantech Usa inc.
and h.d. Supply, inc., dba usa blue book online and it's been corrected.
it's line 157 in response to bid 00029558
for a three year master agreement for the purchase of laboratory equipment, Supplies, parts and accessories.
this item does not require any action. Mr. Mayor, In accordance with section 271.90, one of the texas local government code.
when there's a tie bid, it must be resolved and it must be resolved.
the mayor performs the tie break by selecting randomly from these sealed envelopes.
the winner of the bid, mr. Mayor. I'll bring over.
please unseal and announce the winner, mr. Mayor.
hd supply incorporated dba usa blue book line 157.
thank you, mr. Mayor. There will be future action on this item at this time.
as stated, there is no action for this item. Mr. Mayor, your briefings in your further agenda continues.
wonderful. I'll turn it over to our city manager now. Thank you very much. Members.
thank you so much, mr. Mayor. Your first briefing, Which is briefing number a, is by the office of economic development,
regarding the city's participation and public improvement districts that we all commonly Refer to as peds.
earlier this year, the city council requested that staff evaluate our current policy.
the city council's current policy governing assessment of city owned property within peds,
and you asked us to come back and share whether or not if we believe that that policy Should be expanded beyond the current downtown improvement
district. Today's presentation is intended to provide background on how our kids currently Function.
explain the existing policy. Review why the city participates in the downtown improvement District.
look at other approaches within other texas cities and discuss fiscal as well as policy Implications of expanding the city's participation.
today, we are seeking your feedback on whether you would like to maintain the current Policy or direct staff to develop proposed amendments to
establish a framework for evaluating future city participation in additional public Improvement districts.
and with that, mr. Mayor, I now turn it over to our director of the office of economic Development,
kevin spath, and to assistant director maria smith to begin the first presentation.
thank you. Thank you, miss city manager. Good morning, Honorable mayor and city council.
I'm kevin spath, director of the city's office of economic development. With me today is maria smith, assistant director.
miss smith oversees the city's public improvement district program, And she will be leading the presentation this morning.
I'll hand it off to her. Good morning everyone. Maria smith, assistant director, office of economic development.
as the city manager mentioned earlier this year, This body requested a briefing on the question of whether or not we should change our
public improvement district policy to allow participation in additional bids beyond the Downtown improvement district.
currently, the downtown improvement district, Or ded, is the only paid the city participates in.
so the purpose of the briefing is to discuss what financial participation and other bids Could look like and at the end of the briefing,
receive feedback from council and discuss next steps. Next slide please. Can we go to slide four?
I'd like to start with the. I'd like to start with the brief overview of what public Improvement districts are.
pidds are special districts created by this city through a community driven petition Process under chapter 372 of the local government code and the city's policy.
by law, a majority of the owners within the district by property value and land area or Number of owners must voluntarily agree to pay an
annual pit assessment. A pet assessment a pit assessment is a fee. It's not a tax. It's paid by the owners who are directly benefiting from the services the Pit provides,
which are meant to be above and beyond baseline city service levels.
a list of eligible uses of pit dollars is in the appendix to this briefing, But some of the common services that pits provide include additional security in the form
of private security patrols and or off duty dpd officers.
landscaping, cleaning and beautification activities and public rights of ways.
distinctive lighting, placemaking, signage and activities to market the district.
one note is for tourism bids, which are comprised of hotel properties.
the state's petition approval thresholds and the uses of funds are slightly different.
next slide please. Under chapter 372, property that is exempt from ad valorem taxation
is excluded from pit assessment. So this is typically going to be property that's owned by School districts,
cities, counties, transit authorities, churches, Etc.. But despite this exemption, a city may voluntarily elect to pay into a pit.
if a city elects to financially participate in a pit, There are certain public notice requirements that need to be met at the time the pit is
created or renewed, to let property owners know that the city has agreed to pay for a Portion of the pit costs.
next slide please. Dallas currently has 16 pits.
our oldest is the downtown improvement district, Which was established in 1992.
the newest one is halperin park pit, which was authorized by council earlier this year in May.
each pit is managed by a private nonprofit partner that is shown on the table on the slide Via contractual agreement with the city.
most of our kids are found in commercial or mixed use corridors, And they've been a way to help stabilize and or promote those areas.
a list of each pits assessment rate is in appendix b to the briefing, But under our policy,
the maximum assessment rate that can be levied is $0.15 per $100 valuation.
next slide please. Moving on, I'd like to review what our current policy says on the topic Of voluntarily paying into a
pit. Next slide please. Our pet policy has been in place since 2005, And it contains
two important foundational principles that are central to today's conversation.
the first is that pets and dallas must be, quote, Self-sufficient and not burdened.
city service delivery. Again, the idea here is that kids are funded through assessments That are paid by owners who are benefiting from the kids program of work.
and the second policy provision is that city owned property cannot be assessed in any Period except for the downtown improvement district,
and that city participation will be reviewed each time the ded is proposed for renewal.
next slide please. And so naturally, this begs the question, Why has the city elected to participate in the downtown improvement district?
next slide please. Since the ded was established in 1992, The city has agreed to
financially participate in the. Did because of two primary reasons.
the first is that there are unique conditions present in the urban core that necessitate Above standard service delivery needs.
and the second is that is because city owned property directly benefits from the services That did provide.
next slide. Downtown dallas, inc., or die, is the nonprofit that manages the.
did die has been a key city partner in advancing the economic vitality, Safety, and growth of the city's urban core,
allowing it to remain competitive with other cities. Next slide. On this slide, I'd like to highlight just a few conditions that are unique to Downtown.
the first is the heavy tourist and daytime visitor traffic that exists downtown.
downtown dallas has an estimated population of over 135,000 daytime workers and last year Attracted over 9.7 million out of.
market visitors, meaning visitors that traveled more than 50 miles to places like the Convention center.
the dallas world aquarium, klyde, warren park, The dallas farmers market, and the dma.
additionally, the highest concentration of city owned properties inclusive of parkland Among dallas pyd's,
close to 45% is downtown, including many high profile facilities shown on the slide that Draw visitors from across the city and the region.
downtown also boasts five signature parks that were built with city and private funds that Have above standard service needs and attributes such as interactive water features,
specialty gardens and walking paths. Next slide please.
now, anyone that has been downtown has likely come into contact with de services.
de provides seven day a week clean and security teams.
its security team supports dpd 17 hours a day, Serving as an extra set of eyes and ears.
responding to over 32,030 2000 quality of life calls in 2025.
dd also provides five day a week homeless outreach homeless outreach team in downtown Ambassadors.
its homeless outreach specialists are provided directly on city owned property, Including the library,
city hall and all downtown parks. And in 2024, Homeless outreach team made close to 10,000 engagements on city owned property.
additionally, dd provides programing in all downtown parks in partnership with the city's Park and recreation department and specific to ded services that directly
benefit city owned properties downtown. Dd has calculated a benefit cost ratio of 3.7, Meaning that for every dollar the city invests in,
the did, it returns a value or benefit to the city of $3.70?
next slide please. Now, I'd like to discuss some best practices by comparing dallas policy With other large texas cities.
next slide. Of large texas cities, dallas has the most pits with 16, Followed by fort
worth with 14, austin with four, and san antonio with two.
houston does not have pits among the large texas cities. We looked at all of them pay into their downtown pit, And the amounts that they participate are shown on the table.
among these cities, city funding as a percentage of the downtown pits adopted revenue Budget ranges from approximately 3% to 11%.
next slide please. Austin and fort worth also contribute small amounts to pits outside Downtown
austin contributes less than $40,000 between two pits, And fort worth contributes less than $45,000 between six pits.
the median assessment. Payment to pits outside downtown is less than 1% of an individual Pits annual revenue.
thus, our takeaway is that as a best practice for any pit a city participates in, The bulk of costs are paid by property owners.
next slide please. Over the next few slides, I'd like to spend some time discussing some guiding criteria this body may want to
consider when evaluating whether or not to change its policy.
next slide please. The first policy consideration is a financial one, And it involves assessing whether there are sufficient fiscal
resources to participate in additional pits. We know that for any pit the city council Agrees to participate in,
there will be a cost consideration that will need to be accounted for as part of the City's annual budget development process,
even though city owned property has no taxable value. Dcad does provide us with a market value. So to help gauge the potential cost of Participation in a brand new bid,
a 15 cent assessment on every $10 million in city property value is equivalent to a $15,000 assessment bill.
for the sake of argument, if the city paid into other bids using current methods, The annual cost could range from as little as $120
$121 for a pit like prestonwood, with very little city owned property to approximately $168,000 annually for a pit like klyde warren park,
dallas arts district with more city owned property. And I will note, though kids have staggered terms, Some are just renewed earlier this year and others are coming up for renewal next year.
but assuming that the city was paying into all pidds, The estimated total additional cost would be approximately $430,000 annually and
an additional $5 million over a ten year period. Next slide please. This table breaks out the estimated costs of participation in each of The city's existing pits in order
of fiscal impact. As you can see on this slide, The largest concentration of city owned property is downtown,
followed by klyde warren park, dallas arts district, Pit, deep ellum and uptown.
finally, there continues to be a strong community interest in creating new pits, So these figures do not reflect any future pit creations.
next slide please. If the city were considering participating in additional pits, A central question to answer would
be how city owned property would directly benefit in other pits, And how those benefits compare to the cost of city participation.
some questions to consider include. What is the value of the expected benefits the city Anticipates to receive from the pit?
do the expected benefits match or exceed the expense.
or could the city provide the service enhancements at a lower cost relative to the cost of Annual assessment?
for example, if a cited city benefit is seasonal color change outs in medians next to city Owned property,
we would want to assign a dollar value to that work and compare it to the city's Contribution.
if the value of the work relative to the city's payment is equal to one, Then the benefits and costs are the same.
but if the benefit ratio is greater than one, Let's say two as an example, then that means every city dollar spent would return $2 in
value to the city. Next slide. Next slide please.
in terms of next steps, we would like to obtain feedback on council's desired path Forward.
the first option in staff's recommended course of action is to keep our policy unchanged.
again, the spirit of our policy is to ensure that bids do not burden ordinary city service Delivery,
and participating in additional pidds will create a new cost consideration to the city That at present is not funded in the manager's proposed budget.
the second option is to change our policy to allow city participation in future pidd Petitions.
next slide. If option two is chosen, staff will bring back a policy amendment that Incorporates
a proposed framework and criteria for evaluating city participation requests, Which could include no blanket city approvals,
no early renewal requests solely for the purpose of requesting city funding.
city participation in a pidd would be subject to annual appropriations evaluated using a Cost benefit analysis,
and would require a recommendation for city council approval from the city manager based On established criteria.
this concludes today's briefing. Happy to answer any questions.
all right. Members, go ahead and log in if you have questions or comments for our panel.
mr. Bazaldua, you're recognized for five minutes for the public. We are on briefing item a right now. Thank you, Mr.
mayor. So thank you all for this presentation.
this is something that I have been very interested in exploring.
I think that the I'd like to go to the recommendations page first trying to get there.
so you're asking us with these two options noticed one is no change to the pit policy, Right?
the next is to amend the policy to allow each to be evaluated individually, Essentially, but that it would,
the language would allow for them all to be opted in. Correct? Would there not be an option three to just not do it at all?
I'd like to start with that. Thank you so much. Council member. Bazaldua. That could be an Option that the council,
as we talked about, that this policy has not been updated since 2005.
and so if council would like to have us consider that as an option to where we don't Participate in any pidds I think what we were trying to do
is just to make sure that we were given as much information about the way we are, But that is definitely a decision that the council could make.
and then we would take the appropriate steps to make sure that you know, What happens in that transition for the current pit that we're participating in,
we would there's a notice requirement about the city's participation. I don't know whether or not. And I'll ask mr. Spath if that one is also subject to Appropriation.
I think it's currently in the existing one that we have with the downtown pit, But I'll let them answer that question.
but we can not do anything. Yes, sir. Okay. Thank you. Yes. That's correct. The city's participation in the downtown improvement district is Subject to annual appropriations.
and I also noticed that you gave us some some peer cities.
are there any that that stuck out that only identified one of their pits within the Portfolio that
they contributed to? Yes, that's san antonio and that's likely because, Well, they only have two kids.
one of the other one is the tourism pit and their downtown pit.
and do you, can you speak to the assessed value that was generated
from dei specifically? At the, at, at, at its inception how much the city paid into.
no, not just the city's payment. Just as a whole as a whole.
I don't have that information in front of me, But we could get that for you. So it's my understanding when I spoke to city staff about when this began, That it was intended,
of course, to help the success of the public improvement district, Which I want to be very clear,
dd has done amazing work and they still continue to do amazing work.
but I do have an issue with how this is structured, Especially with them being singled out and having a,
an advantage, quite frankly, over all of our other pits.
I understand that we are getting services and that may be a part of the reasoning or Rebuttal from the entity
itself on why this would be necessary. However, I think that's the entire point of a public improvement district is to provide those
services and to be that partner. When you have identified that we have the ability to Essentially do what we've done
with dei and help seed these economic development tools in a way that if we were to do all Of them across the city,
it would be less than $500,000. That's, that's what you all have given us in this Presentation based on current property values and current
adopted assessment rates. Well I know we aren't allowed to say the e word, But I think that if we look at how this is done
disproportionately that we, we have, we have opted into a policy that has given more than Double of what it would
cost us to support other public improvement districts across our city to just one.
and I do have a problem with that. I think that it is inequitable.
I believe that this is something that that word, That's the word.
that was my word, unethical. I mean, not not un, No, not not un equitable.
equitable was the e word. And so I really do want to, To just have a robust discussion.
I wanted to hear from colleagues. We talked about it at economic development committee Briefly,
and thank the chair for bringing this to the full council to have the discussion, Because overall,
I just think that this is one of those policies that have been put in place for a long Time that we haven't revisited. We haven't really evaluated its impact and we haven't
heard from other stakeholders. I know that the south dallas attempted a public improvement District that was unsuccessful.
part of its lack of success was the fact that we did not generate enough within the Boundaries to help provide
services. It's kind of hard when you're starting from nothing and just, You know, in order to get an executive director to run the entity alone,
if that's all that you're generating, you can't really expect much programing to come from It.
and that's where I think a lot of public improvement districts struggle in the inception.
and when they start, I think when we have seen the the ability to raise money from private Funding,
the ability to leverage other opportunities and the ability to generate quite significant Funds that di has,
it's time for us to reevaluate us putting all of our eggs in one basket.
so that's, that's where I stand now. And I look forward to round two and three and to hear This discussion. Thank you. Mayor. Mr. Mayor, if I could just comment and thank you.
council member. Bazaldua. I know that you have had quite the last year we've had several Conversations about what should be the policy going forward.
we definitely would like to hear if there is a potential seed contribution that council Would want us to think about as I know that there are some other
bits that are coming online that we're aware of that are not online now, But I know that they're ramping up and they're trying to pull together their their plans
on how they begin to create the staffing and the things that we know really make these Successful.
that could be a policy council could look at, Maybe there is a seed piece and maybe that seed piece comes in at a flat amount.
and then it would begin to ramp down as the pit is strengthened.
so definitely we just want to hear if those are the types of ways that you would like for Us to,
to think about it, but we do receive those comments. So thank you for that feedback. Chairman gracey recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. I'm going to start with a couple of questions there.
one, I just wanted some clarity on slide 22. It says on option two, It says amend the policy to allow city city participation in
future paid petitions. But then when you go to next steps, It says under there on that last second to the last line,
it says in newly created or renewed pidds. I'm trying to get some clarity between that Which.
so what that means is because we have statutory notices that are required at the time a Pit is created or renewed where we need to.
when a petition is circulated, property owners. We need to disclose whether or not the City has agreed to participate in a pit.
that just means that future pit. It could either be a petition, A new petition, a new pit creation,
or a renewal. Okay. It just didn't say that in the in the on slide 22, It just says future.
so that's what I was trying to get some clarity on that part. What happens if.
and again, I'm looking at and I'm gonna use the red bird pit as an example. And I didn't even know this in where they are. It looks like they have five city owned Properties within that pit.
what happens? Let's say if we were to move forward with participating across the board, What happens if the city were to.
I know we're going through our real estate and we were to get rid of property within that Pit.
is it just then reassessed every year? Is that what would happen? Yeah, yeah. So the, the city's assessment payment is calculated annually based on the Certified value of,
of city owned property. All right. And then so, So council member, just so if there were a situation like that,
when that reassessment is done, if that property is no longer online, Then it would not be included.
so that contribution that we would then be making would then fluctuate based on that.
so it would either be reduced or if there's another facility that then comes online.
so that's part of why that annual assessment I think is important. Understood. Okay. And then the next question is, Am I understanding that this is it in the downtown?
did is the city paying? Paying more of an assessed rate than what
the did is actually assessing across departments. For example, if it's assessing 2%, we're paying 8%.
is that how I'm understanding that we're paying whatever the bid is is assessing?
yes. That's correct. The city's payment is calculated using the same rate that other Private property owners,
which is why it would vary from pit to pit. Is that what I'm understanding? Right. Okay. Got it. Okay.
all right. And then I guess the last question, If we were to go, because I don't know about doing this across the board,
but in the places where there are significant, There's a significant city footprint, I'm wondering if it would make sense.
and again, I guess this is a proposal that I'm putting out there. But if there is a place, because, for example, The five properties in, in, in the red bird pit,
I'm not sure what it is, but I didn't even know they had them in the, In that pit, but it may not be enough of a dollar value to even
assess it. However, if it were a fair park and, You know, the is it within a pit or something like that,
maybe it makes more sense to kind of look at it from that perspective, Depending on the size and the value of the property that the city owns, I guess is what
I'm trying to say. Thank you for that. Council member. Gracey. And I think one of the ways as you think through this and you guys give us your Policy direction,
you could establish what criteria that you would want.
if this is the direction that you would like to go, You could say that maybe there's a certain value threshold that you would want the city
property to be at before we would participate. Again, it would be that type of feedback that we would need to understand.
and the only reason why I mentioned the seed piece is that if the council desires to Participate in anything that would be considered new or anything renewed,
it does also create a budget line item that we would have to build into our annual budget.
so we would have to understand, if you want us to do only news and not renewals, Or you want to do a little bit for renewal and a lot more for,
we would need to understand those parameters. So it's built into the budget planning. So when we bring the budget, It's already incorporated into what then the council would be considering.
so it would be that type of policy guidance and criteria that we would need to understand.
and we can always bring that back. It may not be what is in front of you today, But we want to hear your feedback so we know what to come back to the council with.
if you want to change the current policy. Thank you. And I am very sensitive to the budget impact.
that's why I was trying to figure out a way. Thanks.
chairwoman stewart, you recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Mayor johnson.
let me start with a question for the city manager. Perhaps where did the funds come from in our budget to pay for this?
because we're all very budget focused right now. Yes. So that thought occurred to me. So it depends on the property.
so for example, when we think about the convention center that's currently participating In the downtown peered,
the funding for that comes out of the convention centers enterprise fund. If it's a facility that is currently sitting on the general fund, Then that comes out of the general fund.
so it just depends on where that asset is currently considered from a budgetary Standpoint.
so that's currently how we do the one that is downtown. Okay. Thank you. And may I ask some questions of the dd staff.
would that be possible? Yes, ma'am. You can. I see that the president of the mayor of Downtown is here.
miss scripps is here. Thank you. Thank you, jennifer, For answering.
just a couple of questions. So when we talk about the funds that are coming out of the General fund and coming to die,
where do you all spend that money? Well, first of all, Great to be with you all this morning.
jennifer scripps, president and ceo of downtown dallas inc. We take our duty to improve the public realm seven days a week, 365 days a year, starting with clean and safe.
more than 70% of our budget, including y'all's payments and assessments, Goes into seven day a week security team.
our homeless outreach team pretty much does homeless outreach for the continuum of care in The urban core,
and it's a constant feed. We we take care of 12 parks in downtown dallas, And we returned most recently $1 million
into the public realm through 79 improvement projects just this past year to prepare and Welcome the world for fifa.
we were really pleased. So it is those daily activations, Movie nights that please our 16,000 residents,
as well as reducing the burden on dpd because we have hired so many off duty officers that Work in partnership with our team.
so nothing is possible without clean and safe. That's been a huge priority over the last couple of years.
we are doing a major plan for economic development that will be unveiling in september as Well.
so but I really want to stress that your the payments are going into those public realm Enhancements seven days a week.
okay. Thank you. I think obviously I have pet experience and what I hear and what I know To be the case
is that downtown. Has more of a challenge, we'll say, With some of these issues than most districts.
and so and I also believe because we have these properties, We would, and we're downtown city hall,
obviously here we would be spending our budget funds on, You know, looking at the homeless issue and trying to
unravel that and work on that. We would be looking at picking up trash.
we would be looking at taking care of the 12 parks. So there are going to be funds from our general fund used for downtown one way or the Other.
I appreciate the fact that you all have created programs that are successful on all three Fronts.
I see, you know, a huge difference just really in the last maybe 5 to 8 years in terms of The clean and safe part of
downtown. And so you all are making great strides there and have the ability to stay laser Focused on that in a way that I will just say,
I don't know that city hall can. So I think we are going.
dollars will need to be spent on those issues regardless. And giving those dollars to you to spend on clean and safe makes sense to me.
and not every neighborhood, not every kid has the same degree and challenges that you all Have.
so I'm not sure I've said that very articulately, But I do see a difference in what happens downtown,
and I do appreciate the commitment of dd. I I will say I was surprised when this first Came up that there were city dollars going
you know, to a ped, but as I processed it, asked some questions, Learned what those dollars were being spent on.
it does make sense to me. It also makes sense to me to potentially have dollars for those New pets,
as you said, some seed dollars because it is tough in the first.
in the first few years, I think the budget was maybe 185,000.
in the first few years of the lake highlands pet and to pay a salary and to pay your e&p Officers and even just to begin to think about beautification,
there was just it was very, very limited. And even things like trash cans are so Expensive,
additional lighting. And so, I mean, I honor that because I think the even enhancements, Crosswalks,
we did 150 last year. It really adds up. It does it does these, These are not these are very expensive enhancements,
let's say that and we call them enhancements, But they're critical needs. I mean, it's picking up trash and painting crosswalks.
those are those are important to quality of life and to health and safety. So all that's to say, I like the idea of some seed money.
this is a year where we are very conscious about our budget. I don't think we should, at this point in time, Increase our contributions and make contributions to all the kids.
there may be some exceptions again with the new ones, But I think continuing what we do with dei,
we are all benefiting. We would spend that money one way or the other.
and and I don't see the other kids here clamoring at the door asking for additional Assessments at this point.
so for this, at this particular moment in time, It would be my recommendation that we continue with what we've done and have been doing
and not make any major changes. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Mr. Roth, you recognized for five minutes.
thank you. I wanted to concur with council member stewart in her assessment.
I think that first of all, I think dd is doing a great job.
I appreciate personally the fact that your commitment to the development, To the improvement,
to the encouragement of the downtown area that's really important to this city.
part of the reason that I think we have the obligation to contribute to this is that we Are part of the responsible for part of the needs that are
that are extra for this city, downtown sector, Because this is a unique situation.
this is not the typical reason for a pit. So I think this this is a unique situation.
I think the current situation is, is should be continued.
and I would like to suggest that the option that we're considering be this first option, Which is leaving the situation alone and
reevaluating it on an annual basis as necessary.
I don't think that there is a need for us as a body to start creating policies and Evaluations and plans on
how we figure out if a pyd should justify our participation at this point.
and the reason is, is because the need for our participation would probably be very unique In every situation.
and so for us to start speculating, theorizing, Trying to plan for something that may or may not occur to me is really not efficient and
is not necessary at this time. And I would suggest that if a particular pyd had an unusual Situation,
that that justified a need for us to provide additional funds due to something that as a City,
we are participating or responsible for, then we would evaluate that on a case by case Basis based on the circumstances,
our financial situation and the situation at the time. So I would strongly recommend that we just allow the current policy to exist, That we don't take any further action and don't burden staff with the
need to create policy considerations for something that is very difficult to anticipate Anyway.
I'm also concerned in that I want to make sure that whatever we are doing, Especially in the evaluation of the assessment based on market value
of the properties, to me is also a challenge. Maybe something we need to look into, because I'm not really sure.
how do we evaluate the assessed value of government buildings and art buildings and public Buildings?
and to some extent that may be something we do need to look at generally in our budgetary Considerations for the amount
of money that we're doing in the future. But my recommendation would be to please leave The let's leave it alone.
it doesn't it doesn't seem like it's broken. It doesn't seem like it needs to be fixed. So let's, let's continue. And thank you also for dde, For everything that you're doing on behalf of the downtown.
and if I could just make a brief comment on that related to the seed funding, Right.
we do have a precedent where the city has contributed seed funds to a brand new pit, And that's with redbird public improvement district.
and that did not require a change to our policy. So we are able to contract contract with an entity.
and in that case there were discretionary city council funds that were available.
and it was a $200,000 one year agreement to help stand up operations for that pit.
and again, that did not. Require us to change our policy.
I'd like to just add to that, and thank you for maria for that reminder. But if council wants it to be something that is not tied to some type of individual Discretionary dollars from a specific district,
and it would be how you'd want us to look at it across the board.
that's when I would want to make sure that the policy gives us the guidance and the Ability to be able to do it.
and so where it's not just a one off, but there is that example. So thank you, maria, for reminding us of that.
chairwoman will is recognized for five minutes. Thank you mayor. So city manager I had a question for you.
going back to this, it sounds like what I heard a moment ago is that should we adopt, Including city properties and contributing it would come then from
their line item out of the general fund, for instance, I can look at midtown.
