“Do a tax rate increase.” That’s how City Manager Mary Suhm sums up the feedback from Thursday night’s budget meeting at Edna Rowe Elementary. “That’s pretty universal when we’re at town hall meetings,” she says. Despite the overwhelming number of residents pleading for a tax increase to restore Suhm’s budget…
This morning, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert talks to something called The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel about why Dallas “is on a roll.” It reads, in part, like a Mayor Tom best-of — part personal history (“I was raised by a single mother in Arizona”), part success story (“Later, I left to…
On the other side is this week’s packet of memos sent to the city council and Mayor Tom Leppert last night, a little later than usual. It’s a hefty stack, in large part because some council members had questions about Elgin B. Robertson Park, which Suhm has proposed selling to…
Willis Winters, assistant director of the city’s Park and Recreation Department, says, with a laugh, that it took him all of 30 days to write his forthcoming Fair Park history. He signed the contract with Arcadia Publishing in March, under the assumption that it wanted the book in time for…
Because an intern’s always up for a free meal, we sent ours to that PETA lunchtime giveaway in front of Dallas City Hall — where, from the looks of things, meatless weenies were quite the draw. Another two looks on the other side, with, no kiddin’, a slide show to…
Theresa O’Donnell, director of Sustainable Development and Construction for the city of Dallas, called a little while ago to discuss developers’ concerns over a City Hall proposal to hike building permit fees. She says she was “surprised and disappointed” by the letter several high-ranking members of the North Texas Commercial…
Jay Jay the Jet Plane sat empty, and the gift shop was all locked up, but it was standing room only inside the Frontiers of Flight Museum’s auditorium last night for the latest in the city’s series of town hall meetings over next year’s budget.This one was hosted by Angela…
Back in June, upon the occasion of the release of City Archivist John Slate’s Historic Dallas Parks, I mentioned yet another history book was forthcoming from Arcadia Publishing: Willis Winters’s Fair Park. At the time there was no release date set, only “closer to the State Fair of Texas,” but…
Earlier this month, the city council’s Economic Development Committee was briefed on something called “Effective Business Strategies to Support Sustainable Growth.” Translated, that means hiking building inspection fees in order to “recover the true costs of delivering services to our customers” — to the tune of $169,925 in the coming…
With statewide races wrapping up in a couple months, it seems awfully premature to start the discussion about who’s interested in replacing the winners four years down the road. But, as D’s Wick Allison pointed out Monday, former State Rep. Steve Wolens has kept nearly $1.2 million in campaign contributions…
While I had Mayor Tom Leppert on the phone Monday evening, to discuss the walkout by six council members before the tax-rate hike briefing even got going, we talked for a few minuts about his opposition to a property tax hike. He acknowledged: Yes, some council members are leaning that…
Doubtful Andrea’s liveblogging today’s meeting of the council’s Ad Hoc Legislative Committee, fascinating though it may be. Because today’s the day the council gets its Federal Legislative Update and the Development of the City’s Legislative Program for the 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature, for which the city pays big…
Well, I was about to tell you to tune into the tax-hike briefing, which was about to get underway, like, five minutes ago. But then the damnedest thing happened: As the briefing was getting going, there was much giggling. Much guffawing. Then, the briefing stopped. Then, the mayor interrupted and…
Once they hung the posters for this afternoon’s big announcement at City Hall, the suspense was pretty well killed. My money was on a Batman to slash the cost of crime-fighting, but it turns out the hype was over the new Oncor-sponsored Mayor’s Youth Fitness Initiative. As for how this…
City council’s back after its lunch break, and if you’ve got a few minutes I’d recommend tuning in to the Park and Rec budget briefing. Mike Rawlings, the former homeless czar who’s now the Park Board president, is leading the presentation, and moments ago he singled out Fair Park. As…
Well, that was quick: Patrick just sent word that Oncor’s ponying up one … million … dollars to the Dallas Parks Foundation, every cent of which will go toward the rec centers, whose operating hours are on Mary Suhm’s chopping block. More to come. As in: What the what’s a…
This morning, Frank Librio at Dallas City Hall sends word: City Auditor Craig Kinton has wrapped his look-see at parking revenues from Dallas Summer Musicals’ productions at the Fair Park Music Hall. And there’s one major problem: For the last couple of years, the city didn’t have any idea how…
At 9 this morning, the council will yet again sit down to debate the budget, and most of the briefing will likely focus on cuts to Park and Rec, which is looking to lose around $15.4 million out of its budget in the coming fiscal year (from $64,266,766 to $48,855,266),…
Well, that’s not true. It’s not everything — just 29 Qs and As and a few handy-dandy exhibits provided by City Manager Mary Suhm in a memo distributed last night. And you didn’t ask the questions — the council did following the last budget workshop, another of which is scheduled…
I’ve been trying to tell you: Word from inside City Hall is that a tax hike of at least one cent “actually might happen.” The reason: That’s what The People are demanding at these budget town halls, if only to keep the rec centers open and the parks mowed. And…
This is what the Google Machine tells me about Dallas defense attorney Jim Moore: He’s a namesake in the Oak Lawn firm of Moore, Grant & Barrett. He’s a Hillcrest and SMU graduate (just like my father, hmmm). He is indeed eligible to practice law in the state of Texas…
Moments ago, Angela Hunt posted to her blog her thoughts on yesterday’s Love Field concessions vote — which, she says, needed to be voted on yesterday rather than dragged on another week, as some council members had wanted during the hours-long debate. The reason: A delay “would not bring greater…
