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Someone in my family has been on watch at Dallas City Hall since 1965, when my father was first elected to the Dallas City Council. There’s a pretty good chance I’ll still be here when the next city manager moves on. I complain frequently about where the city is. Hopefully, this column provides a roadmap for the new manager to fix the Marilla Mess.
Dallas needs a dynamic, proven city manager who comes to us with a wealth of experience. A qualified candidate will already boast a national reputation as a leader who can attract top talent. This is a great job because Dallas is still a great city. The city has tremendous potential. The new city manager must, however, attain a level of governmental excellence the city has not seen in many years.
Dallas is at a tipping point. Perhaps it can rejoin, and maybe even lead, the prosperity going on in North Texas. Unfortunately, it may also continue on its current path of debt and obsessive focus on social policy that is outside the ability or bounds of municipal government.
The new manager is inheriting a low-performing team whose leadership is fleeing a sinking ship. This is a giant rebuild that will take place in a weakened economy. The budget has increased more than 5% year over year. The city added numerous departments that address non-municipal matters, like immigration, while it failed to pick up the garbage, make its systems safe from hacking or repair its streets.
The new manager will not be able to count on robust sales taxes and skyrocketing property taxes to offset any shortfalls. Already, the interim city manager is calling for 6% budget cuts across the board. All this before drastic reductions in appraised values for many office buildings have occurred.
This is a big job with a lot of heavy lifting.
Here’s my eight-step, paint-by-numbers plan for the next city manager:
Stop virtue signaling. Leave behind social policy and start concentrating on basic services. Let the state and federal government handle their piece of the pie. Municipal government has enough to do on its own.
Control spending. The city just earned a “D” from Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit group that analyzes city finances. The financial picture is just getting worse. The previous administration spent widely and wildly, increasing the general fund budget more than 60% over the past 10 years. Dallas had to sell bonds because it could not pay off the $55 million judgment from a gas drilling disaster. Likewise, the new manager will arrive at a City Hall that requires millions of dollars in repairs that were not included in the bond package. The recent bond package also likely maxes out the city’s ability to borrow any significant amount.
The new manager is going to have to do more with less or risk raising taxes, cutting services, eliminating the senior exemption — or all the above. The city manager has to do all this while also repairing the pension problems.
Of course, this isn’t all on the city manager. The City Council has to make many of these tough calls. But the manager’s proposals set the stage.
Improve customer service and staff morale. The quality of employee work product, attitude and activity level all need improvement. My biggest complaint, and I have plenty, is city employees do not treat applicants like customers. Employees should act like they work at a business and return phone calls and emails on a timely basis.
Dallas simply must have employees who work fast and accurately. Do more. Do it fast. Managers must hold their charges accountable. That could actually contribute to a better workplace culture. Right now, morale is at a low ebb. The city cannot attract top talent in the mid-level positions. But good workers like accountability and high standards.
People need to return to the workplace. Currently, case planners remain at home for City Plan Commission meetings, even on hearing days. This is unfair to applicants, commissioners and anyone who attends. You simply can’t be absent on game day.
For Dallas to grow, the new manager must directly address the frustration of developers with building permitting and the duration of zoning cases. Simply put, Dallas must make it easier for people to do business with the city. Too many local companies have vowed to never do so again. The new manager must change this perception with a results-based approach to development.
Break down silos. City departments don’t coordinate with one another. Residents doing business with the city are often pawned off from department to department in an endless loop. They are left to play Whack a Mole and given tasks that seem trivial.
Incentivize local workers. Reward employees in some manner for living in Dallas. They’ll have more skin in the game if they live where they work. School districts are doing this, so should the city.
Compete with the suburbs. This means recognizing that there’s a problem. People are moving to the suburbs because of the combination of lower taxes, safety and better schools. Nearly half of Dallas residents (47%) believe they are not receiving a good value for their tax dollars, according to the latest citizen satisfaction survey.
Suburban communities have grown and are thriving because they deliver what people expect and at a good price. Dallas has among the highest tax rates in the state. Studying what the suburbs do well is part of the solution. Improving our park system through the bond is a good start.
Cooperate with the suburbs. On the other hand, the new manager must also work with other cities. The combined populations of cities that border Dallas is over 1.5 million. Dallas’ elected officials all too often treat suburban cities as if they are the junior varsity. If Dallas wants to be the leading city in the region, it has to recognize the excellence that is occurring on its borders. Dallas is not the only game in town.
At one time, North Texas was able to build big, cooperative projects like Dallas Water Utility lakes and DFW International Airport. These were regional accomplishments for which the city worked with and for others.
Support education. Dallas is losing its youngest families. It has to stop. An easy step would be to fast-track zoning applications for schools. Other cities cooperate with their educational partners; Dallas sends them to the back of the line.
Unfortunately, these are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more hidden under the water. This is why only an experienced manager can paint a better future for our city.
Part of our Leading Dallas opinion series, this column suggests a simple agenda for the city’s next manager.
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