I know better. There are 17 properties. Some of the ones that jump out to me are.
there's a library, there are some parks. There's the vickery justice center, There's a sanitation center,
which obviously that's enterprise. But are you telling me that for the library's portion Of the assessment that would hit their budget,
it would be the general fund, just general. It would not necessarily go in the general Fund.
yes, ma'am. Well, I mean, not the midtown library budget, But I mean the library's fund.
that's still the general in general. Well, I know that, But I mean, is it you know, people still have pockets that we put our hand into.
so would that be coming out of the library line item to help pay the tab on the library's Land
expense? So as a cost center, that's not how we do the budgeting piece of it.
I think that if there is a library that would be sitting in a particular district that we Would want to participate in.
it comes there's a bucket where we pay for even the current assessment that we do for for The downtown.
and I don't know if it's not it's it's an environmental non-departmental non-departmental.
so it's not necessarily it's not even sitting in the eco department's budget.
so it would just be another line item that would come out of the bucket that's already Sitting there.
so it wouldn't be a line item that's sitting in the library's budget. If if I answered your question, yes, you did.
okay. Thank you very much. So we vote on service plans.
so all of these service plans you know, we agree to and so as I look at these amounts of Money,
I mean, it doesn't seem that big $430,000 as it stands today.
but to council member stewart's point you know, Things are tight and we need to watch every penny.
and this is something this is an ad and you know, It seems like what's being spent on, you know,
there are legal parameters for what this can be spent on, Which includes homeless outreach,
public safety, and things like that that the city is already paying for.
and it seems like it would behoove the city to have a more direct line of expending those Funds in those categories,
then running it through a service plan. One of the things that you called out was seasonal Color change and beautification,
which is lovely, but I don't know that I'd want to see in 2020 627, Any city money going to a
seasonal color change. So but that would be the reality that it could go into a Beautification line item.
I'm not talking about downtown dallas inc.. Yeah. Yes, yes. So the, our, the city's participation would be spent according to the service Plan that council adopts and
according to the the categories of improvements that were petitioned by property owners so It wouldn't be directed into something like that,
but it would still go into that fund where that could be part of the service plan. And I mean, it's necessary. And certainly in certain areas it looks great.
I'm just, you know, right now I'm struggling with, Would we want to put into a pot of money where that could be one of the directions that it
would go? You know, the city is contributing already around homeless outreach, Code enforcement,
police, fire, and then also administering the assessments and the distribution of the Assessments.
so that's an administrative cost. Yes, ma'am. There is an administrative component. Okay. Does this take into account other revenue Generation that the kids can create?
you know, because as I look at this, some of these items or you know, What it would be are fairly low like to council member stewarts point on lake highlands,
it would be $10,000. You know, I'm thinking about sponsorship events, Other ways to get out there and hustle some dollars.
does this look at in addition to the assessment what else is being generated.
yeah. This is solely assessments. But to your point, Yes, many kids do do other sorts of fundraising.
they have a memberships or they get get grants from other entities.
and so there's, there's ways that they can leverage assessment dollars with other sources Of funds.
so again, when I'm looking at coming out of the general fund, And I'm looking at some of these dollar amounts,
which range from $168,000 for klyde warren park, You know, down to 9400 for redbird.
it seems like, you know, kids are pretty active and they they have events and that sort of Thing.
and that these numbers would be something that hustling some sponsorships could could Generate.
all right. Well, I think the in this in this particular time, I don't see adding something new.
I definitely believe in supporting downtown dallas inc. I mean, you know, we are at a pivotal point and we don't need to be taking away from Downtown dallas.
we need to be bolstering downtown dallas and all of the great work that you all do in the Areas that are so critical for us,
not only for the people who live here, but for the people who we want to live here and the People we want to move here and have conventions here, etc.
so definitely want to reinforce that. But on these others, I just feel like there are other ways that these amounts of money could be
generated without taking it out of the general fund that we already know is going to run Tight on just making sure we achieve our core services.
thank you. There we go. Deputy mayor pro tem, You're recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. I just have a question here because I'm still learning about pete, And we've had conversations in district four concerning it.
can low income communities follow the same format as d I?
I'm sorry, I don't. Can low income communities follow the same format as ddi.
so whatever the the the service plan that aye provides, It's 100% reflective of what the community wants the pyd to do.
so if if the community wants additional security, Then absolutely.
and there's definitely ways that there's a lot of collaboration between pds and they often Talk to each other and share best
practices of how programs can be replicated in different districts.
so I would say, a. Yes. So from an equity standpoint, How can we get a p if we don't have the same income
coming in to certain communities? That's my point exactly.
silence. Have a language but you go ahead. Yeah. So there are you know, it's it's 100% at, at, At the request of property owners.
it's not something the city creates. And there have, You know, there are pidds in, in other parts of the,
the city that, you know, maybe don't have the same demographics as, You know, different parts of the city,
but there are, there are the kids that we, we have are very distinct and I think they Cover different spectrums and geographies.
I understand the answer, but you didn't answer it. Low income areas that cannot, that do not have the same income flowing into their Community,
but want the same level of security. How can they get it through this process?
just to be clear, pidds can be created anywhere in the city, But the city does not create them.
they have to be at the request of the property owners themselves. So my community and communities in southern dallas are requesting it.
they come to me. We've had community meetings and they they want they want this level of Security.
so I'm asking, how can they get it if the income level is not the same?
because when I spoke with members of dpd, when I spoke with other community members, They they are so excited about how they have
security sitting at the end of their street to prevent anyone that really does not live in Their neighborhood.
and they, they pretty much follow them because they know who lives over there. Right? So you have that, that, that blanket, That security.
however, in and district four partner district for certain communities that need that Resources,
that little resource is not there. So that's why I'm asking if you don't have that level Of income,
how can we get the same results? So I'd like to try to see if I can answer the question.
deputy mayor pro tem johnson. So as we're talking today, We're talking about a process that really does require the owners of property
in a particular area to initiate a process for either establishing a public improvement District,
as council member bazaldua pointed out. We know that there have been areas of our city Where they've tried to do that,
and I'm familiar with the one that that was in and around the the fair park area.
but because of the lack of, I would say, expansiveness of the dollars that would flow, Then in that particular part of the city,
it made it more difficult. So the reason why we're having this conversation today is in Those parts of our community where they might desire to create a
pit, which is what we're talking about today. That might include city owned property within that district.
do we as a city or does this council want the city to participate?
that would create an upfront way for there to be some funding that would come into the pit Through an assessment of city owned property in the instance
that you're talking about, we do know that there are certain parts of the community where Through whether it's neighborhood groups where they will pay as part of their
hoa and how they create additional security. They might be participating in a program Through the police department that they can get
additional off duty coverage where there's officers assigned to their neighborhoods.
and I think that that happens across the city. So we would like to be able to just make sure that if it's about a pyd, That we can explain how a pyd is established.
if it's more about getting the additional coverage that is something we definitely want to Be able to work with our police chief on.
if it's more about neighborhoods being able to pay for even additional coverage above and Beyond what we're currently providing,
that is something as well that we can definitely speak more directly about. But I just Want to make sure today what we're asking council to give us feedback on is,
do you want a policy that automatically either gives us the ability to have city owned Land be included in a pyd?
we talked about maybe start up peds, where there might be a seed payment that helps get That pyd up and running.
that's something we'd like to hear from the council. But then of course, We can talk a little bit more about what might be overall desires,
but I think I know what you're asking. I just want to make sure that we're clear that this Is really about a self-initiated process from a community and whether or not,
if they're city owned property in that district where the pit is being established, Do we participate or not?
so that's really what we're trying to establish today. And, And you I think we're on the same page.
and again, I, I like what I was doing, I met with him and we're trying to bring the same Thing.
my, my question is if, if we don't have the same level of income, Can we get the same results?
and to me that answer would be no, because we don't have the same level of income for the Security that they have and etc..
so if if the discussion is if do we do the city get involved in, In a more intimate manner to,
to create that equity across the board to help those communities that may not have that, That level of income to bring these same,
I think, resources to our community. Then I was. I would probably lean toward that and see how that would work, Because I think that all of our communities I know chair gracey
and councilwoman blair, our district gets each other quite a bit.
and so we're having the same conversations. And so I want to make sure that the safety and All those resources that come with the pit is also in our community.
so I would love to hear more plan on how we can get that done and establish that so we can See what we can do.
because I know marcellus park want that. Definitely.
so that's what I'm trying to get at. And if we don't have the same income level, How can we get the same results?
thank you so much. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Thank. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. And I just will say that we are more than happy to spend the time in your
district or any other city council district explaining the kids how they work, The establishment of them.
mr. Spath pointed out that it is really initiated, Not necessarily by the city, but we can definitely provide all of the requirements and
what the current policies are and be more than welcome to answer questions and be able to Support you.
deputy mayor pro tem and any establishment of any pits in district four. Thank you. Chairman ridley recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. In six days from now on next tuesday, We will be meeting around this horseshoe to attempt to find a way
to close a $50 million gap in next year's budget.
I think it's self-defeating to today be discussing how we can add to that deficit by Adding additional expense
to the city's budget. But let me go to the underlying philosophy here of ppis.
I believe strongly that it is important that kids be self-sustaining.
they are a method, a mechanism by which individual property owners in a certain geographic Area can decide to assess
themselves additional funds on top of their regular tax levy to provide additional Services for their
neighborhoods. They should have the right to do that.
but we should also recognize that the reason, Presumably, that this council originally decided that the kids should be
self-sustaining and not rely upon city assessments, Is that the city itself provides those
kinds of services in most respects on across the city basis.
so if we want to talk about equity. I think it's important that we recognize that the most Equitable solution is to allow the
city to utilize the funds, which we're talking about contributing to kids across the city,
to the general fund, to provide those services across the board to everyone, And particularly the underprivileged neighborhoods,
because they can't generate enough additional assessment through a ped to add to their Services.
it's more equitable to preserve that money in the city's general fund, So that we can target,
as a policy, those underprivileged, under-resourced neighborhoods and provide the services That they need.
now, I am convinced that dei is doing an excellent job as stewards of the taxpayers money Who have
agreed voluntarily to assess themselves. For downtown improvements, And indeed, I believe it's appropriate that we have made
a. Long term exception that the city contribute to downtown inc's coffers.
because I believe they can provide the services that they do on a more efficient basis Than the city can.
and a more targeted basis. They are a force multiplier for dpd.
without having the expense of hiring additional officers and additional patrol cars.
they are the eyes and the ears of dpd downtown.
so that's an efficiency. In addition, we have, What is it, several hundred million dollars of assessed valuation
in downtown. And as a result, we are large users of their services.
I think it's perfectly appropriate, as illustrated by the benchmark cities, Who also do this,
that we contribute to the coffers of our downtown improvement district.
and so I'm a firm supporter of our current system and option one, Preserving our current system.
thank you. Miss blackmon, you recognized for five minutes.
thank you and thanks for bringing this forward. So I have a couple of questions. When you look at item 18, It says number of city accounts at the top.
what is in the definition of an account? An account is the the dcad account number that is Assigned
to a taxpayer or a property. So there's 108 of those in the ddi boundary, Correct?
how many of those overlap with klyde warren or any other ones of the city accounts that Overlap?
I don't have the exact number, but there is some overlap. Correct. So because it's so and there's no and it says non park land.
so we don't know the acreage or the square footage of those accounts. We don't we do know that there's approximately 50 park accounts, But we don't pay an assessment on those.
correct. On those accounts. So that's why they're excluded from that count. I'm thinking Accounts is not a fair look at the if you're looking at a geographical space and you
have just an account, it could be white rock lake, Right? You know, it's like it doesn't it could take up the whole thing or it could take up a Small smidgen.
so I'm trying to get a better understanding of an account. That way you can apply it to all like, you know, Halperin park has got 29 accounts, but I'm sure the zoo is one of them.
so you're getting a better comparison of how much actually is the coverage of the pit Area.
yeah. So the reason we say accounts is because, You know, there can be a parcel of land that has one one account property on it,
but there also could be a parcel of land that might have like a condo building. And so there's actually going to be 50. So that's why I'm saying accounts on it.
but but then that's why I'm saying you probably need square footage that way because it's The condo,
right? It's the stacking of it. And then instead of just the flat surface to understand Exactly what the geographic.
that's in my opinion, however you can. But because the accounts are not really it's not It's not comparing apples to apples in some cases that I'm feeling.
yeah. The, the, the reason the accounts are relevant is just because that the, The assessment is calculated based on the market value of that
property. And that's why, you know but I understand your, Your comment.
and so also too, when you look at property values, I mean certified, I mean, let's be honest,
we don't, our property values across our city are not balanced.
I mean, a land here south of here does not, you know, We mister maxi johnson and I were talking and a house that could be in
lakewood is not. Value is a different value that he has at cedar crest.
so when you look at the property values, that could be skewed as well too.
it's the property value of the property value. That's city of city owned property. It's not property values of generally all the the Accounts that exist in that public improvement district.
this is just the value of city property. And there and you and you've done it.
whereas if it was in the northeast part of town, Is the same as in the south east part of town.
did you create a aye mechanism there? We use data that's provided by dcad.
okay, so it's a dcad number. It's a dcad number, Which obviously is not a balanced number.
in some cases. Okay.
and then secondly, jennifer, what is the dd budget?
it's about $13 million. So you all have a $13 million budget. 13.3 I'm sorry. 13.3 okay. 13.3 and what do you say the most of your budget goes to.
73% go to clean and safe seven day a week services.
and then the other 27 goes to programing where 9% 10%.
oh and a with operation administration and parks is increasing, But currently set at 7%.
okay. Also to so kim or miss tolbert, you know, I applaud you for closing a gap
of $50 million because that's not easy. How would adding another half a million, Sorry, on top of that every year affect your business
practice moving forward? Because I would actually like to try to give you $1 million back To or use the million dollars among all of them.
and that way you divvy it out in a in an interesting way, Because in the taxing that's done,
it should be sufficient. The. And if we're not going, We shouldn't do one and not do all.
but I don't want to put added strain because we have no money.
so explain how another half a billion, half $1 million would add to the overall Constraints.
I do appreciate the question. Councilwoman. Blackmon. And what I can tell you is that if we are looking to add things that are currently not Accounted for in the current proposed budget
that you're going to get this week. We are down to service impact across the board because We
know that the reality that we're facing right now is that our revenues and the way we're Looking at our expenses,
even with all the things that we've done over these last 45 days, It has been extremely painful.
and you will see a lot of that in what you will get in your hands here very soon.
so what I will tell you is that it will be service impacts.
definitely want to make sure that we're, you know, Moving in a direction that council wants us to move.
but we are looking for ways to continue to streamline and set the city up for the future When it comes to the way we look at expenses,
and you're going to see the ways that we're looking at new partnerships that we've built Into the budget,
as well as the things that we can no longer do.
and I think that is the reality. And so, you know, Whichever way council wants to go, it's my job to figure it out.
but I will tell you that right now, if I looked at the current budget that we have worked On over these last few weeks,
and if there's wiggle room and I can just figure it out, Like right now on the spot, I would tell you no.
but definitely want to address the concerns in a way that, That are not only responsible,
but it's, it's sustainable to where we don't begin to move in a direction. And then I have to come to you next year and say the very thing that you want to do, We can no longer do.
so I appreciate the question. And again, we just we wanted to have this conversation Because I know that we have talked about looking at all of our policies,
and I think this is one that has not been reviewed since 2005. And if council wants to do something differently. I think now is the time that we got to Begin to talk about turning over all the stones.
I think that's important. But thank you for recognizing some of the budget constraints That we have,
but I would be taking it out of service cuts at this moment. And so right now, the million dollars that we have been giving to ddi, The downtown improvement district is that is an obligation that we
are, we are obligated to do or is that a stipend or how is that structured?
I think the language and I'll look to the team to make sure that I don't say this Incorrectly.
I think there's still a subject to annual appropriations. I know we've gotten ourselves in some situations now that that language was not included Because the contracts were very,
very old. And we're dealing with some of that currently. But I do believe that there is a subject to appropriation.
but I'll be looking to maria to tell me no. And so what that means is, Is that any given year,
if council wants to make the decision that we do not participate?
I think you have the flexibility based on budget constraints to say that you're not.
but I'm going to look and make sure that I'm saying that correctly. The city has a Contractual agreement with ddi,
and in that contract, it says that the city will participate in the downtown improvement District.
but annually, city. When council approves the budget for d d, There is an agenda item.
and that's a cost consideration item and it's subject to appropriation.
so it's up to whether or not council. So we have flexibility.
yes. Okay. In that. So if we wanted to say, you know, We're cutting stipends across the board on all of our partners and everybody comes 10%
down. This could be one of them. Yes, ma'am. And you will see some of that in your budget In the next couple of days.
jennifer, what with the million one going away, What is that cut from your budget?
the city is about 7% of our budget. So seven what programs?
7%. Oh, we would have to reassess. I think parks in particular have almost, You know, really,
really been a huge increase of late as we've added green space.
we don't get any money from the parks department homeless outreach, And we would be very loathe to reduce clean and safe,
but everything would be on the table. Okay. Thank you, Chairwoman mendelsohn, you're recognized for five minutes.
thank you so much, mayor. My input on this is quite simply, No way am I interested in the changes that are considered in this presentation.
I think it's actually pretty shocking that we would even consider a voluntary tax on Government buildings.
and it's pretty tone deaf considering there's furloughing of employees, Closing of libraries considered reducing rec center hours.
I'll spare you the rest of the items. The pits are formed to meet real challenges Happening in specific areas.
and they're meant to be beyond what a city services.
but what's fascinating is to hear from pit directors and economic development that we're Talking about picking up trash.
we already charge our residents $3 a month on their water bill for picking up trash.
this isn't really supposed to be a pit activity. There's talk of painting crosswalks. Street striping is something that the city is charged With doing.
I believe we're taking it from dart money right now to do, But if we're not fully funding the striping that's necessary,
we should. This again shouldn't be a pit activity.
and then. Homeless services we're already funding. And if the city and housing forward, which we also fund significantly aren't doing the Job,
then we need to get on the ball. So no, I don't think the city should be funding pits.
it's literally businesses and residents voluntarily raising their hand, Saying tax me more because I want to
do something beyond what government does. So when we're talking about how we spend our Dollars,
I hope we'll go back to that community survey and remember that our residents want their Streets fixed.
they want public safety. And if we aren't taking care of those two, We are missing the mark.
and this is a again, a pretty shocking conversation.
I'm not interested in making changes and I hope we will work to reduce the amount of money We give to die.
over time, I would agree that this is not the time to remove those funds, But it shouldn't be considered as a long term for sure.
million dollar stipend. Thank you. Deputy mayor pro tem be recognized for three minutes.
thank you. Trying to get a better understanding.
how much do we do receive from the city of dallas out of the general budget?
are for the current fiscal year, it's approximately $1 million, $1 million.
how much does the executive staff makes out of that million dollars? How much does the Executive team,
the executive staff, or makes out of that million dollars?
our our operations and administrative portion, Which would be more than just executive staff is between 9 and 10%.
how? How much is that in dollars and cents? Yeah, $100,000.
it would be $100,000 because that's that, you know, As the ratio.
can you guys give me a breakdown of how much the executive staff makes holistically, Not just the whole thing?
can you can you guys do that for me? You can email it to me if you can tell me now.
I like to know how much it makes because if you're coming out of general bond, The general fund, I just like to know what what we're giving and how much is being spent and where it's Going.
that's just me being prudent and just trying to understand the fiscal responsibility of The money that we're giving, especially if we're in a deficit right now.
I just like to know where the money is going and how it's being used. $1 million. Yeah. We will follow up with you after this.
can you do that while we're still here, though? I don't think that's a hard ask. I'm Sorry. Can you can you get that while we're still here? I don't think that's a complicated ask. The city does not collect salary information from any of our kids.
but you can give that to us. But we would have to work with dd to see what information we Can get under our city manager.
how can we get that? Dealing with the transparency of the budget? I would like to have That information because it's coming out of the general fund. Correct.
so the total amount that maria gave that we're currently contributing to d is a Combination of the funding from the general fund as well as the enterprise fund,
because the convention center also pays in. So I wanted to make sure that that million is Not just the general fund.
that's a total. I think the general fund is around 400 700,000, Approximately around 700,000.
and then the remaining of that is what we bring out of the general of the enterprise fund.
so based on your request, I want to make sure that I understand what you're asking for. You would like for for a breakdown of what.
currently, the members of the executive team within diu want their salary, Information, salary,
everything that we're spending that has that's coming from the city that's going to d I. I would like that information. Okay. I think that miss gribbs has a breakdown of her Budget.
that shows how much of that is spent on, you know, Whether it's cleanup, whether it's security salaries and all that salaries.
I'm pretty sure that that would be something we can work with her on. But I know that Staff at this point,
we don't have that in front of us. Okay. But we'll work to get that for you. Thank you so Much. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Chairman ridley recognized for three minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. I previously expressed that I'm concerned about adding any new Expense to the budget.
the staff has calculated a figure of between 4 and $500,000.
that would be called upon to contribute to all kids on a, An assessed value basis for city property.
but that's not the end of the potential liability for the city, Mr.
spath. Isn't it likely that there is a risk if the city council changed the policy about Not contributing to pidds,
that new pidds would be formed for the purpose of encompassing city owned property such as Our libraries,
our rec centers, our parks and other facilities because they can expect to get additional City contributions than they would
otherwise get from the private property owners. Or alternatively, an expansion of the boundaries of existing pidds to incorporate Additional city property.
they would have an incentive to do that, wouldn't they? Yes, Sir. I think that's a fair assumption. And so the number that you have provided us today is not A ceiling.
it's really a floor on what our potential liability would be, Because we'd be creating an incentive to add more and more pidds to
encompass city property. Thank you. Chairwoman stewart, You recognized for three minutes.
thank you, mayor johnson. So, jennifer, the service plan breaks down how the dollars are Going to be spent like.
and so could you walk me through, do you know that off the top of your head, Kind of what your categories and percentages are?
yes. So every year we submit that and 73% goes to clean and safe.
I believe it's 6% to eco dev 9 or 10% to o and a 7% to parks.
and I may be missing a category in there. I can get you the exact breakdown if I don't Have it.
I thought I did. One minute. That's I think that's enough. I do have it. I'm sorry. I just don't have my handouts organized.
the. Yeah. Oh, and aye and then parks. That's it.
those are all the categories. Communications and community partnerships.
okay. And the city's assessment is divided. It's on a pro rata.
yeah. Yeah. So I mean, you know, 10% of it goes here. 73% of it goes to clean and safe. And we have a very robust membership program that's Actually growing very quickly.
yeah, that is money that gives us a lot of freedom to fund things that are outside of the Service plan and augment when things come up that are special.
we did a lot of state advocacy of late and that was very important in the last session That is paid for by the membership
program as well as a lot of our executive salaries. So we'll have to figure out, you know, how to do that ratio, But that there is there is another pool.
we have a d foundation that also augments the parks and recently gave a big contribution To some things in downtown.
so there's different buckets. But I think what you're talking about is the regular service Plan.
yes. And an understanding of if we're paying 10%, If we're looking at the salaries, is it 10% of all
of the salaries or as you said, were there other buckets that we're helping to pay for Executive salaries,
membership? Yes of course. So you would need I mean, You can communicate it, however, but it just.
that's right. The total dollar is x. But what the service plan covers is why.
let's make sure it's 10% of why. That's right. Okay. Exactly. Just thank you for clarifying because that's what we were talking. Well, That's just you have a more complicated pet. I'm just going to say a very complicated pet
and, and things like state legislature popping up every other year means that things you Have to have some flexibility.
yes. And because our 501 c3 can't typically lobby.
that's right. So that is why that needs to come out of your membership fees and not your.
exactly. Yeah. We had ran across that at least once in my tenure.
okay. That's helpful. I just, I just want to make sure that we are looking at the, The real situation and,
and apples to apples clarified. Perfect. All right. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Mr. Bazaldua recognized for three minutes.
thank you mayor. Can can can staff clarify on slides ten and 12 what is meant by above Standard service delivery?
yeah. So by above standard service delivery needs. We're referring to, you know, additional cleaning, Additional pressure washing of streets downtown additional patrols
downtown that are done by private security, private, Private security team.
okay. Can you explain how those above service is are not.
provided by other pidds. It's my understanding. Klyde. Warren park also does this. Uptown, I know that we just started the far east dallas Pit,
and a substantial portion of our budget was specifically for supplementing dpd hours to Answer to quality of life calls.
I mean, a lot of what is mentioned is actually expected from a public improvement District.
explain to me why there's any differentiation there. And klyde warren park doesn't get that same notoriety.
yeah. So the focus is on what's unique to downtown.
not necessarily that, you know additional security is a unique need to downtown.
that's not what the slides dates. It's it's above services that the city offers.
so that would be the case for everywhere where a public improvement district is Implemented.
explain to me how d is going above and beyond the services provided from the city.
and that differs from where the other public improvement districts are doing the same.
yeah. So the unique conditions are listed on slide 12.
and that refers to the fact that unlike other districts, We don't have unlike other districts that don't have 9.7 million out of
market visitors coming downtown every day, they don't have. Sure. But we're not talking about the other investments that we have.
city manager, can you speak to the I can't even remember the campaign name for it, But the efforts that we have for investing more in
downtown with our dpd code, everyone involved.
I think you're referring to the safe and city. Yes, Ma'am. Yes. Yeah. Can you explain what, how that quantifies to dollar amount?
what did we invest over and beyond? What? What is the city's investment to implement that Type of a program?
and this isn't the first or the only that we do downtown as well.
thank you for the question. And council member. Bazaldua. From my recollection, The safe in the city,
there was some five private contributions that went into funding the campaign.
I do know that we've had an increase in the number of officers that we've assigned into The downtown area,
I believe, and we also elevated our our bicycle patrol and some other enhancements from The police department,
but I would have to give you what that exact increase has cost, Like the city.
so over this last year and a half we have focused on the elevation.
we have not written any additional payments directly to ddi, But it's been the ramp up that we've done with some of the security downtown.
sure. I didn't think it was going directly to d I, I'm just curious because it's it's been framed as if this extra supplement that we give is
why we have more of these particular services.
when I think that that is misleading, I think that, Yes, they have great data to support.
but does this mean that our homeless solutions has not been deployed downtown? We have not been cleaning up encampments. We have not been diligent down here in the same Manner,
because that's the impression that's given off by saying that it wouldn't be had without The million dollars we're giving this outside entity.
yes. Thank you for clarifying. And I'm sorry I had missed the first part of your question.
we continue with the service delivery for downtown with our normal staffing, Whether it's the outreach work,
whether it's the work that we're doing through our strike teams, They are doing all of the enforcement efforts downtown and work oftentimes kind of in
coordination with a d. But there is work that we continue to do in the downtown area, Whether it's through police,
through our our homeless efforts and oftentimes in coordination with housing forward.
so we're not removed, meaning we didn't relinquish our responsibility.
that's right. Okay. I think that that's, that's really important because it's been framed As if we've thrown our hands up and we've we're,
we're supplementing by $1 million and all of a sudden we're getting this brilliant work And we're not putting in multiple millions of dollars ourselves and resources to provide
the same. We are still delivering city services, Across the central business district.
and oftentimes what we are doing, which is a little bit different, I think the coordination between ddi housing forward is better,
but we've not removed funding that we would normally just put into downtown for those Services.
we're still doing that as part of the general fund. Thank you. Did I answer your question? Yes you did.
thank you so much, madam city manager. And to deputy mayor pro tem johnson's point, I'd like to see if you could give us the executive salaries of all kids,
not just with ddi because I believe that that's also a comparison that's worth taking a Look at.
the fact is, is there's a level of sustainability that this entity has entered into that No other pyd has the luxury
of being in. And at that point, when do we wean off our direct support to this outside Entity?
when just to mr. Ridley's point. They are. They are supposed to be self-sustainable.
and I would agree with your assessment, mr. Ridley, That I think the best approach, which is why I originally brought up that there's not.
a third option is for this to go back to the general fund and allow for our city manager To allocate the resources as necessary.
but we can't say that that would be the most prudent thing for us to do in a in a tough Fiscal year,
but continue to put $1 million into one entity when it's not even an option for others.
thank you. Your time. Chairman moreno, you're recognized for five minutes.
thank you. Mayor. I am going to be supporting option one.
I think it's evident the work that dd has done in our downtown area.
jennifer, can you talk to us a little bit about the initiation of dd, What it was doing when it was first launched,
what it's doing today. You guys have taken on the responsibility of I think we're up to Seven downtown parks now.
so talk to us a little bit about how you started off and where you're at now and any new Line items that you have had to pick up over time.
thank you. And I really appreciated the look at pier cities, Because there was a movement in the early 90s,
clearly statewide to start urban peds very much in partnership with their city partners.
because I think trash collection is a perfect example given the foot traffic on our Sidewalks,
the ability to empty trash cans like we do 3 or 4 times a day it requires an extra layer Of service.
and then we've added tons of parks and green space.
we manage 12 parks actually. And we are able to buy bespoke parts or add holiday decor or Do all of the things.
we've just added a lot of cameras. And to the point about the safe in the city Partnership,
we were able to raise $2 million in partnership to augment the city.
but things like 24 hour security in parks, there's no way the park department can do that In downtown,
nor should they, because other parks across the city need those park ranger hours.
right? So we have added that at our expense, Through that effort, we have added all sorts of economic development efforts to
continue to enhance the urban core that we feel like we can be very responsive in Partnership with our ratepayers.
but it does rest on a foundation of city support because you're the largest property owner In the city or in the pit.
thank you. And stability does fall on the city. And I see you guys as an enhancement going above and beyond.
if we don't fund you, then the city has to take on that responsibility.
and I want to go back to the overall million dollars.
and if we can get those exact numbers of how much is coming from the convention center. I don't need them today, but if we can have them for us in the future, I absolutely think it's the wrong time to change anything.
at this point, if we look down a few years from now and want to make changes, I think that's fine.
but city manager, as you look at finalizing your recommended recommendation budget, D, have you finalized your budget?
when when does the budget get approved by your board?
jennifer, when your budget gets approved, our, Our budget, we've already looked at, we just got the tax rolls.
so we're working on that and we'll submit the service plan. And it comes to you guys in August or september. We've already we've already submitted next year based on based on the
future tax rolls. Mr. Mayor, can I just jump in just a second?
so I wanted to remind the city council that on your agenda for august the 12th, The lipids and the renewals are actually on your agenda to vote on.
so I just wanted to make sure that you know that that's coming up next wednesday. So all of the kids that we currently have across the city will be on for next week.
okay. And just to be clear, those are those items only call the public hearings that will Be held on august 25th.
so on august 25th, every kid will have their service plan up for approval.
okay. And so this is one of the first times that I'm seeing this item as a stipend.
when did that change versus a, what's the word that I that I used to use?
just, I guess our, our portion of the city. Why did that change the language?
I don't think it's changed. I think there was a miscommunication in a prior briefing, But it's,
it's always been a partnership. Okay. All right.
jennifer, did you have any other comments? I think the, The other big one is that I was emailing
councilman ridley last night. I am so optimistic about downtown.
I know we've had a challenging first quarter, Maybe with some headlines, but I am more optimistic than ever given the dallas college
announcement, the visible progress at the kay bailey hutchison convention center.
all of the two year progress we have made in partnership on homelessness and safety, Both nonviolent and violent crime.
and this is a true partnership. So I am grateful for the steadfast support of our work Together.
and I think it does recognize the city's amazing assets built up over so many years in Downtown.
so just thank you. If y'all have any questions, We'll follow up on those open items.
and we're always available hyper hyper responsive. Right. And I hope our colleagues remember that downtown is not its.
although it overlaps in districts two and 14. Downtown is home for the entire city. For visitors, It's a place that people from all walks of life come to us.
and madam city manager, I do want to look at one thing, And I think some of my colleagues are trying to express this is when we look at
neighborhoods that are trying to establish npos and neighborhood patrol officers.
sometimes it is difficult for certain communities to come up with those resources and Dollars.
I want to make sure that we are looking at what we can do and should be doing to helping Communities that might not have the same opportunities as
downtown. As we move forward in making sure that we are giving all neighborhoods an Opportunity to participate.
mr. Mayor, if I could just thank you so much for the comments. Council member. Moreno. And we do receive that.
what I can tell you is that one of the things that we heard loud and clear as we went in Deeper in our development of the budget.
that the officers at the neighborhood level, That it's essential. And so what you will see in the proposed budget that you'll have have here very soon.
we have maintained and looked very hard at how we continue those community services around Policing.
and so right now, we have seven mpos assigned.
no, it's ten to the different seven districts across the police department, And none of those have been reduced in the budget.
I think you're referring to an additional layer that we could do that's more neighbor Driven and definitely want to make sure that that is not out of reach for those
communities that might not be able to afford it. So we will work with the police chief and making sure that we're addressing a lot of the Concerns that we heard from the council,
as well as the specific concerns from district four this morning about the inability Sometimes to be able to afford it.
but thank you for your comment. Thank you. And I misspoke. I was referring that to the end Piece. Thank you.
deputy mayor pro tem. Recognized for one minute. Thank you. Mr.. I'm sorry I didn't see you there. I'm sorry. Three minutes each for chairwoman.
no. Mendelsohn and west. And then we'll come back to you. Deputy mayor pro tem for one minute. So I'm going to go to chairman west for three Minutes.
five. Three. Five. Three. Five. I think it's I think it's five, Mayor but it's five.
we'll give you five no questions. Just a comment.
I appreciate all my colleagues weighing in on this. I think very important matter. I didn't get everybody's name, But I believe the comments by mr.
roth moreno really, really reflect mine. You know, Dei stewardship of downtown is obviously working.
we've, we've seen it in play very visibly during the world cup.
and we've seen positive movements, obviously, In the homelessness efforts and and just beautifying downtown.
so I believe downtown is at a turning point. At this point, We need to be investing in it.
not making policy changes that could disrupt the progress of downtown.
so I support sticking with what's working for that.
and then in terms of modifying the policy for other kids I'm open to that discussion, But I don't feel that
doing it right now, just days away from the budget is appropriate.
we have so many other challenges with the budget. We don't need to be disrupting it in this manner.
so that's where I'm at. Thank you. Chairwoman mendelsohn you recognized for three minutes.
thank you mayor. You know, councilmember moreno brought up an interesting point, And I'd like to ask the question for the data,
which is about the use of downtown, meaning downtown, I believe, is our only area of the city that has a very different
daytime population than night time population. And I'm wondering if anyone in echo or perhaps jennifer, You have what those figures are about.
how many people are in our cbd in the daytime versus the night time?
I don't have the nighttime daytime population is 135,000.
and we widely heard that there's about 15,000 residents downtown.
is that correct? We're actually over 16,000 and we have, I believe, 9000 hotel rooms.
but I could be a little off on that. So we have a, You know, I don't know what the ratio per person per room is,
but there's some combination of that. We could. We could dig in on the the night time. Okay. I think the idea, Though, is that if we have 135 000 people as a
daytime population, when the resources for that area are really considered more by the Nighttime population,
there's a reason for the downtown ped that is extraordinary compared to the other areas of The city.
and I do think a lot of areas are looking at peds to address unique needs.
and, you know, that's, that's, I believe, a whole different kind of conversation.
but the city shouldn't be funding things that are like flowers and a median now public Safety issues.
yes. And I think that ddi has been going after the things that matter most.
is it true you have a log of how many times you're picking up fishes?
oh yes, and how many doggie bags we distribute in all of the parks to encourage people to Do it themselves.
so yes. And well, so these are things that make our downtown vibrant.
and if we're going to have a successful downtown, Which I think we already do, and I think the future is very bright for it,
we have to make sure that there's a high quality of life for the people who actually live Downtown,
but also for the people who work downtown. So that's why I'm like not interested in taking Away that $1 million today.
but you do have the capacity to raise these funds from property owners who have a very Vested interest in the success.
and so at the point that downtown is a little more stable, I think that we should be talking about that.
but again, we'll just say I think it's completely inappropriate for government to Voluntarily tax itself on its own buildings.
and then give up control over what those funds will be spent on. So thanks for the info. Not interested in pursuing any changes.
thank you. Deputy mayor pro tem, we recognize for one minute.
thank you, mr. Mayor. I have two questions. One question and a few statements. What is the market rate for the executive pay for this type of work?
well, I think as you all have rightly pointed out, All kids are unique.
d I right before I was hired, I believe in 2020 or 2021, Did a market pay study of like peers.
so I feel like I was hired on market. And so that was studied.
and we want to be at at the median or above based on merit or tenure.
so that our, our salaries have been scrutinized, Our board and the ratepayers like yourselves have,
have asked that. Thank you. 50s thank you mr.
ridley. Ridley for his comment. Adam bazaldua councilman. Bazaldua. I believe when we're looking at $1 million it needs to be spent equitably, Equitably.
and I'm saying this because it's coming out of the general bond. And so when I'm looking at the 990 d I you guys does great, Do great work.
so I'm not, I'm not looking at the work. You do great work and I appreciate it. And I agree with council member jesse moreno, But I'm looking at here, one executive makes over $451,000
based off the 990. Then I compared that just just do some comparison to the mayor of new York.
he's 250 000. I'm just comparing the numbers as the chair of government efficiency, And we're in a budget deficit,
and it's coming. Money coming out of the general fund, The general fund. I'm going to ask these questions, and I'm expecting to get answers, Since we're having to approve a budget and it's coming out of the budget.
so to see that over 451,000, just one executive more than the mayor of new york, And we're in a deficit budget that is concerning to me.
so, city manager, I would like to talk to you more about this offline. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Anyone else? Chairman mendelsohn, You recognized for one minute.
sorry, mayor. I just hadn't lowered the icon.
okay, so you don't you don't actually have anything. Okay? Mr. Bazaldua, you're recognized for one minute.
thank you, mr. Mayor. I would just concur with deputy mayor pro tem.
if you look at the 990 for downtown dallas inc., It looks like the top executives of the organization totals about $1.5 million.
and that was from last year. So I don't know what increases have occurred. That is, In a $13 million budget,
11.5% of your operating budget for the top six. We've talked about all the great work that's happening on the street. That doesn't even Include any of those workers that we see out there working.
that's just the top six people of this organization. It's my understanding, especially in a tough budget year, That if we're going to be given a stipend for $1 million,
and that's not even covering the top six executives, That's a level of self-sustainability that I would expect an entity to be able to operate
on their own from, to still come back with your hands open to the city to help operate What I believe to be a luxury.
and that's why I've asked, because I would love to compare the executive salaries of these Others.
all pidds are different. Absolutely 100% correct. But this is an infrastructure that has been built and supported by the city and is now Self-sustaining.
and so if the if the result isn't for us to take that money and to try to help others get To that place,
that's why I ask that we should look at a third option for this money to not go there Anymore,
period. But when we are being asked to cut services, To tighten our belts, to look at salaries et-cetera here within our organization,
but yet we're funding another organization that we're not asking the same from.
I think that that is absolutely a slap in the face to the taxpayers. And this may be just $1 million that we're talking about, But it's going to be looking at every one of these stones being overturned,
as you've mentioned. Madam city manager, and this $1 million is something that we could be Utilizing to other programs or resources.
and it's just not the case here. And so this is absolutely a discussion worth having.
and it's not as black and white as is dee dee doing a good job or not?
that's not what the argument is. Thank you for your time. Thank you, mr. Mayor. Can I just add to just to clarification, So the salaries you cited for dee dee,
they're not just paid for with assessments, as jennifer mentioned, Just a portion of those salaries are paid for with assessments.
and the rest of the salaries are paid through private funds that dee dee has raised.
I didn't ask for a response. And since she did, I don't want that to be the final on what my time was.
it has to be. But I mean that. Okay. So can I just I'd like to just close this out.
I normally don't tell staff they can't respond, But, you know, I mean, well, usually we ask for a response.
yeah, I know but and they used our you know, You're out of time.
and normally we don't tell staff they they aren't allowed to speak if they have something They want to say.
so if the city manager wants to give you more information.
she can. But yeah, you're out of time. I mean, You're out you're out of all the rounds for this item,
actually. Yeah. And I didn't ask for a response either. Mr. Mayor, I just would like to say that we've heard the council and what I think we would Like to be able to do as it relates to all the pits,
because we know that next week there will be an agenda item for you to call the public Hearing for the pits that we currently have to be renewed.
we will provide you with the executive salaries that we have through the current, I don't know if the form nine 90s have been updated
for 2026, but whatever the recent ones that we have, We will provide those executive salaries for each of those pits that are going to be
coming before you next wednesday to call the public hearings. We'll get that out into a memo for the council this friday.
so I just wanted to make sure that I acknowledged the concerns and the questions about the Salaries.
thank you. Thank you. Chairman moreno, you're recognized for three minutes.
thank you mayor. I just wanted to give maria an opportunity to finish up her response.
yeah, just the last note is related to option three, Which is to potentially just get rid of of any city payment.
that probably would also have consequences for the, The city's operating and maintenance agreement with the parks department,
which currently is a no cost consideration agreement.
thank you. Mayor jerome stewart, you're recognized for one minute.
thank you, mayor johnson. Can you elaborate on that? On the no. The what you were just talking about with respect to the park department?
yeah. Jennifer, feel free to jump in because you're the subject matter expert on that Contract.
but I think earlier this year, the, the parks department and ddi entered into a new ten Year
agreement to oversee to provide services in downtown parks.
and right now that is at no cost to the city. And that work is all done by dd, I. I think it is worth noting that we return, I believe,
about $1.4 million of services just in the parks and provide tremendous 24 hour security, Which is critical given our urban environment
as well as all of the activations, programing, Permitting and management.
we've done substantial upgrades this year in preparation for fifa, But because it was time and that will be ongoing.
parks are living, breathing things. So unfortunately, You know, it's $0 from the park department,
but the city's contribution and the parks are not assessed property. Right. Is very much a big piece of our work. It is increasing measurably as we go out for Renewal.
we're trying to really true up the massive obligation and opportunity we have with parks.
so I think that, excuse me, the angst and the worry seems to be over the salaries, Not the actual work that they're doing to maintain parks and and the
other, the other topics. So I would encourage us to look at a way to refine our agreement.
and perhaps city dollars are not used towards salaries, But used towards the, the safe and clean because that's,
that's the most important work and I'm sorry, Safe and clean parks programing maybe.
yeah. Because they've been cleaning parks and security and no, Not thanks-giving square.
we can look at that and then we can also break out the portion of our salaries that our Membership program pays.
because I think y'all are looking at combined numbers, Which is different buckets of money.
so we'll clean that up and. Right. I think once we have more information, It will be helpful. But I think going forward. That's where the concern is.
thank you. Thank you, mr. Mayor. I want to make sure I'm not missing anyone remote.
okay, then. I don't see anyone else in the queue. So what we will do then is we will go Into executive session and and reconvene here in about an hour.
so let me find this statutory language and read it to you.
it is 12:11 p.m. On august 5th, 2026. The city council meeting will now go into closed Session under section 551.071.
the texas open meetings act on the following matter described in today's agenda, Item number four and under section 551.072,
the texas open meetings act on the following matter described in today's agenda item Number five and under sections five,
51.071 and 551.07. Two of the texas open meetings act on the following.
describe today's agenda item number six and under section 551.074 of the texas open Meetings act on the following matter described in today's agenda item number seven.
so with that, we'll stay at recess until mayor mayor to 1 p.m..
yes, mayor, may I ask that the. May I ask that the link for executive session be emailed To me and.
council member? Of course, of course, of course, Of course. Thank you. So we're we're going to be at recess until 1 p.m..
okay. The city council meeting has completed its closed session under sections 551.0715, 51.072 and 551.074 of the texas open meetings act and at
02:35 p.m. On august 5th, 2026, we've returned to open session and madam city manager, I'm going to turn it back over to you for our remaining briefings.
thank you so much, mr. Mayor. We're ready to present your final briefing for today.
just as a reminder, item b is the proposed november 2026 bond election.
and today we are here to follow up on the authorization that the city council gave on june The 24th.
you asked staff to bring forward the actions necessary to call on november 2026.
bond election focused on some critical priorities public safety, General obligation bonds and pension obligation bonds for the dallas police and fire
pension system. Today, we're here to provide you with an update as requested.
we will cover three main areas. First, the recommended approach for the 500 million in Pension obligation bonds.
we will cover that today as a tool to accelerate funding for the city approved police and Fire pension plan.
we know that there's still quite discussions around that, And we were going to talk with you today about how that could potentially reduce the
city's long term cost and provide relief to the general fund.
secondly, we will talk about the proposed 460 million in the public safety capital Package.
this does include the remaining funding needed to complete the law enforcement training Center at unt dallas.
also, the public safety training complex that we've discussed with the city council, A more modernized emergency operations center,
and. 911. We also talked about the consolidation of the the the current city's property Room,
the crime lab facilities, replacement of fire station number four.
and today you also will hear about another critical facility, Which is our current fleet maintenance center.
third, we will discuss how we would deliver the the remaining 20 2024 bond program to Ensure that we're able to
absorb this new public safety package. With 95.5% of the 2024 projects funded within the Original
five year window. And I just want to repeat that as part of our discussion today, We will be talking about how the 2024 bond projects,
95.5% of those projects, would still be on schedule to be completed within the original Five year window.
at the conclusion of today's presentation, we will provide you with the proposed ballot Propositions.
that would be, if council approves on the november 3rd, 2026 ballot.
and we do have a august 12th item that is currently planned for the city council to Officially call the election.
jack ireland, our chief financial officer, will lead the pension obligation bond Discussion,
and then we'll move over to dave rastogi, assistant city manager. She will walk through the public safety capital projects and the overall 2026 bond project Sequencing.
and then jenny niswander, our director of the office of bond and construction management, Will discuss in detail the 2024 bond program,
the adjustments, and how we would propose to move forward. With that. I'll now turn it over to jack to begin this afternoon's presentation.
thank you. Thank you, miss tolbert. As mentioned, I'm jack ireland, I'm chief financial officer for the city,
and I'm going to move us straight to page three. As mentioned, we are here today following up to city council direction from in june in June on the 10th,
we briefed the city council about a potential bond program.
and then on june 24th, the city council took action authorizing us to come back before you Today with additional information before a potential call
of an election next week on slide three, just as miss tolbert mentioned, I'll provide the update of pension obligation bonds.
dev and jenny will also provide an update of the 2026 proposed general obligation bonds as Well as the 2024 going
forward approach. And then we'll close with a discussion of the three propositions that we Want to you to consider next week on page five.
looking at pension obligation bonds. Staff does recommend future issuance of pension Obligation bonds for the dallas police and fire pension system,
which we did brief to the ad hoc committee on pension and finance committee during a joint Meeting on may the 21st.
and then separately briefed to the full city council on june the 10th. That is not our first conversation about pension obligation bonds.
we have been talking about the pension obligation bonds for the dallas police and fire Pension system since at least 2023.
the mayor appointed a study group that looked at the dallas police and fire pension system To identify potential ways to set that fund on a
more sound financial path. And one of their recommendations was cash infusion, Such as through a pension obligation bond.
and as a result of that, since august 1623, I have maintained pension obligation bonds in Our debt service capacity.
setting aside some funds that could be used for pension obligation bonds if the city Council did choose to do so.
just as a reminder, pension obligation bonds are taxable bonds that some state and local Governments have issued as part of an overall strategy to fund a portion of their
unfunded pension liability by creating debt. Just as a reminder, We have done this before in dallas,
we issued pension obligation bonds for the employee retirement fund back in 2005, When that system needed an infusion of funds,
and several changes were made back in 2005, along with the pension obligation bonds.
and so we do have a history of using those bonds at this point in time, We're proposing use for the dallas police and fire pension system.
so just as a reminder, we do have a joint agreement between the city council and the Dallas police and fire pension system board on december 10th and 11th and
2025. You each approved a joint funding plan.
that funding plan does fulfill the texas pension review board requirements to be fully Funded within 30 years.
but I do want to point out that that does come with increasing contributions over time.
and so as part of the strategy, we can consider issuing pension obligation bonds, Which would accelerate our funding and decrease,
potentially decrease the city's overall cost of our contributions over this long term Period.
but the use of pension obligation bonds can decrease the city's cost.
but it does rest in the assumption that the bond proceeds when invested with pension Assets,
will achieve asset returns that are greater than the interest owed over the term of the Bonds.
moving to the next slide. Again, we do recommend seeking voter authorization for up to $500 million this november,
but getting voter authorization is just the first step. We still would have to come back before this body before we could actually authorize the Debt.
we would recommend, as we always do, to go before the finance committee.
I did indicate notifying the finance committee. Sometimes we've held actual briefings, sometimes we've done briefing by memo, But we do go to the finance committee before coming to the city council for authorization,
prior to issuing any of our debt. That would be a requirement for the pension obligation Bonds as well.
we may want to consider issuing the debt in multiple tranches of at least $125 million, Rather than just issuing $500
million all at one time. It does spread that over several years and mitigates potential Risk.
we also would want to recommend to the council that we have a spread of at least at least Two percentage points,
or 200 basis points, between the projected cost of borrowing and the assumed rate of Return.
the current assumed rate of return by the actuaries for the dallas police and fire pension System is 6.5%.
therefore, 200 basis points below that would be a borrowing cost of 4.5%.
and even before issuing the bonds, we would have our actuaries conduct additional analysis At that time to model the likelihood that investment returns will exceed
the borrowing cost, test performance under multiple stress scenarios, And evaluate any impact on our long term debt capacity.
the main point that I want to make is getting authorization again, Is the first step.
and then subsequently we would do work before we would actually pull the trigger, So to speak,
and issue the funds. And council would have an opportunity to authorize that before we Did.
in the scenario that I am recommending the pension obligation bonds being issued at 4.5%, With a rate of return of 6.5% each year,
the city would be able to reduce our general fund expense by $1.3 billion over the long Term,
and have an overall net savings of $341 million.
that is a savings in the general fund, net of the cost in the debt service fund.
to pay the debt would yield the $341 million of savings.
the actual financial impact of issuing pob can only be determined after the bonds mature, As it's highly dependent on the actual asset returns and the cost of
borrowing. On slide seven, deloitte, our actuary, Provided some tables here to show the potential impact on the left hand side,
three columns showing what our annual contributions are projected to be totaling $11.9 Billion through fiscal year
2054. The next column would be the change in the city contribution through issuing the Pension obligation bonds.
it's projected that if we had 6.5% return, that we would be able to reduce our general Fund contributions by $1.3
billion over the term, the debt cost being $942 million over the term, A net savings of $341
million, or 2.9% savings. Same information is on the next page on page eight, But in a graphic format.
this shows the blue line on the chart at the top going up.
and that is the cost of the debt cost. As we issue the debt, We would have to pay the debt service,
but the purple line on the bottom would be our general fund contribution going down.
the difference are the bars in the middle, the savings that we would have each year over The term totaling $341 million.
so the opportunity as a tool for us to mitigate the cost increases in the general fund are Possible through pension obligation bonds.
and we would ask you to consider that for your november 26th referendum.
and with that, I'll turn it to deb, who's going to walk through the 2026 general Obligation bond program with the public safety focus.
thank you jack. Good afternoon. Mayor, council members.
as jack mentioned, I am going to talk about the projects, The six projects that are part of what we're proposing for the 2026 general obligation
bond program. These six projects represent urgent capital needs that were identified by Dpd and dallas fire rescue.
they address training capacity, emergency operations, Resiliency evidence handling, fire response,
and critical maintenance. Next slide. So this slide identifies the six projects that the City manager tolbert
addressed in her opening remarks. The law enforcement training center at unt dallas, The dallas police department public safety training complex.
both of these projects will enhance our public safety workforce.
the next two projects, the emergency operations center and 911, Which I know you were briefed on earlier today.
and the fire station replacement fall under that emergency response infrastructure.
and the last two projects consolidating the property room, The crime lab and the vehicle.
the evidentiary vehicle storage and the fleet maintenance facility are going to improve Our operations as well as the way we process forensics.
and so together, these, these six projects are going to be approximately 460 million in Funding.
next slide. So now I'm going to walk through the evolution of our law enforcement training Discussions.
I think you've seen this slide before. We began talking about the law enforcement training Center at unt dallas
in 2021. And we identified what that facility was going to look like.
we then were able to fund the project in the 2024 bond program, And working with the dpd training team and collaboration with our
partners at unt dallas. The project has evolved to a 20 acre section of unt, Including four buildings,
one for basic training, one for in-service training, A physical training pavilion, and a criminal justice building which will house the
unt criminal justice faculty. And it'll be where our recruits will receive training from That faculty.
design development is complete, and we're already authorized. We're going to be ready to authorize a site work package.
and as many of you know, we've got groundbreaking scheduled for next month on september 3rd.
separately, we have a public safety training complex and that is focused on specialized Tactical training,
emergency emergency vehicle operations course, Firearms training, and a simulated village.
and it's important to note that that. Facility was not part of the 2024 bond program.
and we're we're proposing that that facility be at unt at excuse me, At the dallas executive airport,
as we identified in the site feasibility study. Next slide. So just to review the funding needs for each of these projects.
for the law enforcement training center, the total project cost is 227 million.
and the good news is we already have over 100 million of that funding committed, With 50 million from the 2024 bond program.
25 million in state grants. And with our funding partners committed to 70 million.
31.5 of that has already been committed. And we have another 38.5 that's pending.
and so the remaining gap of 82 million is what we would be asking voters to authorize this November so we can complete this facility on
schedule by the summer of 2028. Next slide. As I mentioned earlier, This
public safety training complex was part is part of the police training journey.
however, it was not funded in the 2024 bond. As we presented in april we conducted a Feasibility study
that reviewed six city owned parcels and identified dallas executive as the most viable Site.
the total project cost for this facility is 170 million.
and we would be looking for 149 million out of this bond program because the the, The aviation department
would be able to fund the enabling infrastructure. And we are anticipating some sponsorship dollars for this facility.
next slide. So I think you guys were were briefed
earlier on on this facility, the emergency operations and 911 facility.
the funding that we would be looking for, for, For this property is 40 million.
and that's what we've included in, in our, in our modeling. Next slide. So the, the fourth project that we've identified for the bond program
is the property room crime lab and vehicle evidentiary storage consolidated to one Facility.
we, we discussed this in the, the june 10th briefing.
as you can see from this slide the property room is currently at at 125% capacity.
the existing facilities are fragmented across multiple locations, Creating inefficiencies in evidence intake,
storage, retrieval, and chain of custody tracking. These conditions create a risk to the integrity of our our evidence.
limit our ability to meet modern standards for climate control and security.
so this facility is, is a very needed facility.
we're looking at a a, an opportunity to potentially put this at, At an existing, the existing building parcel
at a, at 150 million. An alternative site is also a possibility for this facility.
and we would be estimating that alternative site at 232 million.
next slide. The fifth project is the fire station.
fire station number four at akron and canton. This facility has been in service since 1953 and is the highest priority that dallas fire Rescue has identified.
this particular facility, we would be proposing a five bay project as opposed to our Standard four bay.
and the, the reason for that is to provide capacity for the call volume and, And would potentially reduce our need for another
facility. So the current cost estimate for that project is 22 million.
and then our final project next slide is a fleet maintenance facility.
and this is at the southeast service center. I know several of you have had the Opportunity to go and visit this facility and have seen the conditions.
I don't know if you can see from the pictures the significant deterioration that we have At this facility.
we've got peeling ceilings, we've got damaged surfaces, An hvac system that is not sufficient.
and the middle slide shows you know, large fans that are used.
so you know, the, the conditions that this facility directly impact the operational Readiness.
next slide. So our proposal for, for this facility would be to demo and replace the, The maintenance area,
the two part storage and administrative spaces at a cost of 17 million.
in june before, before recess, the council did approve $1 million for, For this facility for a six bay
building that would accommodate the, the large vehicles that they process through through This fleet maintenance,
however, making the improvements to the main maintenance area will allow the 300 dpd Vehicles that are processed through this facility
to to be able to to be delivered in a much more efficient manner.
so next slide. The 460 million cost of these six projects, The slide shows how
we would recommend the cash flow. We would be delivering those projects across three years With 162
million in, in the current fiscal year, 125 in fy 28 and then 173
in, in fy 29. Next slide. So this slide updates the general obligation
schedule. The. The. This was previously presented on on our june 10th briefing, And we've
updated the information to incorporate the 17 million for the fleet maintenance facility.
jack mentioned the 125 million for the pension obligation bonds where we're showing that With a proposed start of,
of the sale of those in, in fy 28. It also shows the ability to continue forward with a 2029
bond program. And so this is what our proposal is for the general obligation bonds for 2026.
and now I'm going to turn it over to director niswander to walk you through how we would Continue to deliver the 2024 bond.
great. Thank you. So on slide 22 what you are looking at.
there is the allocation for the 2024 bond program, And this allocation is shown over the five year period and is what we will be having in in
a shown in our budget. And we'll be talking about in our budget town halls as we, As we move forward.
so you can see the first two years are grayed out. So those have already happened. The next three years are what the allocation will be Adding up to 250 million a year.
so as you know, our bonds are sold over a five year period. And that's what this slide is reflecting. And the bond office does work with the other Construction infrastructure departments just to make sure on an annual basis so that we
can go back and make sure that the dollars are actually aligned with project schedules.
so this does change from year to year based on input from those departments.
next slide. So this slide shows the last 4 or 5 columns, What the allocations would
be by proposition and by year if all three bond propositions were to pass.
and this lines up with the the financial model that we showed a few slides ago.
so we have the 190 and 27 and going out to 141 million allocated in year six or fiscal Year 30.
the first column shows what our capacity is, What we're projecting our capacity to be at the end of fiscal year 26.
and then the 502 million is just showing what we've sold to date, Including some interest.
next slide. So this is just an overall summary of, Of where we're at.
if all the bonds were to sell, were to sell. So again, We did work with the infrastructure department so that we could update this and make sure
that we are working with those teams and those project schedules.
right now, we do have 851 projects in the 24 bond program.
812 of those will be fully funded within the first five years, Which is the 95.5%.
39 projects will have a have funding scheduled in fiscal year 60, I'm sorry, fiscal year six,
fiscal year 30 and 31 of the 39 do have funding within the first five years.
so those projects can be initiated and and started and ready for the remaining dollars That will be available to them in year six.
and then again, just to reiterate, so we, we do have a practice within the bond office to Go back and talk to the departments to make sure that you know,
if a project becomes a priority and we need to move one project up, We can look to see if there's an opportunity to move another project back to accommodate
that type of a priority. Next slide or slide 26.
so then this slide just shows what those three propositions would look like.
so working with bond council we did come up with three propositions that would be needed.
one for public safety. That adds up to 43, 443 million in fleet service center would have Its own proposition at 17 million.
and then the pension obligation bond at 500. We did find a typo earlier this week, So I just wanted to point that out that the presentation that was posted was
977, but it's actually 960 million in total. So again, We did work with bond council for the language that we're showing in this
presentation, which includes the descriptions and how the funds can be used the bond value And the payback value.
and then the next three slides goes over the that actual language that would be in the Ballot.
so the first one, prop a, I'm sorry. Slide 20. Yeah. Prop a would be public safety for 443 million.
and the payback would be 629. The next slide would be for the city fleet maintenance Facility proposition b.
prop b for 17 million with a payback of 24 million.
and then pension obligation is the. The last proposition, Prop c for 500 million, with a payback of
1.97 billion. And that would be over a 30 year payback schedule.
so the next steps on slide 31. August 12th will be coming back to council for your Consideration to call for an
election. August 17th would be our last day to call for an election.
october end of october starts early voting. Election day is november 3rd and we.
election canvass resolution for city council would be november 10th.
so. And with that, that's our o. We do have an appendix.
I just wanted to point that out as well. So all the projects that have funding in year six Is included in the appendix.
we just want to make sure that we had that out there for some transparency. And if anybody Had any questions about that.
and with that, that concludes our presentation and I'd be happy to take any, Any questions.
thank you very much. I appreciate it. Members, Go ahead and start registering if you'd like to jump in here.
I see chairwoman mendelsohn, you're recognized for five minutes.
you're muted, I think. There. Thank you mayor. There you go. Sorry, I had to unmute. It took a minute.
so I do have a number of questions. I like to start with pension obligation bonds.
when we did the pension obligation bonds for the urf, It was before any of us were on council.
can you tell us what the interest rate was and what the return averages for the fund, What that average return rate was?
thank you. Yes, it was prior to anyone. That's currently on council being here.
and we borrowed the funds $500 million in 2005.
I believe the interest rate was 5%. And I do not have an average of what the returns have Been for the last 21 years.
there have obviously been years where we've seen interest rates as strong, Which is 30%, but we also saw years of recession
where there was a loss. I have reached out to deloitte, Actually, to answer your very question about the comparison between the cost and the the
returns. But again, I don't have an average with me today, But we've seen it from again, very high returns to some
losses. And I will be able to provide that to you.
so given what you already know, would you say that the return averages for urf are higher Than the police fire pension fund over the last
ten years? Over the last ten years, the rate of return of urf probably has been higher Over the last few years.
no. The returns are much more in line with each other.
there is not much difference between the rate of return between the 2 in 2025, For example urf was 12 and
dallas police and fire was 15. The year before one was 9.2 and police and fire was 9.3 the Year before.
they were ten and 13. So they've been much closer in the recent years.
but further back? Yes, there there was a greater variance between the two, With police and fire being lower.
jack, when you were describing this, you said, Quote, it's going to potentially decrease the city's costs.
would you say that's a best case scenario? Yes, It's obviously would be the best case scenario is that
the the cost to borrow is much lower and the cost of or the rate of return is much higher.
in the particular scenario that we showed numbers on 200 basis point difference with the 4.5% cost of borrowing and 6.5% rate of
return. There was a $341 million net savings.
so the savings is going to be different depending upon the actual rate of return on the Investments and what we actually get in our cost of borrowing.
it's my recommendation that we would not go into the market unless the rates to borrow Come down.
right now there are too high. Most recently that hilltop shared with me was just over 6%.
and I would want to see the rate of return to be at least 200 basis points below the six And a half that they've assumed in their investments.
so you're saying the cost of borrowing is just over 6% right now?
yes, ma'am. And and in your scenario, you're talking about a 4.5% as your target.
is that right? Yes, ma'am. That would be a target that I would recommend to the city Council that it'd be 200 basis points below their rate of return,
their projected rate of return. And so the first step in pension obligation bonds would Obviously be getting voter authorization.
and then working with the finance committee, With deloitte and others to, to, to identify the time in the market to do it.
but it is something that we would want to have teed up and ready to go for, For when the market improves.
well, the market doesn't move that fast. I mean, You're talking about a number of years to get to a 4.5%.
correct. Isn't that your expectation? I'm not going to speculate on how quickly it'll Change,
but yes, ma'am. Right now in august of 2026 is not the time to actually issue the debt.
but I'm not sure exactly when that would be. And we would continue to monitor that with Our financial advisors to determine when the appropriate time to come back to council and
seek the additional authorization, assuming that it goes through the process and is Approved by voters.
so I'm not aware of any financial forecasts that actually shows a lowering of interest Rates.
are you? Not at this point. No, ma'am.
I'm sorry, did you cut out? I must have because I answered at this point.
no, ma'am, I am not aware. Okay. I've only read where they're going to go up.
so. So if this is our best case scenario where we get this 2% spread what's the worst case Scenario?
because mostly people talk about pension obligation bonds as a risky investment since you Don't control either the return or I
mean obviously you lock in an interest rate, But you don't control those returns.
that is correct. And for the finance committee and the pension ad hoc committee, We did show several different modeling scenarios with
worse levels of return. And yes, there's the potential that the downside of it, The worst case scenario is that it does
not save the city any money, and it actually costs the city additional.
well, so I do, I appreciate that you put that in the committee materials, And we certainly talked about it there,
but it feels like it needed to have been in this presentation as well, Since not everybody is on that pension committee.
and this is showing a very rosy idea of what could happen when something very tragic could Happen,
which is not only do we need to make these payments to the pension obligation on the debt Side,
we also will have to come out of pocket on the general fund because the spread is not There.
so is our bond counsel here. Are our bond counsel is present.
and the chambers today. Okay. What is the interest cost for
all of the bond. So we're at 940 million. Is that right?
so the modeling that was done, the numbers that jenny mentioned with each of the Propositions there was a 4.1,
I believe percent on the I'm sorry, 4.01% 20 years on the proposed proposition a for 443 Million.
there is 4.01% for 20 years on proposition b, The 17 million.
and then what is included on proposition c is the current rates, Which is 6.035 for 30 years,
and that shows more than we would pay if we set up a threshold that we would not borrow, Unless the interest rate was at four and a half or less.
but legally, we have to use based on rates that are available now, Not what triggers that we would put in place that we would not actually issue the bonds
until. So what's shown in proposition c on page 29 is based on 6.35%, Whereas we're recommending you don't
trigger that until 4.5%, which is about $155 million difference in interest cost.
so of the 940 million face cost for the bond, What is the additional amount that is interest?
and mayor. Can I ask that? 600. I have one minute left, You know.
oh, yeah. I'll let you know when you have a minute left. Just so you know, You're at two minutes and 30s exactly right.
now, if I added that. Thank you so much. I hear a quick add of that.
looks like a quick out of that. Looks like it's about $624 million based upon what is Listed in each of the
propositions. But again, proposition c has to show a higher amount than we would actually Borrow at,
but about $600 million. So 900 and I just want to make sure I got it right.
940 million as the face value. But then an additional 624 million would be interest.
is that right? Yes. If I added that correctly. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Thank you. So you're saying that you would not want to issue the pension Obligation bonds
today at this interest rate, but there wouldn't be anything that would actually stop us.
is that correct? It's just a recommendation and a vote of the council, Which I believe in this case would be a simple majority.
is that correct? It would require a vote of the council. Yes, Ma'am. Okay.
and the council could decide to not wait and take a risky bet and say, Well, we just think,
you know, the stock market's been really hot and the returns for police fire pension have Been really strong lately.
we're going to go ahead and do it early, which would be a highly, Highly risky venture.
but eight council members could do that. Isn't that correct. If the voters approve this item. Yes, ma'am. Once the voters approve the item, The city council is required to vote to actually authorize the debt.
and you can put a bond election both in may and december.
and november. There's nothing that when we moved our council election date, There's nothing that prohibited us from doing that.
correct. Not that I'm aware of. Okay. And then can you talk about our total outstanding Debt for
dallas? What that number is at today? Our total
outstanding debt. I'm not giving you a today number. I'm giving you nine 3025. So last september 30th which is what I have in front of me.
total tax supported debt is $2.5 billion of principal outstanding with $1.1 million of Interest related to that,
for a total of $3.6 million, including the outstanding principal, Plus the interest that would be due.
so what about if I was looking at the texas bond review boards?
debt outstanding by local government. And this would have last been updated may 8th, 2026.
what would it show for our total debt outstanding.
do you know? I do not. Because it's a lot more than 3.6 months.
you're you're at your minute right now. You're at 58 seconds.
thank you. Well, I'm going to tell you that the that site, Which requires reporting by our city,
says that we have 5.4 billion. And it does an apples to apples comparison with other Cities.
houston has over 11 billion. Of course, they're a much larger city than we are.
but what's interesting is that when you look at san antonio, Compared to our four point or 5.4 billion,
san antonio is at 2.8 billion. They have a larger population than we do.
austin, 2.4 billion or 3.2 billion. El paso. 1.6 billion.
so I'm concerned about our debt level and then going out again for another bond.
how frequently do we do a bond in a two year cycle?
so we, we traditionally don't do bonds in a two year cycle.
that's true. But we have had in the past where bonds have been back to back that in 2005, It was a much smaller bond,
but it was what funded the bridge. And then following that, We had the 2006 bond program,
which I believe is our largest program that we've had. But typically there is more time than two years between between bond programs.
yeah, that 2005 where it was just a two year increment, The two bonds.
well, the three bonds that preceded it was only 174 million. Another was $543 million. And then the last time $507 million.
go and get that question out though. Go ahead. Thank you. I would like to have another turn. Of course. Of course. Thank you. If I may Mayor,
please answer the question. I wasn't sure you got it out, But, yeah, you're out of time for this round. So I just wanted to point out also that miss
mendelsohn, when I answer the question about our outstanding debt, I said that it was total tax supported general obligation debt at 2.5.
if you add in the enterprise funds, there is another 2.9 for a total of 5.4, But the tax supported debt is 2.5.
the non tax supported debt of the city's 2.9 for a total of 5.4.
and that may be consistent with what you looked up and council member.
I just wanted to add to what what director niswander what jenny shared with you.
prior to 2006 we did have you know, more frequency in our in our bond programs.
in 1985, we had another 1 in 1989, another in 1995, 1998, 2003,
2005, and 2006. We provided that information to all council members yesterday evening.
miss willis, I think you're recognized for five minutes. Is that right? Five. Okay. Five minutes. All right.
thank you. So just sticking with pension obligation bonds.
this is really our break glass in case of emergency scenario, Because this is not necessarily because pension
obligation bonds are good idea. They're very risky.
this is really about how we manage city finances and not knowing about revenue caps that May be delivered unto
us about our funding, soundness, restoration plan on our pension, And a 30 year, $11 billion commitment
that steps up in 2030. Mr. Ireland, can you tell us about kind of what that jump looks Like when we get to 2030?
yes, ma'am. So currently, our contribution to the dallas police and fire pension system is About $230 million or so this
year, going up to 240 plus million dollars next year in 2030, It jumps up to 200.
and I'm sorry. Let's see up to. $326 million.
so right now, as a percent of the general fund, We're paying about 11.4% of our general fund is paid only
to police and fire pension contributions in 2030.
it looks like, and I assume that the growth in the general fund would be a conservative 3% Per year.
again, it'll be more than that or less than that. But I assume that it will grow at 3% per Year in 2030.
our contribution will be 14.6%. So we will peak in 2030 at 14.6%.
and then it starts to come down as a percent over time. If the scenario we've talked about is realized in 2030, Instead of jumping up to 14.6, we would peak at
12.9% of our total general fund. And so it's about mitigating that potential cost Increase.
the the plan that we put forward, that you approved, That the board approved is a sound plan.
it works. It will fully fund the system. I'm proud of all of us for getting it across the Finish line,
but it does come at a high cost over time. And as those costs go up, Other decisions will have to be made
about how to fund that. And so when you're looking at that, If you want another tool to already have available to you to pull the trigger
is pension obligation bonds, which could help mitigate those increases in your general Fund.
I understand it's a risk. And some people, some advisors would advise against pension Obligation bonds.
I am concerned about fiscal year 2030. So when you talk about that percentage declining, Is that also because our revenues are growing.
I mean you're projecting the value of our land assuming more tax sales tax when the Convention center is back online.
I just simply assume that our general fund would grow by 3% per year.
I don't know how much it's going to grow. It will. I don't know if the state's going to limit that growth even more or not, But I thought it was a conservative approach to kind of look 30 years out.
and yeah, so not knowing what some of those factors are going to yield, This is the emergency scenario just so that we're not having to hit this with the general
fund. It allows us to fulfill our obligation, But have this move into the debt service fund so that we will have funds to continue
delivering core services, etc.. So not the best way to go about it necessarily, But it's a tool in the toolbox.
so on page six, I, I do have a concern about the finance committee notification.
I know that has got to be a briefing and exploration not a memo that people ask questions On because we don't know enough about this and it doesn't
necessarily need to be presented by staff. This is from an objective consultant.
I mean, we need to hear the real deal. It may not even be us in these seats, But whoever this body is needs to hear the highs and the lows and the ins and the outs,
the realities of how the funds are performing, The realities of the market.
so I would hate to see anything just kind of glossed over and a vote taken no matter when It happens.
that did not fully delve into this because of the potential risk involved.
and I think that risk comes from another concern I have is on your third bullet about Assumed rate versus actual rate.
so we're talking about a half billion dollar borrowing decision on an assumption versus a Demonstrated performance.
so yeah, the police and fire pension fund did had a good rate of return last year, Still not performing as well as peers.
so there's work to do there, but to take a couple of years is not really the way to make The decision.
I mean, we need to decide on is this a ten year rolling period? And I know that sounds like a long time, but I mean, If you're going to make a decision like this, it needs to be over a longer term average.
there's no even today, we wouldn't be able to meet these obligations. I mean, we wouldn't be able to borrow on this.
so there are a lot of things to look at to besides just how did that fund do last year in The last three years?
I mean, this is why we, you know, have oversight. We're going to get a report on it about asset allocation because right now there's still Some underperforming alternative assets.
they could be working harder. The harder that fund works, The more it takes off of our budget and dallas taxpayers.
and I'll just say that the, you advocated for an independent review and that has kicked Off.
the consultant is in place. Thank you all for approving that. Sorry it took so long, but it is in place and they've had their first meeting and I hope It's more than a report.
I hope it's also forward looking and has suggestions and that sort of thing.
we have to be honest with ourselves about this and with our with our taxpayers, Because of the point that this is going to be 14% of the budget in 2030.
so I am also concerned about how much I don't know that I'm comfortable with this half $1 Billion,
because I do not like the idea of all the work that went into the 2024 bond program and The commitments made so much of it in infrastructure,
which is unifying in our city, that that is the number one thing that most that every District wants.
and we're delaying $88 million into year six. There are other items that vision zero, why would we delay something one more year?
I mean, that is a program that saves lives. And so while in the appendix, There are some things that maybe could move to year six.
and I'm seeing some things like around playground equipment and that sort of thing.
and that's because I think those are highly answerable and shouldn't be in a bond program.
I think we need someone working on raising funds for those sorts of things. So I would suggest that we bring this number down to $300 million and we can work on that Figure so that we are not delaying what people
worked for, what they asked for, and that we committed to them in terms of infrastructure,
public safety facilities, libraries, etc.. Your area went fast.
I know, I know well, we'll come back to you because I know you weren't done.
sorry about that. Chairwoman stewart, you're recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Mayor johnson and I, I think councilmember willis has covered a lot of what I'm going to Cover.
so I'll just kind of say the same thing, but quickly the obligation to make our pension Payment is not optional,
right? We are, we are. This is that is our commitment.
we need to make those payments. Absolutely make those payments. And they go up 20 million A year until we get to 2030.
and then we've heard that that number is 326 million.
so I have not that you guys read my newsletters because you're all reading and talking About your own newsletters,
but I've written about the pressures on our budget and I call this one out number one, Every time I'm talking to somebody having coffee with someone,
I want everyone in this city to understand there are pressures on our budget, And I won't go to the other two,
but there are three major ones, and this obligation is one of those.
and so I am in agreement that having a tool in your toolbox, Having something that's sitting there ready to go,
we don't have to wait six months. We don't have to. If the interest rates and the stars aligned and it's the best financial decision to issue Those bonds,
we have that ability. I, I can't. I mean, we all the time.
I mean, just in your personal life, you put money in a savings account, You have something out there.
so if certain circumstances come together, you have a resource to go to. You can go and take care of what you need to take care of.
so why wouldn't we do this? There is a fear, I think chair mendelsohn has has hit on some points about what would stop us if there's
not a supermajority required. But I'm learning about the financial management performance Criteria.
that's a mouthful. And they're laughing because I stumble over it every single time I say It.
but could we not have an fm pc that they're still laughing?
that addresses when you would issue the bonds.
jack would that be a good idea or how would, How could we define that for the people, the council members in the future.
that is an option. Or perhaps you. Put together, We put together with you a resolution that outlines the criteria and council passed that
resolution and direct the city manager to take these actions when these certain things Happen.
and so the city manager would follow the direction of the city council.
so the council today has an ability to control the circumstances in which those funds Would be issued.
we could use all of our wisdom here and come up with what it's the two point spread.
specifically, I think you said between the. My recommendation would not to have a narrower Spread than that.
right. So if I could jump in. Councilwoman mr. Mayor, so what we've outlined today is based on not just the staff perspective.
and I wanted to to thank councilwoman willis for her comments regarding having the experts That this is what they do every single day they wake up and they breathe pensions.
having them to be able to come and be a part of that, That could also be built into the resolution that you would want to have that type of a,
even if it's a recommendation that would include that outside, Whether it's fund council,
whether it's the independent pension advisory, Whatever you would want, you could build it into that.
but I do want to make a comment right now we're talking about the uniform pension.
if you add the uniform pension to the civilian pension, Just the payment for 2027 is over $400
million. So I want to make very clear that is not the total pension payment from the city.
we are talking about the uniform. But if you add the additional payment that we make for Our civilian employees,
that combined number in 27 is 400 million. And I believe in 2028 it goes to 438 million.
I just wanted to be clear. We're only talking about one pension. That's very helpful. You're right. Just focusing on police and fire.
so I think we can put some parameters around that, Whether it's a resolution or the fmc.
I think we can define that situation about when when that would kick in.
and then on the police academy, I am a huge supporter of, Of the getting the additional money that we need to finish that and then also to
have the public safety training complex as well.
we have promised these for decades, y'all. I mean, I probably told you this story before when we first started talking about it again.
my cpc rep tip house, right. Said, hang on a minute, I think I can find the drawings we did for that back in the 90s.
and he did. And I think I gave him to chief artist who had him for a while.
I mean, y'all, the 90s, we went to omniplan and said, Give us a concept plan.
and they did. So here we are. It is way past time that we make good on this, This promise.
so we have some promises, some obligations. We have some serious steps to take to, To back up who we are,
what we've promised, what we need to do and get that, Get that done.
and I think if we phrase that well to the residents of this city, They will back us on that.
this, this is necessary and we have found a great path forward.
we're not postponing a lot of projects. There are some one of mine is postponed.
and yes, it's for sedalia. And yes, that's my biggest priority. However, that particular money I is specifically what it will be used for has not yet been Identified.
right. We are still discussing what that amount will be spent on, So it gives me a breather.
it gives all of us a time to step back and go, Okay, we have a little more time.
let a little more maturity happen around what's happening at forest and adelia.
and hopefully in a year, 18 months, we'll have a much better idea of how we want to spend That money.
so it's really not a negative for district ten to wait a little bit longer anyway.
I think that's probably all I need to say at this point, But I am looking forward to moving forward,
and I do appreciate all the work that you all have put into this. Much appreciated. Miss blackmon, you recognized for five minutes.
thank you. So, okay. On the povs. So the scenario you gave us is not really what's in.
it's in the reality of today's economy, because I guess the borrowing of money is actually More like 6% than 4.5.
correct. Yes, ma'am. Today's rates are are more recent rates would be about 6%, But that is not the rate that we would recommend
you borrow. Correct, I get that. So is that why in the bond language it seems like it's Doubled and plus.
and so when people see that, they're going to go, Wait, you're asking me to pay 1 billion,
but we're only getting half a billion. That is correct.
the difference between the 6% that they've assumed in the language, Which is required, because it's the current rate.
and what we would actually trigger is a difference of $155 million of interest.
and then I believe in may, you said the ten year rate of return was looking like at 3.12 When you gave
us our presentation, I mean, year one, it was 9.25.
and then year five, you know, the whole when you accumulate them all, That is correct.
one year rate of return for dallas police and fire pension system is 9.25% of five year Average is 5.07%.
ten years 3.12. Yes, ma'am. Okay. So then when do you have.
I guess I'm trying to understand when the rate of return will finally average out to 6.5.
and do you I mean, I don't know when that would happen, Do you?
no, ma'am, I do not. Okay. Because it's not a one year time. It's a are we going to look at a five year time or is that a criteria item that we have To.
so that is not a criteria that we suggested at this point. I did talk to financial advisors and deloitte about making a criteria like that, Rather than just a 200 basis points less than their projected rate of return.
and I understand that's a projected rate of return, But you could have one year that you lose 10% in the next year in your portfolio.
you made 30. Right. And so you can't you got to average them out.
and so that's why I'm kind of wondering what the sweet spot is, Because I don't think the cost of money is going down anytime.
I mean, when you gave us, it was 6.17 when you gave it to us in may, And then now we're at 6.03.
so it did come down a smidgen, but I don't necessarily think it's going to drop.
so I guess based on that, that's the that's the financial reality.
but let's talk about we live in political reality. And when everybody around this horseshoe has to run again, There will be tremendous political pressure for you to pull that trigger no matter what,
because it will fund their pension. And I'm just going to I don't I'm not running again.
so I'm just letting you know those associations will be saying, Fund my pension pot, pull the trigger.
you can do it now. So I'm just putting that it's a political reality of the world we live In.
and so be mindful because I get you want to have that ready to go when the market's right.
but we live in a different world and you have a world that you live in.
and I've been six years at this running for office, And they have said that every time pobspobs,
would you support them? So I'm just saying you have it on the shelf ready to go.
the economy may not be ready for you to pull the trigger, But politically you may be forced to.
and that's just a statement. I mean, I don't because this is that's the reality.
okay. On the fire station. I'm kind of trying to reconcile the statement saying it
was one of the most needed stations because. Hold on, Let me find it right here.
it was the highest priority station for replacement, But yet it wasn't in the 24 bond package.
I believe there was one in d six. That's going to be moved now to sixth year.
so I'm trying to understand why it wasn't in and only it was hvac and electrical for less Than $100,000.
okay, I'll try and address that. Good afternoon everyone.
station four has been on and off lists. It. I believe it was removed from the 2024 list.
it was on it, but it was removed because we weren't getting as many. We weren't going to get as many stations as anticipated.
but I have a list. I've got a memo. I'll send it to you from 2021.
and it was for replacement in 21, and it was number eight on the list.
and every station above it, I believe has been replaced.
it's it's 72 years old. It's the sixth busiest station in the city, The,
in the top six, the other two, the other two number one 18 is downtown.
three's is number four. That's downtown. And you know it's number one on every list.
I have to be replaced. And we really need a station with more bays so that we can have More apparatus there rather than
building additional stations downtown. We need a bigger station to double up on the Apparatus.
so there's a better response to downtown dallas. So yeah, because it kind of goes into reduce the need for additional fire stations in the In the area.
so will we we'll be eliminating one in the downtown area or.
okay. So then explain that statement. Yes. So we would have two engines, Maybe two ambulances there,
which we've done at station 18 before because the downtown area is so busy it's not Getting slower.
so we, we put extra apparatus there and when we put when we put another ambulance at 18, I believe
18 was still the busiest ambulance. And they had two of them there. So there's a need. So does station number four.
I guess does it help with the bridge calls or is that a different situation?
I guess I'm trying to figure out there. Yeah. They they help with the bridge calls as well.
so can you get. Because I see that it's 90 almost 10,000 calls.
can you give me how many go to one location? In other words, Let's isolate the bridge in their incidences.
and because then you get the whole the ecosystem. I'll give you a list of all their calls, but I don't have it in my memory.
right? You can just whenever, because I'm trying to understand how many of the 10,000 are,
are coming from the bridge. And then that's the remainder is downtown. Does that make sense? Yeah, I'll provide that because I mean, I'm trying to, like I said,
understand the highest priority station for replacement. But yet it wasn't in 24. And you said you only got to choose one, So you chose the 1 in 43 and not this one.
so I'm trying to understand why one came off. And when you kept saying it was the highest one and it was in 20, Well, there's a current like so the,
the, the we begin with age, right? Normally the older the station, The higher the priority will be.
but then there's a condition. So 43 is beat it out on condition the condition was worse Than falls
then. So we're replacing 40 threes and and but falls is next up and I can provide
a current list and I can provide an old list where it was on, Okay, where it's at number one on the list.
I mean, we are looking at probably trying to develop this part of downtown and that's and Would it be to maybe be support that population growth as well.
yeah. I mean it's we need more. It's coming. We're going to need more apparatus.
that means a bigger station with more bays that can accommodate.
okay. On the enforcement training center at unt dallas.
and it's close, you know, north of 220 million. Is this going to be all. I mean, is unt dallas going to be putting in more any more Additional funding to that,
or is it literally going to be us with the private and the state money?
thank you for that question. And councilwoman blackmon, Based on the lease agreement that has now been executed with the university of north texas
at dallas, the commitment that they have is already built into the numbers.
and so the delta that dev shared already includes the the contribution from the University.
now, I do want to note that as we continue to work through identifying additional ways to Have more support for the
programs. I know that our fundraisers are on the ground every single day helping us.
we will be doing that. And so we will not stop because there will be continuation of, Of needs that we'll have even hopefully once we get the facility open.
so the efforts around partnerships, I know that the chief has been working on additional Partnerships to help us with the delivery of both of the facilities,
but the commitment from the university and the state right now is already built into the Numbers doesn't mean we can't keep can't keep asking,
and we will. Yes, ma'am. Okay. Thank you. Mr.
bazaldua recognized for five minutes. Thank you mayor. Thank you all for the presentation. In 2024, We asked the voters of this city to trust us with $1.25 billion.
they said yes. They believed us when we told them what the money would be.
streets. Parks, libraries, public safety facilities and homes.
that was a promise. And two years later we have appropriated less than half of it.
less than half. Now, before this program is even a third of the way through its five year Runway,
we are being asked to authorize nearly $1 billion more.
not because our needs have changed overnight, But because fiscal discipline has stopped being a priority in how the city plans itself.
let's talk about the law enforcement training center. When that project went to the voters In 2024,
we told them the gap would be closed by state grants and private philanthropy.
that was the deal. That was what we said publicly on the record to all of the people that We asked to go vote yes.
today, we're told the gap is 82 million. And the answer is put it on a bond that is not a Funding strategy.
that's a broken promise. And every broken promise we make spins down the one asset this Council cannot afford to lose the public's trust.
I'm not understanding how we just closed a very long, Extensive process and conversation about our
bond. That was also a conversation with the public.
and none of this was brought forward. I don't understand how we had years of collaborative Work with multiple entities
to talk about a solvency plan for the police and fire pension, None of which included pension obligation bonds.
right now, the market tells you it is completely unfavorable for us to sell any pension Obligation bonds.
so why are we sending it to the voters. It's hard enough for us to decipher and educate Our voters with the language that is required by state law,
that will tell them that their tax rates will go up with these bonds.
but now we have to explain to them that we're asking you to approve half of $1 billion That we may not ever even touch or use.
what's the point? When are we going to operate in transparency here?
half of $1 billion that we're not even going to need.
we don't need. It wasn't a part of our plan, Wasn't a part of the pension board's plan wasn't what we turned into the state.
right now, the market doesn't even say that it's smart because we're not going to have a Return on investment.
we have two uniform elections per state law every year that we can send this to the voters For november and may.
why do we have the urgency to send this this month to meet a deadline to send it to the Voters this november.
if there is no forecast in any soon time period that we would be selling these at a rate Of
return, that makes sense to supplement for the plan that we all passed.
was that the question? It was a question. Thank you so much. And I'd like to just go back to the 2024 bond program around the public safety facilities,
and then we'll talk about the pob after that. So what I can tell you is that when I look at the bond dollars that were included that our Voters approved for just the public safety training academy,
the 50 million, I cannot tell you what planning was done.
I cannot tell you what designs, what schematic pieces were in place. What I can tell you is that when I came into the position as the interim city manager, The first question that I asked was,
how did we come up with the cost of what went into the bond program? And the answers were we didn't have any plans.
that's just all we could ask for over the period of the last couple of years.
council member. Bazaldua. And I do appreciate the comments because it has been a concern How we got here.
how did we get to an amount in a bond program? And now I have a facility on a campus that council has asked us to move forward with, With the state and with this partnership with the university of north texas at dallas.
and we we don't have the funding to close the gap. We have looked at every way possible to be able to not have to do this, To not have to ask for any additional funding to build this academy.
and I'm only talking about the academy right now. But what we do realize is that the Market has changed.
so you're absolutely correct. The cost of the delivery of this academy now, Whatever the planning was prior to 2024,
our reality today is that we would be delivering some classroom new spaces, But not what the needs of the department currently are.
and so what we're providing today is a recommendation and definitely want to proceed.
as I've said many, many times today. Council can accept what staff is presenting.
you can reject what staff is presenting, or you can modify it and tell us to do something Totally different. But I am very sensitive to the fact that we know that over the last
couple of years, we have not been able to close the gap on the academy through all of the Value engineering that I have asked for this team to do.
come back and find every possible way to not have to ask the voters for anything else.
and based on our work to this point, that is the current gap.
I'm not going to blame anyone. I don't know if there were assumptions that were made that Did not become real,
but the reality today is that that is kind of where we are, And we will continue to proceed as council directs on the pob.
I do want to make sure that council knows that through all of the conversations and the Negotiations that I was a part of,
and that many of those negotiations happened outside of this space.
there was a constant push about pobs and how it had been utilized before for our civilians Through the erf.
we didn't say yes. We didn't say no. What we said was this council made a very bold Decision of finally solving the
pension issue. This council did that and that if anybody was going to help us identify Other tools going forward to make sure that when that general fund
impact gets even bigger than what it is today, We know that we're going to be in a situation where the majority of our general fund will
be pretty much at capacity from just pension payments and salaries and all of the other Services that we know that our residents are going to depend on.
we are not going to be in a good place. So for us, It's about planning.
we understand that the market does not it's not as favorable as we would want it to be Right now.
but what we were trying to do is to make sure that going forward, A future council didn't take it as seriously as this council has and that that
authorization was in place. So I do appreciate your comments about it. I think if council wants to not do it, that is your decision.
we're just coming and saying, hey, we know, we know what the forecasts are looking like, And we believe that this would be a tool that if anybody's going to do it,
it's going to be this body that helps us plan for the future, But we understand the sensitivities around it.
we don't want to look like we've you know, I've heard comments about how we we've already Used the $50 million a different way and didn't do the academy.
first of all, that's not true. And we are trying to find every way possible to not only Honor that commitment,
but to also make sure that the public clearly understands where we are and what we are Trying to deliver with the academy,
as well as the public safety complex. There are things that we know we could have never Built on that college campus.
I don't know what the thinking was, but we know that those things cannot happen on that College campus.
and that's just the reality of where we are today. So but thank you for your comments because I know everybody's trying to do the right thing And we appreciate that.
jackie, if you want to do anything further on the pobs, We see it as a planning tool and an opportunity for us to think ahead,
not to do anything that would be detrimental to any future bond programs.
and we did talk to the negotiators that if that was something that would be done, It would have to be done at the right time,
and we would be asking counsel for when that time was right. That's how we left the negotiations. I do want to add, In terms of the timing as it relates to the law enforcement training
center. Those dollars are needed. In fiscal year 27, In order for us to meet the, the planned
commitment of you know, having that facility completely open by the summer.
well, I'll just go back to my comments several months ago and that this is why we usually Have funding figured out before we schedule a groundbreaking of a project,
but we haven't necessarily done this project the way we do everything else in this city, Which is definitely concerning.
I know that you mentioned that pobs were discussed so was exhausting our portfolio of Assets and we've done nothing to monetize our assets.
I'm talking about history repeating itself and something that we have to be cognizant of, Something that we have proven time and time again,
and that is that we do not live within our means in this city. That's absolutely the case. We are living outside of our means and we are taking out Credit to do it.
and meanwhile, we're going to allow for history to repeat itself.
the big debate we're having is we can't take care of the building that we're in right now.
we can't take care of the assets that exist around our city.
so let's just go back to the voters and ask you to pour in more hundreds of millions of Dollars to new,
shiny things that we can't promise you we will take care of because of our track record.
that's the honest conversation that we're having here. I'm adamantly opposed to this. I think it is absolutely fiscally irresponsible, And I can't wait to campaign against this.
if this campaign, if this council supports it and sends it to the voters, And I absolutely will not be voting for it as a voter,
and I hope voters will, will, will follow suit. Thank you, mr. Roth. You recognize for five minutes.
thank you. What what does it typically cost to to have a bond election as a as a process And as the
election is. Do we have any sort of estimate on that? And again, it doesn't have to be a hard figure.
so billy ray may be able to help me here. I think the the cost of the election is about $1.3 million or thereabouts.
that's what we have in the budget, about 1.6 in our budget, 1.6.
that would that would be something that would have to be in november if we had that Election.
it's budgeted for this november, for this november. Okay. And the, the. The amount of the bonds, Are we limited because of
our capacity for a certain amount of money that we can ask the voters for at this point.
no, sir, there's not a limit. For example dallas isd just asked for $6 billion, And they cannot borrow $6 billion at one time.
their plan is to issue those bonds over ten years. Is there is there a communication? When I'm looking at how much we include, I am modeling the 24
bond program since 2023. I have modeled $500 million of pension obligation bonds because That has been the conversation.
I'm now modeling an additional $460 million for this public safety focus which would allow Us to have about $1 billion bond
program in 2029. Again, these are just getting authorization.
the question is, how much can we borrow each year? And that is a basis that's based upon how much growth we have in the tax base, What our outstanding debt is those sorts of things.
so we look at that each year and make decisions about how much we're going to ask council To approve on an annual authorization.
but as far as a limit on what you ask the voters, No, dallas county asked for 6 billion, and then it's dallas isd.
sorry. Right. And then it's our responsibility as the fiduciaries to approve the Authorization of the bond financing based on the
recommendation of our financial staff, our consultants, And to see whether it makes common sense.
and if interest rates go from 6% down to 3%, We want to be in a position that we can do this.
if the interest rates go from 6% to 9%, we should we we were saying we should have been, And we don't have any opportunity.
then shame on us for not being prepared for that. And if they go that high, you may choose to not issue your general obligation bonds until They come back down because the cost is too high.
right. And so my point is, this is my question to you all.
this is really the discussion is fiscally responsibility of this body to make sure that Once we approve things
that that the people in these seats are taking this stuff seriously.
it's not for us to be afraid that our successors are going to be irresponsible.
what we need to do is, is look for the money, Find out that we have the ability to fund stuff.
this, to me is like trying to establish a line of credit.
it's giving us the authority from the citizens to to have money for specific types of Projects
that benefit our citizens. And I think that the public safety is something as a citizen, I want to make sure we have.
I think that I want to make sure that we have a fire station that's going to be the right Thing.
I want to make sure that we have the right place to have evidence and stuff. I want to make sure that we have the right the right facilities.
however, I want to make sure that we're doing it in the right costs and to to council Member bazaldua his point.
the issue is not on whether we should be spending the money.
it's how do we establish what we're spending and how much we're spending it on.
and we have the control of that because these are not specific. These are item line item types of projects. It's the the definition on the on
the propositions. Does that give us some broad authority to, To allocate funds into different
buckets within the categories that we're talking to? For example, if we can't afford a certain item, We can, we don't have to do it, or we can use those funds for something else
in that same in category being specifically police, Fire, emergency, etc..
is that correct or am I misunderstanding? Yeah, No, that that is correct.
we cannot move dollars from one proposition to another.
but as long as the project meets the definition, This is why, for example, the the facility maintenance is not
part of proposition a, it is a separate proposition because while the work there does Support public safety vehicles,
it is not the full, you know, intended use of that facility.
and so that's why we have two propositions. That's why you know, In the 2024 bond program,
we have ten separate propositions so that we categorize projects in certain ways to make Sure that they fit within,
within the, the bond language. And you know, Jenny and her team worked with bond council to craft this bond language in such a way that
we're able to utilize these dollars appropriately.
my, my, I appreciate the answer. It my issue here is that I think one of the problems We've had in the past,
it looks like to me, is that we've under funded our bond programs.
we have not identified enough monies for stuff.
and as a result, we're short on stuff because of the the possibilities.
and I'm, I'm concerned that we've, we've gotten a report recently from parks that they've Got 40 rec centers that don't have air
conditioning. That's a $20 million potential expense.
we've got libraries that need a capital item.
these are all capital costs, not operation costs that need could use 20 or $30 million.
it seems to me this crime room deal. We've got an $80,000, $80 million delta that.
if we can't use the facility, we should maybe we may have to go to a second position to Get $80 million.
we have $100 million that we should be allocating for this building, And we should do it.
so and I know it sounds it from a from a standpoint that I've been proposing as being Fiscally conservative.
I know it sounds weird, but I think we're not borrowing enough.
I think we need to have 600 million or 700 million in general obligation so that our line Of credit is secured.
and I think we need to ask the voters to say, Look, you got to you got to if this is stuff that's important to the voters,
I'm a voter. I want to make sure that we have good libraries. I want to make sure we have good rec centers.
I want to make sure we have a good police academy, And I want to make sure that we got the money available if we need it,
and if it's not appropriate, we're not going to take it down. I'll I'll reserve my comments for some other comments later.
chairman ridley, you recognized for five minutes. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.
I want to open by saying that I agree with councilman bazaldua.
but everything you said, we are not living within our means. We have forgotten the imperative from just two years ago when we adopted a billion and a Quarter dollar bond program,
that that money was going to be devoted to fixing our existing infrastructure rather than Buying new bottles.
but here we are two years later. That's what all this money is going to.
so I have some questions for you, jack. Assuming that we approve these pension obligation Bonds for $500 million and we sell the first
tranche, which I think you said was 100 or 100.25 million.
what happens to that money immediately. Do we just dump that into the pension bond, The pension fund,
or do we just use that to constitute our annual obligated payments to that fund?
the proceeds from issuing pension obligation bonds would be transferred to the dallas Police and fire pension system for them to invest.
and we would use that to our actuaries would come up with a reduction to our unfunded Liability amortization over 30 years.
so we have a 30 year amortization of the unfunded liability, And they would go and apply that to that 30 years and reduce it.
so in other words, we'd be making advanced payments over what we're obligated to make to The pension board,
and it would reduce our annual payments. Therefore, Because right now we are making annual contributions based on a 30 year amortization
schedule of the unfunded liability, plus the normal cost.
if you reduce the unfunded liability, you would have some level of savings each year on What your contribution is.
well, I have about a 10% confidence rate that we can ever expect.
consistent returns from the pension board of over 6.5%.
their past performance is terrible, and they might be able to make 9% one year.
but to be able to achieve six and a half consistently year after year, To make it worthwhile for us to sell these bonds,
I just don't have that confidence. Now, in your calculation of the 2% spread, Did you include the bond fees,
which can be quite substantial, or did you just look at the interest rate delta?
I was just looking at interest rate delta. So what would the bond fees be?
I could work with financial advisors on that. I did talk to the financial advisors on the spread, And we thought that was appropriate, but I can get you more detail.
well, that could be millions of dollars, isn't it? Yes, Sir. Well, I think we ought to consider that before we make a decision on this.
I think we're taking a huge risk if we're going to consider selling half $1 billion worth Of bond funds to dump
into the pension board with no assurance that they're going to be able to make more than a 6% rate.
and my other concern is that if we get voter approval for these bonds, Doesn't that block us from
selling general obligation bonds on our regular 5 to 7 year cycle going forward?
no, sir. It wouldn't prevent you from doing that. It would. We would model it based upon. When we thought we would issue the debt to Determine what other capacity we would have.
but it doesn't. Just because you have authorization, You still are able to issue your other debt.
so in other words, if we approve this half billion, Well, this billion dollar bond program in 2026,
and we get to 2029 when we would normally be considering the next general obligation bond Program,
we would still be able to undertake another billion dollar bond program.
wouldn't we have exhausted our bonding ceiling by doing that?
no, sir. And so see if we can pull up slide 20.
and on slide 20 you'll see what are in the far right hand part of the chart.
in the light blue, we have the 2024 geo bonds that are $750 million not yet issued.
that's still authorized $500 million, assuming that's what we had in pension obligation Bonds,
the $460 million in additional public safety. And then there's $1 billion shown for a 2029 bond program.
now, you the same as dallas isd. As I've referenced several times, They have sought authorization for a lot more than they
can issue in one year. So it's a question of us working on the capacity each year.
so if something happened in 2028 that we were not going to issue the $125 million of Pension obligation bonds,
even though that's how I currently have it modeled, You would just delay that, and that would give you additional capacity to to issue more of
the 2024 bond program earlier. Well, the point I'm making is if we issue these pension Obligation bonds,
that precludes us from any general obligation bond program in 29.
if you actually issue them, it affects it's only affecting how much you can issue in any Given year.
it doesn't prevent you from being able to have a 29 bond program. And well, we could have a bond program, but we couldn't sell the bonds until after we had Issued all of the pension obligation bonds.
if you. That's I'm sorry. Again, on the chart on slide 20, You can see that we start issuing 2029 bonds in
2030, fiscal year 2030, and then in 2031 and through 34, We're able to issue that even with the 500 million,
if something happens that the market doesn't change and we don't issue 125 over those four Year periods for the pension obligation bonds,
then you could issue more of the 29 bonds. You can do them quicker.
I'm getting to the total on the far right hand column, And that's how much we can issue each year.
what do you want to issue it for? A combination of 24 bonds, Some pension obligation bonds,
some public safety. But right now in our model, We can afford $352 million in fiscal year 27,
489 million in fiscal year 28, 478 million in fiscal year 29.
and we look out our model projects, you know, 25 plus years of what we're going to be able to afford each and every year,
because the debt that we pay, the once we borrow the funds, We pay on those bonds for a 20 year period.
and I keep account and looking forward on all of those 20 years until the bonds are paid Off.
now moving on with regard to the fire station, I don't understand why we can't add a fifth bay to the existing
station, or, since we are already in the process of relocating the other downtown station In the griffin avenue corridor.
why we can't design that to have an additional bay if that's really what we need.
why do we have to start from scratch with another a second all new fire station downtown?
just because we need a fifth bay. Fire department, Where are you?
sorry, what was the question? Well, we're already in the process of relocating fire Station 18.
a land swap, so we'll have a brand new fire station downtown.
why aren't we designing that building? To have the capacity, The additional capacity that you need that you say.
instead, we need to tear down 43 and rebuild a whole new structure there because.
so that's the reason for replacing the station is not the base.
like that's just an added thing. It's 72 years old.
it's number one on our list to be replaced. And, You know, we got 59 stations and we cannot just keep kicking it down the
street like we have to replace stations or we're going to have a lot of problems in the Future.
a fire station is that's it's built differently today than it used to be.
it used used to be more like a house. Now it's got a decontamination area.
it's totally different. These these stations don't last 72 years.
not generally. They've got fire trucks that weigh 50,000 pounds that are coming in and out All day.
they have 36 people, 36 firefighters living there, 24 over seven, like 12 at a time.
and it's, it's old and we have to replace some of these stations.
now chief salazar's got some additional information. Councilman ridley daniel salazar, assistant chief with this land swap the parcel of land That we're obtaining to build replacement station
18. Typically when we build new fire stations, We want enough space to build a one story fire station with this
particular new replacement station. It's a two story fire station because we just don't Have the area to make it a one story.
so we're we're a little bit confined with that space, But we've designed it with architects to make it suit our needs.
we will have the same set of equipment at that fire station with a truck and engine to Ambulances and our respiratory protection program
housed at that fire station. Well, I think there are exceptions to your age out rule, Chief.
paul. Fire station 11 in my district. The oldest one in the city is over 100 years old.
and I've been there. I've visited with the fire staff there.
they love the building. They love being in the old building.
and I just don't understand this mentality of, Well, it's over 70 years old.
we got to trash it and start over again. So you know, When you go in a housing development,
they're not they're not all built the same. Some builders build them different than Others.
station station 11 and station 31, I believe they're the only two stations that are older Than fours.
it's probably a different build. I don't know, But their condition is remarkably they've,
they've held up remarkably well compared to station four.
like I said earlier, we go by primarily age, But then there's the condition and
station 11 is also is historic and we are remodeling it, Which is very expensive also.
but fours forces. Forces in much worse condition.
like I said they're not all created equal. Age is just part of it.
some of it is how it was built originally. So with my remaining time city manager, I have a question for
you about the training center. You mentioned in your last comments that you had engaged And exhausted opportunities for value engineering
to reduce the cost. This is the first that I have ever heard that there were efforts to Reduce the cost,
despite my entreaties to do that on numerous occasions. So I'd like to know what exactly you have been able to do to reduce the cost, Which seems to escalate every time we turn around.
thank you so much for the question. Council member. Really, And I do appreciate it. So I'll have dev to go into a little bit more detail,
but there were several things that I think we started out with. There were part of the academy that after we went back, Worked more closely with the department that we were able to remove.
I think there was a conversation publicly some months ago regarding I believe there was an Auditorium that was included as part of the design.
after going back and even getting the feedback from the city council, Those were the types of things that we removed from the programs.
and I'll have jenny go into a little bit more detail, But we looked at what are the absolute most important things that are needed in that basic
academy. We also know that our team members toured and had a chance to go see other Academies around the country for cities that are comparable to the city of dallas.
and there were things that we were able to adjust along the way. But jaynie, if you want to talk about some of the ways that we've looked at the overall Value engineering of the project and some of the things that we were able to remove,
because that has been council member really what we've been doing over the last year.
sure. And thank you for the question. So one of the things that we did early on was look At the ceiling height for the classrooms in the buildings,
because we it was a very lovely building with very tall ceilings. But, but it was, it was too much. So those were actually lowered a little bit, I think two feet.
I'd have to go back and get the exact details on that. So we looked at that, there were some material changes that had that we had, You know, switched out to just lower the cost on,
on general materials throughout the, the site. And then there were some landscaping issues or not issues, But amenities that, that we've also looked at reducing or or changing
out how, how we did it. I think it initially some of the landscaping was specked out at Much larger trees,
bushes, shrubs. So that would be, you know, really lush when they moved in. But, you know, you could space out the trees and have, You know, a much smaller gallon size.
and so that that helped reduce the cost as well. So we, we have been looking throughout the course of this project on how to best deliver With the money that we have.
we're looking for. Miss kennedy recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. First, I want to thank chief ball and the city manager for working On getting the air condition fixed on two of my fire stations,
16 and 42, which is one of the things I want to bring up, Is that 42 will be pushed back.
so if there is any way to move it forward I would appreciate looking at that.
and if I remember correctly, the, that fire station was moved up in the bond because it Was hit by a tornado.
and that's why it was moved up in the list over some of the other fire stations.
in regards to the property room, I found out last wednesday that district six was being Considered was being considered for a new location for the property room on bill big.
and in april 15th, the briefing talked about this being potentially divested.
but I know working here that every department signs off and they're asked if the property Is needed or not.
and so I understand that this property is potentially needed.
and so for my residents, I would like to ask some questions about the the property room so That they will know what will what could potentially be moving there.
yes, ma'am. We will have our wonderful property room team come out.
and if you've not had an opportunity to visit the property room, We would welcome that opportunity.
councilwoman thank you for going out recently to see it. I know that there have been others. Councilwoman. Mendelsohn is very well councilwoman Chair mendelsohn is very well aware of the current condition of the the the property
room. Councilwoman wants to ask some questions about the the current setup that we have Right now.
yeah. And major hawkes, you were wonderful in giving me a tour last week, But just for residents who maybe don't know what happens at the property room,
if you could just give a brief overview of what happens there.
yeah. So currently my name is chris hawkins. I'm the division commander over the property Room and the auto pound.
so basically we service our citizens who have had their property either confiscated or Seized,
or maybe the property was involved in an offense or an individual got arrested and they Have to go pick up their prisoner property from the,
from the auto, from the property room. So we service citizens, We service our police officers,
we service the da's. We service our detectives who are getting ready to take evidence to Court,
and then we service other law enforcement agencies if property is recovered within the City of dallas.
and what are the hours of the facility? The hours of our property unit is going to be 7 A.m.
to 7 p.m.. Tuesday through friday, and then saturdays, 8 a.m.
to 3 p.m.. So we're closed sundays and mondays. And do officers from all over the city come to drop off evidence at the property room?
they do. It's a 24 hour operation, and we currently have about 50 employees that staff the Property unit for 24 hours a day.
so I asked a couple of officers and they said that it actually officers, If they're in route to the property room,
sometimes they may stop and take care of some of some issues that they may see along the Route.
so it's actually increasing some of the police patrol in the area with the property room.
so dev or I'm not sure. Jennifer, can you tell me maybe what y'all are looking at doing on The site if this is chosen,
because I think there may be an alternate site as well, But if, if the building site is chosen.
sure. And thank you for the question. So there would be the two facilities that aren't There now would be moved onto that site.
so the property room and then the crime scene. Right now potentially those could be in one building and that the auto pound, The building that they have now we would look at renovating that and instead of having to
demo and rebuild, that would probably be our first option and that we would look at and See if that's a possibility.
so as part of that, we would need to build some structured parking for, To, to cover for the evidence vehicles that are there.
and I think those were the major components that we'd be looking at.
okay. I think, you know, after going on my tour and just learning more about the property Room,
definitely we need a replacement. I do ask just as we move forward that we continue to Look and make sure that,
you know, there's safety and security there. It is not too far from a residential area.
but I know we'll see an increase patrol in that area.
and also because there was some nuisance before, That's actually how I think we were going to divest the property because there were tow
trucks that were leaving vehicles all throughout the neighborhood. And so I just want to Make sure that as we look at the property room possibly moving here,
that we are looking at safety and security, and if people come by bus, Maybe having the bus stop within the facility so that they don't have to wait on the
street and additional lighting as well. And then I think that there are still a couple of Parcels there.
because this would be is this going to go on 1 or 2 parcels.
so what we would be looking at is everything that's contained in the parcel that that has The improvements now or never.
not at this time. Looking at the other parcels. Yeah. So I think if we can look at the other parcels, I know we had talked about that and I think finance committee and divesting it the
community had expressed some interest in affordable housing. And so if there's a way to do that would definitely like to do, You know, have that down as we consider what we can do with the other property
that's there. Thank you so much. And council member, We we have looked at the, at this particular site and we understand the
community's concerns and the concerns that you expressed to us previously.
and so part of what's in the cost estimate is that added security for the site work as Well as you know,
as we do with, with all these bond projects, We have community engagement and we'll be working with you and your team to make sure
we're, we're addressing those concerns as we move into a design phase. If this is the, the site that's selected. Yeah.
and thank you so much for I know we're already in conversation about setting up a Community meeting.
so thanks so much for making yourselves available to do that. Appreciate it. Thank you. Chair moreno, you recognized for five minutes.
thank you. Mayor. So I'm in favor of keeping all options on the table.
I'm supportive of giving sticking to our practice, Of giving the voters the option to support or oppose a,
a bond proposition. I am definitely in support of delivering the long overdue training Facility,
the public safety facility, updating our 911 centers and making sure that we are Delivering on what the
residents have said is their number one priority. I do have a question for for our attorneys. Back when I was on park board back in the 2017 Bond,
I know it was a huge advocate for parks myself. But I got explicit direction from our attorneys that I would not be able to advocate or Oppose a,
a proposition. So I just want to get some clarity from our attorneys on once this if this Does move forward,
what can we do? And what are we I guess barred from doing as a council member?
I think, I think that question was directed to our city attorney. So. No modernization.
mr. Mayor, we have the city attorney's office prepares a political activities memo for Both elections
that you think. Oh, is this a terrible sound?
the sorry. We do election memos for both candidates.
what is going on for candidates and for measures on ballots?
we will be distributing it next week. When the at the next council meeting, I'll have hard copies.
and I'll also have a memorandum for everybody that outlines the what you're allowed to do.
but generally speaking, you cannot use any public resources to advocate for a measure on a Ballot.
for or against any advocacy. Okay. Thank you for that.
I will say I do have you know council member willis brought up some points that I, That I do have pause and concern with pushing projects back that were part of the 2024
bond program. So I want to keep some flexibility there, But I also want to keep in mind that the voters have been promised a law enforcement prior
to 2024. So in reality is this one project has continuing to be pushed back.
and so I have a lot of concern of pushing any project back from the 2024.
those might be pushed back a year, maybe six months.
but the reality that we have to keep in mind is that this training facility has been Overdue for,
for decades. And so let's, let's keep that in mind when we're talking about those projects That might get pushed back,
but also with the the property room and making sure that that we keep options.
I'm interested in what's going to happen to the old location where the property room is Currently today.
if this moves forward, what we do with that piece of property, Does it become does it become surplus?
is, you know, I know that it's adjacent to dart. So dart might be interested in that property in that location.
and then lastly, I think I just want to thank the staff for, For the presentation and taking the time to meet with us independently to
answer any questions ahead of time and for allowing us to continue walking through this Process.
that's all I have for this round. Thank you. Mayor. Miss blair, You recognized for five minutes.
thank you. Mayor. With a pension, we. I believe that if it wasn't at hb 3158
that put us in a position where we are having to bring the pension up to speed in over a 30 year period.
so house bill 3158 was an important piece of legislation regarding the dallas police and Fire pension system.
it did put in place several different changes change of governance.
the board has changed significantly. There were some changes in the benefits, But the texas pension review board is the one that requires a 30 year funding plan,
separate and for all pension systems in the state of texas. And so the funding plan that the council approved in december fully funds our 30 year Funding plan.
and we're on a path to fulfill that. The pension obligation bonds does provide an Additional opportunity to mitigate some of those costs to the
city, though. So we the legal ruling and everything that went along with the pension we Are in this this bond
package is going to help us fulfill that and get us where we need to be in the 30 year Time period.
is that not correct? Well, I would prefer to describe it as we have a plan that will meet The requirements,
but the plan that we have in place does come with some increased contributions over the 30 Years,
and those that is going to result in some very difficult decisions by the city council on How to fund those increases.
and so to to deal with those significant increases, There's a potential of offsetting that through the use of pension obligation bonds.
as long as we make the contributions, the way we've laid out, There's not an issue, we will meet the the refunding requirements.
it's just going to require some sacrifice on the general fund.
the pension obligation bonds is an opportunity to get some of that cost off of the general Fund.
okay. So and one of the things we need holistically is to take some of the pressure off of Our general fund.
is that not correct? That is absolutely correct. I think we're going to have to make some significant sacrifices along the way.
if we do not make some very significant changes in our operating budget.
and if I could just add, thank you for the answer to our cfo.
we've had a very busy summer. The realities of that are not five years away.
the reality is right now, and as we go through and start talking to you next week as part Of the budget that we've laid out for 27 and
for 28 these are not going to be easy years. And so we again, As I stated earlier, we see and we know what those
impacts are. What's happening right now, what the forecast look like and there will not be Easy years.
so because of our commitment and the requirement to be able to pay what we've included in The current plans,
having a way to look at long term, how we can continue to focus on bringing down some of Those costs.
we're not waiting to have the conversation. And so I know that this is a very difficult Discussion to have,
because we know that it requires us to go and issue additional debt at some point.
but I cannot tell you that there's a lot of different ways to get around what the general Fund impacts are going to be, and we're dealing with the reality of it.
now, in 28, you're going to see the same exercise that we've gone through over the summer.
and so when mr. Allen talks about those sacrifices, We understand that fiscal stewardship is important.
we have to continue to think outside of the way we budgeted in the past.
and a lot of the decisions that we know that this council is asking us to make, We've got to do it.
understanding that those pressure points are not going to be relieved overnight.
it's going to take very sound financial management. And so that's why we're here, and that's why we're talking about the pension obligation Bonds for the uniform pension today.
and the ramp up period is not something that we can say we don't want to ramp up.
it's something we must do in order to get us where we need to be, And to make us adhere to all of the guidelines
that hb and, and all of the all of the obligations we have as a city to the pension board.
does that not correct? That is absolutely correct. We have worked very long and hard with this council, And that's why I talk about it was this council that actually put a plan forward that was
adopted and approved, that has has allowed us to really calm down.
a lot of the anxiety that I know when I came into this role that was happening, We did not have a plan.
we were still debating. We were still running back and forth to austin to kind of figure Out what we were going to do. So that was delivered,
and this council supported it. And we did say, As we've had many discussions with our pension friends,
that this would be something that we would have a conversation about and if it was Appropriate and at the right time,
we would work with this city council to see how you would like to move forward.
but pension obligation bonds are not written into the plan, But it has always been discussed.
and when mr. Ireland talked about this has been a three year or so conversation.
he's absolutely correct. These have been discussions. There have been many attempts. We know our retirees came down and spoke over a year ago, And they were asking at that time to go ahead and issue pobs.
and we knew that it was going to take a lot more due diligence on our part.
and so what you have before you is the work that we've been doing, Even since the plan has been adopted,
on what we can do to look forward and make sure that we're finding ways to relieve the Pressure that we will have on the general fund.
so it's not optional, it's required, and we will have to have this done by 2055.
correct? That's the 30 year. I can't remember the exact date.
54, 2054, 2054 yes. Oh, I was trying to give us an extra year.
how about that extra year? Yes, I'm generous and we have a schedule as part of the plan That was adopted.
we have a schedule that shows what the payments are currently committed for and forecasted To be over that that period of time.
and so we can definitely share that information with the city council. Again, if you'd like to see what those payments are going to be. Okay. So now it's Changing the,
the discussion to proposition you and our police hiring.
we are obligated by the voters and prop you to hire 900 more, Employ more police.
is that not correct? So proposition you has a lot of complexities, But first and foremost,
it requires that we use 50% of our year over year growth in unrestricted revenue.
so 50% of our growth. And that first and foremost, We fund the dallas police and fire pension system.
and as long as we are doing that and until we have more revenue than those annual Contributions,
we do not actually have to go to the other components of proposition you.
if there is excess revenue after the police and fire pension contribution.
then it goes to the adding the officers and increasing the pay.
but we are completely compliant with proposition you through our contribution to the Police and fire pension fund.
however, we realize that it is a priority of the council and the community to hire more Officers and to increase pay,
but that is not a proposition you requirement, But it's something that the council has made the conscientious
decision to hire more and pay more. Correct. Yes, Ma'am.
and in my opinion, that is going above and beyond the requirements of proposition you.
but it is a priority, and I understand that. Weren't we supposed to, In 2025 hire 350 more officers?
so if I could just jump in for just a minute. Thank you so very much for the questions, councilwoman blair.
the good news is, is that the hiring goals that have been established.
we talked to council last year that in the current budget, How many we were going to project to hire.
we talked about, you know, by the time we get to 2028 the goal would be to have the Department at about 3800 sworn officers.
I think that would be the highest that we've seen. And we're on track to do exactly that. And so I'm really pleased with the way our police Chief and that entire team,
how they've approached our recruitment. We have another class starting, I think in just a few weeks and have another class that'll start sometime in september.
so we are on track. Councilwoman. Blair by the end of 2027.
over this last two year period, we would have hired 750 officers. Absolutely wonderful. And so the goals are being met or exceeded and we will continue.
so but when we came through this, we also came to the realization, Well, 2024 bond package.
we. We made the conscientious decision at that time to. That we would finally honor our responsibility and our promise to our police officers and Take them out of that shoe,
if you will, of a training facility. I'm not. And I have to give it to our chief of police and on the.
and our previous chief of police who could hire and train in the facility, I toured it.
it was unique to say the. And like most of the things we have, We have not been great stewards of,
of our properties. But I respect the fact that we are training out of what we are Training.
and I think that over 30 years it's promise enough and it's time to honor our promises to Those
that we say we want to protect us. And I don't.
I don't have any qualms. I was on the 2024 subcommittee, The subcommittee that made the recommendation for the 5050 million.
I thought then it was not enough. I think and each day that I see, It's truly not enough.
I totally support putting in a new facility that will provide our police officers with What they deserve in
order to train, in order to put who they put on the streets.
in order to serve, we have to, to, to provide for them if we want them to serve us.
and, and I work well with your, your police officers city manager.
they support me, I support them. I will do, I will continue to support them.
and with that being said, I support what what we have done, What we are doing, and what we are going to do in order to build the new
facility. I don't think that it is a choice. I think at this point in time it's an Obligation.
it's a and it's an obligation that previous councils should have come away with and did Not.
but it's up to us to do what's right and to do what's fair in order to make the city what We need it to be.
thank you much, mayor. Deputy mayor pro tem, You recognized for five minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. Are there any. And you can just answer yes or no.
and if it's yes, jack, you just get with me later. Are there any past bonds that we still have funding for?
maybe go all the way back to 2006. The only bonds that I'm sorry, Are you speaking to authorize?
not yet issued or bonds that we have the funds that we are still spending?
both. So the only bonds that we have voter authorization for that we have not yet issued Is the 24 bond program.
as far as bonds that have been previously issued that are still being spent. I'll let jenny address that. Sure. So we do have bonds that have not been allocated going Back to 2006.
and we actually have a quarterly report and I can send that to your office that we update The finance committee showing how much has been spent and how much is left over.
so I can send that to you. Thank you so much, City manager.
I have a saying when I took office, there are some things that fell into my lap, And I say that it may not have been my fault,
but it becomes my responsibility. And it seems like that's what I heard you say earlier When councilman bazaldua was asking his questions,
which I understand where his frustration was coming from based off of his history and what He was saying. And so is that correct that I think I heard you say that you wasn't even in
the seat and you was trying to get this information when you got in the seat, And therefore it seemed like you're trying to be more transparent,
accountable, accountable, accountable, and right or wrong, If I can say it like that, that was done to get everything completely taken care of.
is that correct? That is correct. One of the first priorities that I know that this Council shared early on in my tenure as the interim city manager,
was the importance of us getting our agreement across the finish line with the university Of north texas at dallas.
we were still working with our state funding, And we know that our fundraisers were working on their strategy.
and so it became a priority and we worked together to get there.
I know that many of council members help call on legislators. When we were getting additional funding that came in to support the project, And then we worked collectively to get the agreement across the finish line with the
university of north texas at dallas. One of the things that I learned early on, After listening and going through files and folders about the project,
is that having real plans on the table to identify how much money was going to be needed.
I could not identify where those plans were. We had a number. We had no lease agreements. We had no designs.
and so we have worked over the last two years to, To get those deliverables across the finish line.
and so then we learned that based on the current needs and the type of facility that would Even compare to other training academies of other
large cities around the country, that there were some needs that were had not been Identified,
that had not even been built into the planning. And so we have been working within the department.
I mentioned some of the tours that have happened with other police departments around the Country that we realized very early on that based on the needs
and the types of additional programs that we could not put on the campus, That we were going to be needing to identify a strategy that allowed for us to
deliver both, and how the funding would then be realized.
and so that's what we have been doing. We have had repeated meetings internally about ways That we could deliver both of these programs,
the one on the campus and the additional facility off the campus to include those other Components that we can't put on a college campus.
and this is what we've arrived at, but it has not been an overnight.
it's been months and months and months and I would say two years worth of work, Between myself and with this team to get us down to what we believe are numbers that will
allow for us to deliver two state of the art facilities that we will all be proud of for Many years to come.
and so that's what you have in front of you today. Thank you for clearing that up and Going more into detail.
chief. Come on. I would like to ask you a few questions and ask you is coming.
I remember when cadillac heights, when I first got elected, The voters community told me that cadillac heights was supposed to get a police academy
years ago, and it was voted on and it never happened. So we can't fail twice at producing, saying we're going to do something and it never comes To fruition.
and so, chief como, can you can you talk about this police academy?
I know I spoke with you before and we just did knon this past weekend talking about a Little bit,
but we didn't get dive into it the way it needed because we ran out of time. But the Importance of this and the community voted.
the citizens voted to support the police department. I believe this part that support. So if you could talk a little bit about that police Academy in detail and what it would what it entails and the importance of it.
good afternoon all. So the biggest thing with our police academy, And I've been around the country in a lot of different police
departments throughout my career working for the federal government, I got to see many, many police academies,
training facilities, gun range. And and you've heard me mention this before, Dallas is way behind.
it we have nothing when it comes to police training facilities that we should be proud of In dallas.
and it was quite disappointing when I went to qualify for the first time at our range, I could not believe and and I actually thought it was a joke.
when they took me to qualify, I thought they were playing a joke on me at first.
the facilities are subpar. And I believe one of the things that bringing a new academy to Dallas will also
bring better officers, because what happens with that?
we're not just hiring people who qualify to become officers.
we then have a pool to choose from so we can take the best of the best to protect the Citizens of dallas and what we have right now.
the dallas police department is doing an amazing job because of the reputation of the past To still bring officers in,
but we are not getting. I feel like if we have better facilities, We'll get the best of the best to come to dallas,
because this is one of the top police departments in the united states, But the facilities are not there.
and at some point we're going to hit a wall and we will not be able to recruit like we are Doing now.
thank you for that. I understand what it's like to most of us have in leadership where you Come in and you have to
right or wrong, go back and fix things that was pretty much not done correctly, If I can say it that way.
and I heard the city manager, she's not trying to diminish anyone's character.
she's trying to get something completed and across the finish line that was, In my opinion,
not done correctly. With that being said, mayor johnson has assigned me and allowed me to Serve on the public safety committee.
and I ran on public safety. It is my number one priority and I've listened to our mayor Say the same.
and so I will be supporting the bond. I'm supported because we promise to support public Safety and having trained officers,
if you can talk a little bit about that, having having a facility, And you heard me mention earlier in cadillac heights where it was a promise for a police
academy and it was never done. And now we have another opportunity to right a wrong.
if you can talk about the importance of having not just the facility, But the facility, to make sure that our officers are trained and etcetera,
and how important that would be for all of our communities. When you're talking about the holistic view, Holistic view of public safety.
well, the interesting thing is I went back and I started doing some research on dallas and The dallas police department prior to me even putting in for the job.
and one of the things that I noticed was this has started when I was graduating from high School.
and if you go into the newspaper, it shows in 1987 in may is when the city was promising The police department,
an academy. And one of the reasons why I became extremely interested in this job is I saw That the city was saying that they were
going to get a new police academy. So that excited me as a police chief and trying to Position myself in the right city.
this is one of the reasons why I applied and and put in for this job, Because what dallas was talking about doing in the future.
and right now, I kind of feel like as I'm going through this, I kind of feel like, well, wait a minute,
are we backing away from what's been put out there since 1987?
and I go around talking all the time about what we're getting and has been have been Talking to the university about the future.
and we have some really big plans with that university. And for us to even be hesitating on something like this, I think it's terrible as a city.
and chief williams is a sign at the academy, And he has a few things.
yeah, councilmember johnson, I greatly appreciate it. Yeah. As chief mentioned, one of the other expanding things is just as much as we're Investing in the men and women to come work in the organization.
it's also the reinvestment and in the 3400 men and women that work here. Providing that additional space and new spaces to reinvest and provide additional training For the existing men and women that serve the city is just as crucial.
and that's what this space also provides and is greatly appreciated.
thank you again. I will be supporting this bond.
we need it. We need we need to make sure that we complete it.
I, it's not my job to be beat it up. And who didn't do this and and the reason why they Didn't do it.
leadership goes forward. And so when you're going forward, You fix the problem by going forward and addressing the problems and going,
as I think city manager said it in a, in a very nice professional way that we're not going To harp on the past.
we got to deal with it, acknowledge it, but we have to fix the problem. And so the voters voted for a public safety. They want to make sure that we have officers,
but they also want to make sure that we have trained officers in the facility that can get That job done.
so I support dpddpdi will be continuing to support dpd and I support public safety and I Will be voting for this.
and I'm asking my community to vote for this and the citizens of dallas to vote for this, Because we need to make sure that the same police department,
that service all of the city of dallas, our officers are trained and have the facilities Needed to get things done the way you envision as the chief.
so thank you so much, mr. Mayor. I will be supporting this. Thank you, city manager, chairman west, you recognized for five minutes.
thank you. Mayor. First off, I will I'd like to say to jack and to dev
and to jenny. Great job on putting together a very succinct presentation and for your Stamina today in getting through this,
I'm going to separate my comments and questions into three tranches pension bonds, First,
public safety, city service facilities. Second, And then general monetization.
monetization of city assets third. So going to the pension bonds this is a really a Question,
I guess for maybe city attorney can't we can authorize as a city a special bond election Every six months.
right? So there are two uniform election dates a
year in may and in november. Okay. Right. So we could do it.
that's that's my, my point with asking that question. You know, the rates are bad right now. We have a plan in place to meet our obligations for The pension,
which a lot of people worked very hard to get there. We, we, I don't see anybody clamoring for us to put this out to voters right now.
so I understand our desire to have flexibility. I hear you with that, but I also don't think that I don't see the urgency in moving Forward with this proposition right now.
when we could bring it back up in the future. That's my feeling on the pension bonds. Secondly is and let's go to slide 19.
I think it would be useful for this.
great. Okay. When we we went out to voters and when the different advocates and Fundraisers went out to voters,
my understanding is that the police academy is what was promised.
and as the chief just mentioned, the police academy is what has been promised for decades.
the police academy here is encompassed in items one and two.
is that correct? Yes, that is correct. Okay. Because we've made that promise and that Obligation and as you
mentioned, dev, because, you know, we have already we knew this when we were going in into The last bond that it was there was going to be more cost to it.
I fully support moving forward with one proposition for items one and two.
I believe the eoc and 911 facility is equally important that we take care of those Personnel.
I think that's a different that's a different proposition in my mind, Because it's not related to the police academy,
and it's also tied up in the whole city hall discussion in general.
so I think it deserves to be a separate proposition in and of itself.
the other three propositions I am not familiar with. I am. I don't feel comfortable enough putting those forward at this time.
I need more information to get on board with them. I'm certainly sensitive to needing good fire stations and maintenance facilities, But with some of the other promises we've made,
you know, in the appendices to, to our parks and recs facilities, Our streets, complete streets I saw is going to be getting delayed in there.
like a lot of these other things that we've been promising the voters. I have a hard time pushing, pushing those back because we're wanting to, To get some new,
new additional new items in public safety. So I have concerns with 4 or 5 and six.
now I want to go to bill beg for a second. And then this is going to bring me to my third Section of real estate in general.
so we've been looking at the real estate master plan for the city for years and gp and now In the finance committee.
and we're finally to the point we're going to be, I understand, getting a briefing by cbre and staff this fall on our real estate master
plan. I see our monetization as our assets is really needing to be a top priority.
I think mr. Bazaldua mentioned this. We, you know, We have all these budgetary issues and right now,
and we we have 50, 000 acres of real estate in the city.
and we don't have a master plan. So it's and bill was one of the top five pieces of Property that we were looking at because of its
proximity to interstate 30. It's it's in a developing area in district six.
and, and the, the massive amount of land in one contiguous parcel.
and so for us to not be briefed on this evidence theory building that could be going There.
and for us to be utilizing this land without a good real estate analysis.
I have a concern with that. Your time that was passed. Thank you. Okay. That's most of my points, I appreciate it.
well, you have more rounds if you need them, But we're going to go. Chairwoman mendelsohn for three minutes. Thank you.
mayor. And if you would just give me a one minute warning, That'd be great. You got it. I just want to say first that as we think about our spending and our debt and our budget.
I am glad to see that there is a focus on public safety. And there's just one thing though. If we really cared about public safety, We wouldn't be delaying seven other
2024 bond public safety projects in the appendix.
and the irony of delaying public safety projects to support public safety can't be lost on People.
second, if we really cared about public safety, We would be paying our police and fire officers in the top five of the metroplex as we
should, which were not even in the top ten. And third, We would put the academy on the ballot as its own separate
proposition. Now, the total bond proposal that we have had here today, It looks like public safety,
but it reads like a financial nightmare. Here we are with almost another billion dollars.
dallas loves to talk about $1 billion. We can't sit here and say, Oh, I support public safety.
so anything that comes before us, I'm going to approve. No, we must be responsible with our tax dollars, No matter what the subject is.
the police academy weirdly listed with two different names that are very confusing, Which I have pointed out previously.
this project needs funding. Only $50 million went on the 2024 bond and that was completely Inadequate.
I spoke up about this with our city manager at the time, Not our current one, and that's all he was willing to do.
last year, plano passed a $51 million bond for their police academy with only 300,000 Residents.
if we were equating on a per capita basis, that bond for our police academy should have Been over $200 million,
and the real costs and challenges of building on a college campus were not shared with the City council and have led to many of these
cost escalations. It's not that there's a gold plated academy going on, It's that there's some real challenges.
if we don't get this right, our city will be on a terrible trajectory.
no other aspect of 30s. I missed your one minute warning.
give you two more seconds and I'm fired. No other aspect of our city is more important Than ensuring we have an appropriate staffing level of
professionally trained police officers. Are you?
I couldn't hear the last thing you said. Were you were you? Were you telling me my time Was up?
I talked over 10s of you to tell you that you only had 30s.
so ten more seconds. Okay, I'm just going to say that's your last comment.
I'm just kidding. Just kidding. You knew I was going to do that. I'm sorry. Go ahead. I'll give you ten more seconds. For real? I'll get.
I'll just do it in 30s. My last comment is the dallas residence.
public sentiment does not make the passage of this bond likely.
the residents of dallas would like to get. That really is every single one of us.
sorry. Gotta be fair, gotta be fair. We're going to go to mr. Roth now for for three minutes. Well, then I would like to do my one minute and I'll say This whole thing again.
that's fine. That's fine. Thank you. I just want to make it absolutely clear that I want Funds
available as a tool so that we have the resources if we need it, And only
for legitimate, economically responsible projects.
the fact that we if we can get the ability to have this line of credit available to the City as a financial tool,
I think is important. I think that this is an opportunity for the population to understand What our priorities are and to to
vet whether they would allow us to at least have that line of credit for these types of Particular projects that the that the population has really been demanding.
I want to make it absolutely also clear that I am not going to endorse or approve or, Or promote
any real estate project, any development project, Any construction project that I think is not being handled properly.
that is not being costed out properly, that is over budget or is being being not handled Well.
and if we don't have the money for something, This money and this line of credit is not going to get spent.
and that also is a message to the police. It's a message to the fire department.
it's the message to the management. It's the message to every department that just because We have a line of credit doesn't mean that it gets spent
unless it's legitimate. And I'm going to fight tooth and nail. And I would demand that our council members also take the same position to be fiscally Responsible.
if we have that pot of money available to us.
that's what the issue is here. Everybody is distrust that once we get money, We're going to spend it.
and that's not correct. What we need to do is be financially responsible.
and if we don't look at the numbers, if we can save money by making a four bay into a five Bay instead of building a new one,
we should do it. If we only have 20, if we're 20 million shy on a on a project, Then we're only going to build what we have the money to do it
for. And it's we're not going to spend the extra money just because we have it. And if we have to, to deal with with with legitimate costs in, In our budget here, we're going to figure out where that money comes from.
but I want to have a line of credit that we have the ability that we don't have to go Begging and be under pressure in an emergency
situation if we need funds. And so I just this is my position and I want to know where we If we can figure out a way to have ask for more
money from the public as that authorization. Thank you.
chairwoman willis recognized for three minutes. Thank you mayor. So to that point you know, we fulfilled our obligation to the pension Fund with the funding soundness restoration plan.
that was our obligation. It's $11 billion over 30 years. Jack, you pointed out that in just four years, There is a jump up of over $100 million on top of this.
220 230. I mean, we're looking at these numbers. We already know what's coming our way. This is huge.
this is a lot of money. And that's a big hill to climb. I again, I made my points about the pension obligation bonds.
I do want written into this resolution that its actual rate of return not an assumption.
and the ten year rolling period. I think we should take this down to $250 million.
and the goal there is to. Well, actually let me back up, Jack, where did $500 million come from?
$500 million was an amount that we issued in pension obligation bonds for urf.
and that's what we carried in this discussion. But that was in 2005. That actual amount would now be worth about $855 million or so.
but 500 million was the amount that we borrowed at that time in pob, So it's not looking ahead at the you know,
once we hit 2030 and we've got that massive jump up, It's not looking at here's where our revenue is increasing and all of that.
and then here's where we think we could be, you know, Having a gap. It was just based on it was based on the e r, F, as well as factoring it into our debt service model.
knowing you have the 24 bond program, you're going to want a 29 bond program, And trying to work it in $500 million was an amount that we could
reasonably work in without having much negative impact on all the other types of things You may choose to do.
well, I'll go back to the appendix, and I just I don't want to see any infrastructure Projects delayed.
again. That's what residents have said is their number one concern.
and so many of them are actually city wide. So they help multiple districts on some of the Other projects,
police facilities, that sort of thing. I just, I don't want to leave those on the table for any longer than they need to be.
I'd like to live within what we promised when we look at the facilities.
I haven't even talked about that yet. You know, I'm sorry. I don't consider these baubles or new baubles.
I do not think this is folly. I think this is to the point that dpd has made.
we've got a great police force and we need to have the facilities that befit their Commitment to us every single day.
and so I am supportive of those. I am a little concerned.
I know we've got a fundraising team. I think part of the public safety charge was a task Force to oversee private fundraising.
and I know we've got some committed, hard working volunteers, But I don't know that we really have a task force that can go out and attack these these
hundreds of millions of dollars in funds. I would love to see us make a commitment to That,
with maybe some professional assistance there, Or beefing up that task force so that every dollar that we get toward sponsoring
something, naming something at these facilities can come off of this bond.
I know we're going to have to go to the voters to approve this, But if we can still keep the throttle down and raise a lot of money around all of these
projects, I think that only will help us in the end. But, you know, hearing our police force talk about bringing crime scene, Evidentiary vehicle storage and property room together,
they were so excited about that. And it's not sexy, But I think we need to do it.
if I could just jump in, mr. Mayor. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you so very much, councilwoman willis, For your comments about how we can better hopefully engage and create even more of a sense
of urgency around the fundraising efforts. What I can tell you is that based into the Model and the numbers that we're showing you right now.
we have included for the fundraising team to meet the commitment.
we've also started the work that our team is actually doing through another foundation That is being established to support the department ways that we can get even more
corporate support of the second facility. So those efforts are definitely underway.
we would love to hear from any council members. And we can do it outside of this meeting if there are certain strategies that you believe That you'd like for us to pursue that we've not pursued.
but we are looking at ways that we can activate our business community.
we are very blessed with the help of several of you. And I know that our chair of public safety and how we were able to approach our cu trip, It was a complete team effort.
I think we all spent time talking about this commitment that the city has and how public Safety continues to be a priority.
and so we applaud the efforts that went into that. So we're definitely working to identify those other strategies as well as those other Partnerships.
and I know that our chief is out there. I've said, Hit the road and go talk to everybody that we need to talk to,
to, to continue to show the excitement, the work, The output that's happening across the city with,
with our public safety efforts. So we welcome that feedback and do appreciate the focus on How we can continue to get sponsorships and support.
overall, I do know that we're going to be coming. We've talked about looking at an overall sponsorship policy that we can start looking at Not only this particular program around public safety,
but other ways that we can truly start building partnerships for some of our other Important priorities and functions around the city.
so thank you for your comments. Chairman moreno, You recognized for three minutes.
thank you mayor. I am going to be supporting this bond proposal with that final number.
looks like which projects get pushed back. I think that we still need a little bit more Time on how we're going to deliver that.
I do want to keep all options on the table. That includes real estate offloading, Real estate.
that includes, again, selling those those buildings, Those public private partnerships.
our fundraising team, which I think has done a great job, But we need a little more there.
so I have a question. When it comes to our bond obligations, I know that we have a number that we need to meet every year.
once, if this bond were to go forward and approved the dollars that are right now being Used to pay our obligation,
will that free up general revenue to be used for other items if needed, When needed?
I'm not sure that I really got the question. Did you do?
sure. So so we have a number that we are obligated and that we're committed to funding the Pension annually.
currently, yes. Currently, if we if we approve and the voters pass the bond, The bond for the for
the pension, will that free up general revenue dollars?
thank you. And I apologize, I missed part of the question. Not until we actually issue the bond. So getting authorization step one.
step two will be monitoring and identifying when the market is correct. Three would be coming back and getting your authorization to actually issue the bonds.
after we actually issued the bonds, the pension obligation bonds, Then yes, it would reduce our annual contribution and it
would reduce your general fund contribution as a result.
and you're picking up that cost on the debt service. Exactly. So jack answered it perfectly. It would allow for the future.
we talked about the future, the pain points that we have now, The general fund and how our pension payment grows.
it would give us the opportunity. It's almost like having a cash infusion into the pension Fund that then the annual payment that right now gets calculated
up through the whole process that we've laid out in the pension plan through the adc.
it would then have the ability that that funding that we would normally pay directly out Of the general fund,
that the bonds would allow for us to be able to have. It's almost like we have more cash to work with.
and so that's the way that we would see those bond dollars being used going forward.
and that is exactly how we use those dollars. When when we issued it on the, the, the urf side of the house.
so yes, thank you. And so I see our fundraising team in, In the gallery here with us
in the event. And when they bring in additional dollars and let's say we haven't purchased Those bond
dollars. Year two or year three. And we have an influx of cash to be able to help fund our Training
facility. What does that do to those dollars that haven't been committed yet or haven't Been
sold? Do we have to move forward with that or do they do they just kind of roll off?
so so the way we we handle the bond program is we work with jack and the financial team in Terms of selling those bonds on an annual basis.
and then as you saw, similar to the 2024 bond program, We allocate those dollars to projects within the propositions.
and so you know, but we can shift those based on, On on the conditions.
so we would just continue to monitor I think council member roth or different council Member asked,
well, you know, are, is the language broad enough in the proposition?
so perhaps we may be able to apply those dollars to a different project.
and, and that is also a possibility. And I guess what I'm saying is if we no longer need Those dollars,
because because it's been the gap has been filled. And if we've if we haven't allocated those dollars already into that, That proposition, then certainly we don't have to sell those bonds in,
in the future. Thank you. Okay. The last one is fire station four replacement.
obviously that's much needed. I, I do have some or one concern, You know, that it wasn't part of the convention center package.
I know that there was some discussion there. But another and maybe this is for the, For the fire chief is asked a number of times to go out and get
creative with a multifamily or office developer that will do housing or office above and Do
a fire station at grade level. Have, has those, Have those discussions advanced?
what are we doing to try to do a public private partnership with housing or office and a Fire station on city property at grade level?
thanks for the question, councilman. Assistant chief daniel salazar you know, We did look at that.
we have seen that type of mixed development in other cities such as the northeast, Chicago,
new york, and regrettably, here in dallas. It just convolutes or complicates trying to get The development and all the
coordination with the different stakeholders to make that come to fruition.
we thought in the past when we discussed replacing station four, That that was a possibility,
but things broke off. And you know, we are where we are with the, With the fire station at this moment.
again, let's just keep having those conversations. And if there's a savings that we don't have to use bond dollars to make that happen.
let's continue exploring there. Thank you. Mayor. Yes, Sir. Thank you. Laura cadena, you're recognized for three minutes.
thank you. I think this question might be for jack, But where in this process, because we're bringing new buildings online would we vote on
the financial management performance criteria?
so at this point we are seeking an opportunity to identify the funding strategy for the Projects.
and we aren't really at the point where we're ready to move forward with a, A real estate transaction that would trigger that.
miss tolbert, if you wanted to add more to that, You said it perfectly.
right now, we understand that if the propositions are not successful, Then we definitely have,
as we've talked about, the gaps or the no funding at all. And at that time, council would need to either direct whether or not if we do not deliver These projects or if we do something totally different.
and so that's why we believe that it's important to really understand if there's funding Support.
I know that there have been comments made about the actual academy and us breaking ground In september.
we committed last year when we completed the, The agreement the lease agreement with unt dallas and we also committed to the
state that within a year of those agreements we would be moving forward with the Groundbreaking is scheduled for september the 3rd.
am I concerned that next year we would start the project and we would, If we didn't get this additional funding,
that we might get to a standstill. I would say yes, Because I think that that's not the scenario that we want.
and we definitely do not believe that it would be in the council's best interest Politically for people to say that we've run out of money for the projects.
so we definitely want to make sure that we understand where we are before we would say That we're ready to proceed. But thank you for the question. Hopefully that answered it
for you. Yes. Thank you. I just want to make sure the public, You know, clarifies and they are aware.
I also want to say I do agree with councilmember west that perhaps item two, One and two should be bundled.
I'm concerned about the other items being bundled with the emergency operation center and.
911. And then lastly, I also agree with him about the real estate plan.
if possibly divesting of the building site, we could get more money from it than building On it.
if we could look at that before we do anything. So thank you. We definitely want to look at all the potential considerations.
I think there have been some comments about monetization of assets that have come up.
we've looked at that and I know we are still working to bring back a fully baked real Estate plan to the city council.
but what I can tell you is that based on even some of the assets that we've looked at, The amount of funding that we're talking about which also includes like selling the gun
range if we were to move and do something differently. Many of those would not produce the Level of funding that we're talking about here,
but we definitely will continue to look for those opportunities to see how we might be Able to look at assets as another way to continue to support some of the overall needs
that we have. I know the deferred maintenance continues to be a hot topic.
and we understand that currently, with even how we have properties that we might sell, That funding is going into that major maintenance fund and it is
helping us. Is it enough? Absolutely not. And so there would still be a conversation with The council about if we have asset sales,
how much percentage goes to maybe a project and how much would go into deferred Maintenance.
I think we still want to have that direction from the council policy. So thank you for that. Thank you. Mr. Roth recognized for one minute.
I'd like to request that the staff consider expanding the current need requirement Requirements to include $100 million
minimum for city hall capital improvements. I'd like you to also consider up to 20, Up to $50 million
for rec center improvements and library improvements as as perhaps separate line items or Defining
the the proposition so that those types of uses could be absolutely in there.
I think it's specific requirement for those particular items would be important, And I would request that we increase the the amounts to
include a minimum of those amounts. Thank you.
gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Thank you.
well, to the point about the real estate master plan that we'll be hearing in the fall, I think it's great that we're taking that step and we're looking at how we can divest
properties we don't need, but it's not going to be a magic bullet on all of this.
and to the point about philanthropy, I do think we need professional assistance because, You know,
chief como should be the closer. He shouldn't have to be managing this with his staff. That's not what they do. That's not their core competency.
but with regard to adding to this program, I mean, To the point that was made about really vetting costs and understanding that.
I mean, I don't know that we have the background on that to just throw in $100 million Program.
and we've certainly had a lot of discussion around some of those points. So I would not be In favor of adding to to that.
I would rather take down pension obligation bonds to 250 or 300 and then fully put before The voters the public safety package as one
bundle. Thank you. Chairman ridley recognized for three minutes.
thank you, mr. Mayor. I would second mr. Roth's suggestion that we include 100 million in This bond proposition for repairs to city hall.
I think it was a short sighted practice not to include that.
if we're going to go forward with another bond proposal, I presume that a facility condition assessment was prepared for facilities
four and five on slide 19. And I would like to request that copies of those be provided to The council before we take any vote on,
including those in the bond proposal. So all three of the components in number four and Then the fire station number four.
I mean, number four, chairwoman mendelsohn, you recognized for one minute.
thank you. Dallas residents. Public sentiment does not make passage likely.
the residents of dallas would like to get rid of every one of us. They have lost faith. In us in asking them for $940 million of debt, Plus $624
million of interest at a time when we are doing furloughs is absurd and tone deaf, And a waste of approximately $1 million to run the election.
if the bond is voted down, it spells trouble for the dpd. Private fundraising for the academy who invests philanthropic dollars when the voters say No.
the way to show a commitment to success of the academy is to make it an independent Proposition,
which I believe will pass. But if it's placed with moving 911, I believe we'll see a total failure of this bond project.
and I will join council member bazaldua in telling voters not to support it.
some of the delayed projects include the bellevue parking garage for structural issues, Which I believe is where you want to move 911 based on the rfp that went out.
is your type 43 that's your time closed for ac and electrical problems also delayed.
okay, sorry about that. Chair moreno, you recognized for one minute.
I'm sorry. Kathy stewart, you're recognized for three minutes. You jumped in there on me.
all right, I did jump in because I got. I'm just a little confused.
could someone. So there's been a request and there have been two requests to include $100 Million bond for city hall repairs.
did I remember correctly that we voted that we would not make repairs to this building?
that is correct. Thank you. Okay, so I would think before we should spend any time looking At $100 million bond for city hall
repairs, we we would need to make a decision that that we're reversing what we what we Decided,
however, many weeks ago. So I just, I think perhaps council member moreno could agree or Disagree.
I, I'm, you know, I just think we're in an odd state to ask for something to ask for the Funding for something that we voted that we would not do.
thank you, mr. Mayor. All right. Now we're going to chair moreno.
thank you. Thank you. You know, we're we're talking about.
moving current projects further out from 2020.
from the 2024 bond program, pushing those out. How many more items will we have to push out to be able to accomplish an additional $100 Million?
we'd really have to look at that on a project by project basis. You know, we worked on, on this list, we have about $141 million that we're pushing out.
and so, you know, maybe another 40, 50 projects depending on the size of the projects.
and again, we've been really focused on making sure that we align the projects with the Project schedules.
and with the current plan, we're able to to fund 95% of the, Of the projects in
the, in the five year period. Thank you. I would just be concerned of pushing back Recreation centers,
libraries that have been promised in that 2024 bond program. And as far as pulling out, you know, emergency operations or even fire station number four Or number six fleet maintenance,
that to me, that becomes a small, too small a bond project to push out maybe in may of 2027,
which I don't think it would be worth for the voters for us to call an election for such a Small bond program,
because it would, in my opinion, it wouldn't be worth it. Thank you mayor. For what purpose? Chairwoman mendelsohn, You're out of debate rounds.
okay. Anyone else? Miss kidani, you recognized for one minute.
not for my hand. Yeah. She can't get her hand to go away, So. Okay. Technical issue. Go ahead. You have one minute.
so I know we're doing the 2026 bond when it would be the estimated.
the next bond after that. And the reason why I ask is because my fire station 16 needs to Be replaced.
yeah. And the schedule that we have on slide 20. Our plan is to continue with having a 2029 bond program.
and that is when some of these facilities that we've been talking about would have an Opportunity to come in and we would already be starting our work on
the needs inventory, as well as looking at technical criteria to start identifying those Projects.
and jenny, I don't know if you want to add anything else to the 2029 plan.
no, you actually hit the nail on the head. So we usually start planning for that about two Years ahead of time.
so we'll be getting with council members about that and we'll be briefing committees.
and then we brief council. Usually it's first on the technical criteria and then we go Into needs inventory.
so that's that would be what we would be ahead of 2029. Okay. Thank you. All right. I don't see anyone else.
am I missing anyone? Madam city manager, mr. Mayor, City council, thank you so much for your time today.
we are officially concluded with our planned briefings for today.
thank you. Thank you, madam secretary. Mr. Mayor, Your open microphone speakers remain.
all recite the speaker guidelines. Speakers must observe the same rules of propriety, Decorum and good conduct applicable to members of the city council.
any speaker making personal, impertinent, personal, Impertinent, profane or slanderous remarks,
or who becomes boisterous while addressing the city council will be removed from the room.
for those individuals who are in person for those virtual speakers, You will be removed from the session.
individuals will be given three minutes to speak for those in-person speakers.
you'll notice the time at the monitor when your time is up, Please stop.
for those virtual speakers. I will announce when your time has expired. Also, speakers, please be mindful that during your public comments, You are not allowed to refer to a city council member by name and to address your comments
to mayor johnson. Brandon brandon vance has canceled ron seagal.
my intention is to talk about the history of texas, Because things will happen next year to update the
alamo history, so I'm told. So I thought I'd put my $0.02 in to tell the real story.
I was born four blocks from the alamo. I had mrs morris as my seventh grade texas history Teacher at horace mann junior
high in san antonio. She's the author of authoritarian in this subject, But she's passed away a long time ago.
so we'll start with that, I think. Did y'all get some information here?
this I would love to see actually handed out, Folded up and handed out at every texas driver's
license office through the state. Because we got so many people coming into our state that Have no clue
the unique history that our state has. So I'll let y'all read it over in your due time.
it's very concise. I've used three words to describe this comprehensive.
it is indeed concise and correct. And that's one of my fears
when this quote unquote redo of the history of the alamo or the republic of texas there Will be some correct
things maybe left out. So mrs. Morris were still alive.
she would say, this is the bona fide history of texas.
in brief, in the cliffsnotes version. The other thing referring to our automobile that We're sitting in today
and hearing my first city council meeting. Y'all remember the 70s, 80s, and 90s fram
oil filter commercials the fram oil filter commercials of the 70s through the 90s featured A car mechanic
saying, use a fram oil filter for quality performance now.
or in other words, the car mechanic always says, And boy, does it always.
it certainly applies to what I heard today. You can pay me now or you can pay me later, But you're going to pay me
and someone, at least in this building, forgot to change the oil filter.
it seems like my house in north dallas is built in 82.
it's got issues, but I bring out my wallet, my credit card, And I call the handyman to fix things along the
way. Thank you, thank you. David vos has counseled cookie peden.
cookie peden it's not present. Barbara ventura.
barbara ventura is not present. Jason jones. Jason jones is not present.
margaret mansour. Margaret mansour is not present.
martha trubey.
thank you. Good afternoon. Good evening. I'm here today to talk for the fourth time about A neighborhood concern that we have our neighborhood in kessler park that
I've lived in for 25 years. Public safety issues with criminally negligent pet owners.
it involves the strength and well-being of our community. It has declined due to this public safety issue.
we no longer feel safe to walk on our street due to aggressive dogs being allowed to walk Without a muzzle.
the dasa dallas animal services has all the paperwork affidavits on this particular Aggressive dog attack on june 26th.
das was helpful and moved this case to the prosecutor level april of 2026, But the aggressive dog owner appealed.
our case was given a new prosecutor and a new court date of may 26th, But then it was canceled by melinda helmsley two days prior to that court date.
we don't know why. Our community of neighbors, Concerned citizens seek a proactive resolution before further attacks occur occur.
my thought is the das has professional and intelligent workers, But they seem to be understaffed to resulting in inadequate workforce to enforce the laws
on the books regarding negligent pet owners. Criminally negligent owners of all dogs, Including aggressive dogs,
should be 100% compliant with existing laws or face significant monetary fines.
the strength of our community moving forward, Our community wants to prevent another person or animal from being injured from aggressive
dogs in our neighborhood. I just asked myself the other day, What if all pet owners had aggressive dogs and were not in compliance with our city laws
regarding pet ownership? How long would you live in that kind of neighborhood?
we have now moved forward because we have not heard back from the city prosecutor.
we have filed a petition for small claims with dallas county to recoup some of our vet Bills,
because our dog had to be euthanized on september 11th, 2025.
the whole also, I've heard a lot of things today about 311 and 911. And I would just like to say that 311 in my opinion, Is a call for help and it should take high priority before the situation becomes a 911
call, which involves tearing of flesh or serious bodily injuries, Resulting in ambulance and paramedics to render aid.
and the few times that I've called 911, I've had really good success and I would like to Thank the firefighters and the paramedics of city of dallas.
they responded to a request that I had on santa fe trail with an unconscious gentleman That could have been hit by a bicyclist,
and the fire department came within five minutes. So that was excellent. So thanks for that. But everything else, The das is understaffed and overworked.
thank you. Thank you. Berenice martinez. It's not online.
not in person. Not present. Maya hennessey.
hi. Long day. My name is maya and I live about ten minutes away.
I recently found out that dallas market center is being turned into a data center.
data centers have a significant impact on the environment. A pretty negative impact which affects, which affects residents nearby.
they use massive amounts of electricity which could strain the power grid.
this is the same power grid that is on the children's hospital.
not only does it strain the grid, but it could raise residents power bills.
even with a closed loop cooling. Data centers use mass amounts of water.
the texas water development board stated that 83% of data centers they surveyed failed to Respond
to mandatory water use inquiries. So now these state planners are left with limited Information to strategize how texas will manage all of the
water usage. On top of it all data centers have minimal human staff, So they don't even create jobs.
we have enough data centers. There's another data center like five minutes away from Market center called infomart.
china has the second largest population in the world, And they have less than 500 data centers.
and the usa has the most data centers with over 4000.
we really don't need more data centers. And especially in the great city of dallas so turn Market center into something else and restrict data centers.
thank you. Thank you. It's sarah. Hello? Can you hear me?
yes, we can hear you and see you. You may continue. Editor sarah, 1003, valencia district 14. 911311 at 1000 bellevue.
not so fast. I thought the harsher you learned this real estate person's lesson with the Lemon on lemons.
after spending 20 million to make a new permit, Department could not get a ceo.
the big mistake was that the rfp called for 1400 parking spaces, But the broker staff forgot to check that box and had only 600.
it headed for auction. With our taxpayer dollars now at 30 million, Plus $73,000 a month for security until it was sold.
so let's look at 1000 bellevue, an option for the 911311 center.
in may, consultants stated that the infrastructure in city hall was structurally aging With mechanical,
plumbing, heating, air conditioning, communications and electrical systems operating Beyond their intended eu lifespan.
too expensive to repair. Gotta move. I found they omitted the estimated useful lifespan For all the other 400,000 downtown building options,
so they are unusable as well. Plus, our leadership wants to lease purchase another 80s era Building and expect us to forget their dismal performance taking care of
city hall. So I'm not surprised that the city manager and consultants who reviewed for Central business district locations for 911311 operations missed the
mark again by nominating 1000 bellevue. As you can see by my map.
it's outside the cbd and is in a moderate flood zone and should be disqualified.
to add insult to injury, it was built in 1971, 12 years older than city hall, and its infrastructure is also beyond its life span
and is a rotting, unusable 193,000 190 300 zero square foot.
hulk. It is not and never will be a purpose built, Hardened underground bunker that can withstand all types of threats like 1500 marilla.
the city leased it from ibm for 23 years for parking and acquired it for $1 in 2019.
I count 340 surface parking spaces, of which 275 are taken by the police station next Door.
where are the 137 staff members supposed to park when only 65 are available?
this will be lemon number two. The city manager and her consultants continue to fail to Understand that 911311 location is an
ongoing life and death decision, not just a typical office space acquisition.
say no to 1000. Bellevue. Say yes to saving city hall.
thank you. Thank you. Philip mendenhall. Hausen has canceled nida hussein.
I'm here. Thank you. You may continue. Thank you so much.
good afternoon, mayor. Members of the council. My name is nida hussein, and I am a resident of district two.
I represent myself and my 340 neighbors on maple avenue.
and I'm speaking today to voice our urgent concerns regarding this rapid, Unvetted expansion of mass surveillance in our city,
specifically, the automated license plate readers that are deployed by flock safety.
while we all want safe neighborhoods, treating every dallas resident as a perpetual Suspect by tracking our daily movements does not make us safer.
it violates our fundamental right to privacy. There are practical and civil liberties that are at risk because these cameras don't just Look for stolen vehicles.
they build a massive network of searchable data tracking where we go to church, Where we seek medical care,
who we visit. This data is collected and stored without clear, Robust, independent oversight for 365 days from the date that
the image is taken. Dallas residents haven't been given true public forum to debate Whether we want our public spaces turned into a dragnet,
and furthermore, these independent audits across the country have shown that automated Surveillance algorithms are prone to false positives.
these can lead to high risk mistaken identity police stops, And it puts innocent drivers in danger.
there are policy violations as well and a lack of transparency.
so our city should be a leader in transparency. But the expansion of these cameras and networks directly undermines the spirit of Community oversight.
we're spending public funds on proprietary third party technology where data retention Rules remain vague and public reporting is minimal.
if dallas is going to utilize this technology, Which is this invasive, it must be subject to strict legislative guardrails,
mandatory third party audits, explicit written consent from the communities being watched,
none of which exists in a meaningful capacity today. So our call to action from myself and my more than 300 neighbors is we are urging this Council to please pause any further expansion of flock safety contracts and
please implement a strict data deletion policy that purges non-criminal tracking data Within 24 hours.
please pass a comprehensive, enforceable community control over police surveillance Ordinance.
we deserve safety, but we also deserve our civil liberties. Thank you. Thank you. Elena stephens. Elena stephens.
it's not present. Elizabeth rash. Elizabeth rash is not present.
mitchell. Voss.
is this on now? Yes. Mayor johnson, members of the council.
thank you so much for your time. There's a handout that I've presented to you guys Physically,
but also in your email. So you've got a copy of that. My name is mitchell voss. For the past seven years, My partners and I have owned the lease at 341 unit apartment complex in east dallas,
home to about 500 residents. I'm here tonight not only for our property, But as a voice for the neighborhood and for the people that live and work beside this
building every day. Directly across the street sits the declan zero tenants burned out Units boarded up windows for a long stretch of drew squatters and unhoused people
into buildings. It is killing our neighborhood. And it isn't just my residents saying so. A neighbor down the road, Brian posada on grant,
wrote to me in his words, people feel so unsafe every time they drive through.
things are falling apart and absolutely nothing is being done about it. I feel strongly action has to be taken. And it's not just residents.
brian savage runs sunbeam foods, a business right next to the lease, And has provided meals to local daycares for 54 years.
this year, for the first time those 54 years, His company was victim to an armed robbery,
where he employs nearly 20 people, and now he has to evaluate where he keeps doing Business. In his words, the area has fallen apart with this derelict department and the
community and all that comes along with it. The owner, Lauren, defaulted and walked away.
it's a. Its founder is a hedge fund manager from new york, Now living in aspen. The lender, a core capital recently acquired by a japanese firm, Had an.
had a receiver appointed back in june of last year. And since then they have paid for security only and not a single repair.
the city filed a code enforcement case and then stated in exchange for work, And that the receivership was supposed to do that work was never done.
the property just sits. None of the people live there. My neighbors do, and they absorb it every day.
holding the line is not the plan. I'm here to ask you to force a resolution.
and there are two honest ways to do it. Option one condemn the property and give it to an Owner who will actually fix it,
probably with a pair of tax abatement to make the numbers work. But it is fixable. It would take the order of magnitude of $25 million of private Investment to rehabilitate this site.
we do not care who does it. We do care that it gets done. And putting people to work and returning housing in this market in the middle of a housing Crisis does seem like the right thing. Option two if no one will rehab it,
tear it down. A cleared, secured lot safe is much safer for a family nearby than burned Out.
hostage invites fire, crime and blight. What I am asking you not to do is nothing.
not another stay, not another year of a lender who will pay for a security guard but not Repairs,
condemn it and sell it with an abatement, or condemn it and demolish it either way. Please act. This neighborhood deserves a decision.
my residents deserve a decision. Brian and brian both deserve far better, And so do the families that were displaced from the decline.
thank you for listening. I hope you help dallas. Thank you. Chen zhao is not online. Not in the audience.
not present. Michaela watkins. Good evening everyone.
michaela watkins of district two. I wanted to draw your attention to a couple of points, And I noticed that two of the young ladies that have spoken today have already
touched on the data centers and the flock cameras, So I will try to be brief.
as I've stated previously in comments regarding the preservation of city hall.
I want to again remind you to not overlook these of our neighbors as you prepare to as you Prepare for the bond and budget discussions,
as well as in conversations regarding the future of downtown. While I understand the sentiments of wanting to decrease crime, I would implore you to consider the decrease.
we could see if proper provisions were afforded to these neighbors.
more often than not, the crime these neighbors perpetuate is due to necessity and Desperation rather than mere malicious intent.
with increased capacity and support for the organizations that strive to support and Rehabilitate,
you would be pleasantly surprised to see a decrease in crime rates. As reverend johnson mentioned in his invocation earlier, In doing the work god has called you to do,
I ask you to keep matthew 2540 in mind. Whatever you did for one of the least of these Brothers and sisters of mine,
you did for me. Let us strive to make an effort to prioritize their dignity and their Humanity,
so that we may rehabilitate and reintegrate our neighbors into the community so that we May all grow together and it will always be relevant.
but we do still want to save city hall. Thank you all for your time.
thank you, alex scott.
and alex scott 6472 trammel drive. And I'm your neighbor in district nine.
I need you all to understand how far you have lost the plot right now.
on monday, the finance committee meeting held a special called briefing.
and for a majority of it, y'all talked about the financial management and performance Criteria policy and the objection
that was raised to why number 20 was brought up is ambiguity.
ambiguity in what a supermajority means. If you are in politics and you do not understand What a supermajority means,
you should not be in this position. If you are a multi tenured politician in this city and You do not understand the concept of what
a supermajority is, that's not my problem. Ambiguity does not mean you lowered the Threshold of authority.
it means you put 13 in parentheses next to it.
is anyone listening to me? Does anyone else have a different definition of what ambiguity Is?
because it is so evident the agenda that you are pushing for the adelsons here.
it is so evident how welcoming you are to fascism.
it is disgusting how comfortable you are with me mentioning fascism in this country, In this city,
and you're standing there not even paying attention.
do you know why donald trump chose dallas for the republican national convention?
it is because the practices of fascism are welcome in this city.
and if you think I'm joking, there are nazis walking down main street doing the sieg heil In race baiting our neighbors.
and if you're not aware of that, that's a problem, You guys. This building was stood up because of an assassination of a president in this city, Because we allowed
the business sector to take higher priority than our politicians who had authority here, And we allowed things to get out of
control. And so I hope you're ready for when the rnc is here.
that's your time. Thank you. We will now go back to speaker 21 elizabeth rich.
good afternoon, mayor and city council. I'm elizabeth rich. I live in district 13, and I'm here today representing myself.
this is the first time I've addressed the city council since leaving the city in june of 2022,
quite intentionally. You've got great financial leadership in jack ireland, And you don't need me popping up all the time and sharing my thoughts.
but today you considered pension obligation bonds, And I feel very strongly that the city council should not go into this discussion.
eyes without eyes wide open. So you've already had your discussion.
I certainly listened. I just want one more time to make sure that as we go to the voters, Which it seems as if maybe that's where the discussion is headed that we do
so understanding the risk pension obligation bonds are incredibly risky and speculative.
the government finance officers association recommends that state and local governments do Not issue pobs.
I have yet to meet another pension restructuring expert who thinks that pobs are a silver Bullet.
why? Pobs only work if you invest the proceeds at a higher rate of return than the Interest rate you're paying on the bonds,
not just next year and the year after, but the entire time the debt is outstanding, Likely decades.
pubs are taxable bonds, which means the interest rate you pay is almost certainly higher Than what the city pays for its usual tax exempt debt.
pubs are complex investments, and the more complex the deal structure, The more risk is introduced.
pubs may affect your credit rating if the rating agencies do not see that this is just one Piece of a much broader plan to resolve the unfunded liabilities of the pension,
just ask puerto rico about the pubs it issue. Just months before the markets collapsed in 2008, Pubs failed as an investment strategy and significantly contributed to puerto rico's
bankruptcy. I know there are going to be many experts and advisors who will support pubs And many more who will clamor to be part of the deal.
but I have yet to meet a financial professional who will guarantee the performance of the Market in the future.
and if the pension is unable to achieve its arbitrage goals, Who will be left holding the bill?
I will. You will dallas taxpayers will. Thank you for your time, I appreciate it.
I hope that you adequately consider the risk and that if you decide, Or if your risk tolerance is higher than mine,
to move forward in this way, that you ensure that the repayment period of the bonds is Shorter than the actuarial amortization period,
that you reduce your annual contribution every year, At least by the amount of the debt service,
and that the pension board agree as a condition of receiving the funding that it will not Establish a cola prior to the debt being retired.
thank you. Thank you. Dolores. Phillips. Dolores phillips, 23, 19 delworth street, apartment 119,
granbury, texas 75050. You do have handouts, Keep in mind
df-92-11850 255th family district court, dallas
county. Keep in mind pr dash
23-03429-2. Probate court number two, dallas
county. You do have a letter dated july 13th, 2026,
directly from the fbi copied exactly as I received it after I for a second time once in 2024
and this year requested for the fbi to investigate me, To see if anything was connected to my name that I didn't know about,
because there were full fledged investigations that honorable warren instructed and Ordered in my dad's guardianship case.
they denied me guardianship. Now, when you're looking at what is attached to this, Is that fbi said that they found something in irvin.
it was the only hit. What you see is an arrest of me with fingerprints.
it's not me. I don't play with the law. So now we know before the premeditated dpd report Number
0273291 dash aye. There was a fabricated arrest report in irvin
11-23814. You first and foremost, first and foremost,
have the duty. Duty to do what's right for the people that's in this building, To keep them safe.
and the citizens of dallas, for those beyond race who say that this was the people's Building and is the people's building.
I'm not going to allow you to be in deliberate denial.
this was never the people's building. My daddy's demise before his time was a hit.
you have people beyond race in my shoes. I'm not going to be afraid to speak the truth.
it's steady coming out. I asked the fbi person on the phone could they have made a Mistake?
she said, we used the fingerprints that you sent us to compare what irving police had in His shoe.
she was offended because she thought that I was questioning her integrity.
your very own cherie cusumano and mary-lou velez. Thorne said that it was filed building now. Stay with me now.
keep in mind cherie cusumano and mary-lou velez thorne, They kept notes.
thank you. Nicole majka. She's not here.
nicole. Majka, virtual. Miss majka, I'm going to move on.
john plourde. Hello. I'm there. Hello. Is this miss majka?
yeah. Sorry, I was. It looked like it was my end. I was trying to get. It was. Everything was still unmuted. Look like. I'm sorry about That. Okay.
you may continue. Oh, actually. I'm. I'm. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.
I'm at work at the same time. Okay. I'm so sorry.
I starting. Okay. Hello? Hello, hello. Yes, we can see you and hear you.
you may hear me, I am, I greatly apologize. Okay, Let me start.
okay. So good evening, council members. As I sit here before you today, The horse drawn carriage industry is slowly crumbling and nearing its end.
city and countries around the world are recognizing that this outdated practice no longer Belongs in modern society.
equally compassionate people are speaking out and working to end it.
one of the most significant victories is currently taking place in new york city. Tragically, it took the loss of a tourist's life to help bring about roman law.
if I said that correctly which will phase out and ban horse drawn carriages by june 1st, 2028 while also ending the issuing of new licenses.
the question is how many more people and horses must be injured or lost their lose their Lives.
before we act, we have the opportunity to prevent further tragedy by ending this dangerous And inhumane industry.
now, no matter how you look at it, horse drawn carriages are not a good idea.
they put both animals and people at unnecessary risk. I respectfully ask you to vote to end horse drawn carriages operations and allow these Animals to live out the rest of their lives in peace and safety,
in an accredited sanctuary, where they can finally receive the care and retirement that They deserve.
thank you for your time. Thank you. John.
john plourde. I'll move on. Gloria carbajal.
sorry. I'm here if you're able to take me. Your microphone.
there's a button at the base. Okay. Good afternoon. Today marks my 17th time speaking before you on this important issue.
horse drawn carriages in downtown dallas. I want to just remind you of some of the recent Occurrences.
on friday, july the 19th. Myself and one other individual witnessed one of the regular Drivers.
make a run a red light. In a very busy area over saint paul, Over woodall rodgers freeway,
right next to klyde warren park. Very busy area.
the following day, I witnessed the same driver just she's a one of the frequent drivers.
anyway, she picked up a group of customers, a couple at some random location on the corner Of 1600 saint
street and 700 north avery street. Council members, Please note that this is not anywhere near the three locations that I normally see them
work out of. So it's really obvious to myself and others that this, Especially this particular driver takes things and
applies them to her own satisfaction. Again, Picking random places is a violation of section 47,
a 3.4 application for operation authority, in addition to the information required by Section 47,
a 21.2 of this chapter to obtain an operating author, Author, author permit for the transportation for hire service offered by
non-motorized passenger transport vehicles. The verified application statement filed with The director must include to the proposal routes.
proposed routes to be offered. Ordinance 29596, Effective 430 2015.
finally, I'll end this. This is another reminder.
just a couple of days ago monday in charleston, South carolina, there was another horse carriage accident
leaving two people injured. Both were sent out to the hospital.
the horse was startled by an approaching truck.
the accident also caused damage to a parking car.
again, this is a reminder. A reminder that we must be proactive instead of reactive before Dallas has its own similar
headline. Thank you for your time. We'll see you next month.
thank you. I'd like to note john claude is no longer online.
bernadine harrison.
mayor johnson and members of the dallas city council.
good evening. My name is bernadine harrison and I have a property located in district six.
and I'm here today to address a matter concerning property located at 3630 morris street, Dallas,
75212. This property was acquired by my late husband through probate proceedings over 20 Years ago.
and recently I learned from the city code division that there are 4 or 5 violations Attached to this property that totaled
$2,236.07. They date back more than two decades ago.
so despite having maintained the same mailing address in desoto, Where I currently live for over 27 years,
neither my late husband nor I have received any correspondence or notices regarding these Liens,
and therefore, in my opinion, it is concerning that the city of dallas could have easily Ascertained our correct mailing address
through either property tax records or the dallas central appraisal districts.
however, the city of dallas code compliance division. They failed to exercise due diligence in this matter, And consequently, they have violated the inherent covenant and texas law
of good faith and fair dealing. So therefore, Under the circumstances, I am respectfully requesting your assistance and the council's
consideration to relieve me of these liens for the following reasons.
the lesions are over 20 years old. The city states that they have no further records in This regard,
and that they have communicated no bills to show the rightful owner.
during this entire 20 year period, and the property, To reiterate, was acquired through probate and the alleged violations occurred
before my late husband became the owner and the city has had ample opportunity to notify Both me and my
husband that these liens existed. And they failed to do so.
under texas law, constituents have the right to face our accusers.
and in this instance, the accuser is the city of dallas.
they have denied us due process in this regard, Because I cannot address an issue that I do not know that it exists.
so in conclusion, I seek a fair resolution that acknowledges the above circumstances.
your time and allows me to clear this matter up equitably and fairly.
thank you. Thank you. Mark daly. Mark daly is not present.
nathan goldsmith.
okay. Good evening mayor. Thanks for your time today. The reason why I'm here. Yesterday I received a.
it's back there. Received a citation in a sense from the a notice of noncompliance from a Company named parking revenue recovery
services, inc. Out of colorado. The location that they said that the violation was at was Kind of incorrect.
it stated 8525 south state highway 78. Later coming to find out that the correct address Would have been 8525 garland road,
which is the dallas arboretum and botanical gardens. On this notice, there was a, a a decent photo of a vehicle that looks to be at the Entrance and exit of the dallas arboretum.
the notice identified that the noncompliance is for no permit, No facility registration, and an unauthorized parking.
the notice assessed a fine of $82. And further looking on the dallas parking
enforcement and management. $82 seem to be a bit extensive, Being that the most penalized parking violation is 250 for
handicap. And the, the, the, the other highest under that would be $50 for parking at Blocking an entrance.
the problem I have here is why did I receive a $82 non compliance parking violation fine For a vehicle that is not
registered to me. Further investigation. What I'm concerned about this is that these Appear to be some type of flock camera
that is taking this photograph and sending bills to people that don't own the vehicle.
so the person that probably owns the vehicle isn't getting the notice. And the repercussions to that is a notice that they give on the citation that they sent Me.
and that is after 30 days, it'll be sent to debt collection, And that the next time the vehicle is parked in one of the parking lots or spots that they
manage, that it will be towed for the individual that owns the vehicle that doesn't get This citation,
but somebody else does. What is that like when you return to get your vehicle and were Never notified properly?
that is all I have to say at this time. Thank you sir. Thank you, jodie whittaker. Hello? Can you hear me?
yes, we can hear you and see you. Thank you. Good evening. Dallas officials, please listen to these names.
romanch mahajan, 18 years old, minnesota man, 44 years old.
fredrick duzan, 76 years old. Henry stauffer, 65 years old.
unnamed man, 76 years old. Bobby and john esch, 38, and 39 years old.
unnamed motorcyclist, 64 years old. Unnamed infant, Four months old.
michael bates, 41 years old. Owen hostetler, 37 years old.
donna hicklin, 20 years old. Fonda freeman, 52 years old.
these people are just a handful of the human victims of horse drawn carriage rides that I Found via online news articles.
these people did not just suffer injuries, they died. Horse carriage proponents will tell you that when there's an accident, It was because the horse had a medical issue.
it was a result of road conditions. It was stray voltage or a number of other excuses.
it actually doesn't matter how or why people were killed because of this risky relic.
the fact is, horse carriages are unnecessary in 2026.
others will say that people die in cars and motorcycles every day, And that is true.
but people depend on their automobiles to go to work, School and visit family every day.
we don't use horse carriages in our daily lives. These are strictly for entertainment, but they are very dangerous.
and every single time a 2000 plus pound prey animal frightens easily is hooked up to a Carriage.
the city of dallas is putting tourists, residents and horses at deadly risk.
please take a cue from other cities that have either had to ban horse carriages due to one Of these preventable tragedies,
or cities like chicago that ended it before a death occurred on its streets on behalf of The partnership to ban horse carriages.
thousands of supporters, hundreds of animal protection organizations, And the millions who signed petitions worldwide.
I am urging you to please do the right thing, Protect the public and those without a voice and ban horse carriages now.
thank you. Thank you. Donna bush is not present.
bernice randolph not present. Marvin crenshaw is not present.
mr. Mayor, this concludes your open microphone. Speakers for this meeting. Wonderful.
do we have any other business today, mr. Mayor? There's no further business for this meeting. Wonderful. Well, Then the time is 6:16 p.m.,
and I'll say that this meeting is now adjourned. Thank you very much, members, for your patience today.