Good evening:
Three key meetings this week could determine whether six of 13 Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) cities move forward with May elections to let voters decide whether to leave the 42-year-old agency.
Leaders in Plano, Irving, Farmers Branch, Highland Park, University Park, and Addison have set May elections to let voters choose whether to opt out of DART. Voting to leave DART means services in those cities would end immediately, while most of those cities would still be obligated to make debt payments for years.
City managers of all 13 member cities and DART officials have been negotiating for months on potential governance, funding, and service delivery changes that could convince some or all of the cities to call off elections by February 23. If that is to happen, this next week is critical.
On Tuesday, DART Board members will meet to discuss the latest updates in the negotiations, including potential agency reforms.
On Wednesday, Dallas City Council members are expected to vote on a resolution to give up the city’s longstanding eight-seat majority on the DART board, dropping to a minimum of seven seats and 45% of total voting power.
Finally, on Thursday, the Regional Transportation Council (RTC) is expected to hold a workshop and take action on possible funding scenarios for cities depending on whether they remain. That discussion will also cover state, federal, and even FIFA World Cup 2026 implications.
(Note: Our firm, The GoldHam Group, provides communications consulting services for DART).
A note to readers: Meetings of Interest is an independent newsletter curated and authored by The GoldHam Group Managing Partner Scott Goldstein and edited by GoldHam Managing Partners Sam Goldstein and Vana Hammond. The content, perspectives, or commentary presented herein reflect the views of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the views, policies, or positions of any other organization, institution, or individual, unless explicitly stated otherwise. Any affiliations are for identification purposes only and do not imply endorsement.
📖 Table of Contents
🗞️ Highlights From Last Week: Meetings, Memos, and Media of Interest
Caution: Goats At Work
Grazing goats are helping control the spread of invasive privet at White Rock Lake, in the prairie area adjacent to the Bath House and Cultural Center. The public is able to view the goats, but beware of an electric fence that surrounds them as they work in different areas covering about 11.5 acres total through this week. Learn more from WFAA.
Some City Council members and many residents continue to push back on staff proposals to transition alley trash and recycling pickup to front curbside pickup for thousands of customers. No decisions were made during a council briefing last week, which included options ranging from changing nothing to shifting up to 26,000 customers with the most challenging alleys for trucks and workers to curbside pickup. Read more from KERA.
The City of Dallas will receive nearly $15 million in fiscal 2026 federal dollars for 17 Community Projects, commonly known as earmarks. The funding is for Dallas police, infrastructure improvements, parks, trails, and more. Find more details here.
Check out the complete city manager memo packet for Friday, Feb. 6, 2026.
🔢 Number of Interest
57,514
Total number of random gunfire calls to Dallas 911 from 2022-2025, according to the Dallas Police Department.
🤝 Meetings of Interest: February 9 - 13, 2026
Monday, February 9
City Council Committee on Government Efficiency, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Committee members are also expected to discuss a plan to outsource operations and maintenance of the City-owned Southern Skates Roller Rink. It is the latest chapter in a long and challenging saga.
City Council Public Safety Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Dallas police officers are improving their 911 response times, though they continue to miss department goals for all four categories of emergencies. Response times have been lagging for years, leaving people to wait hours for a officers to arrive for some lower-level emergencies. Review this and much more public safety data here.
Violent crime was down more than 13% in January, as compared to the same month last year, according to this update.
Dallas police officers use technology and aim to respond within 2 minutes to random gunfire reports, according to this briefing.
City Council members are expected to vote on February 25 on the latest meet and confer agreement with police officers and firefighters, according to this memo. The agreement addresses a variety of issues including wages and working conditions. Officers and firefighters must first ratify the agreement.
Tuesday, February 10
City Council Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee, 9 a.m., Council Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
This is a redo of a meeting that was canceled for lack of a quorum last week.
Former Dallas Mayor Laura Miller is expected back at her old stomping grounds to brief committee members on “The Ladder Project,” a faith-based initiative that she leads to support people experiencing homelessness get back on their feet. Miller wrote about the program in The Dallas Morning News last year. Read the briefing here.
Committee members are also expected to be briefed on the City’s homeless encampment response process and a proposed housing and homelessness policy framework.
Dallas Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors, 9 a.m., Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI), 1401 Elm Street #500, Dallas, TX
The nonprofit’s board members are expected to discuss a variety of hot issues, including an update on a City Hall building assessment that may lead to either major renovations or a permanent relocation.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Committee-of-the-Whole, 1:30 p.m., Special Board Meeting, 6 p.m., DART Headquarters, 1401 Pacific Ave., Dallas, TX
Board members are expected to discuss potential governance, funding, and service reforms at the center of negotiations to call off withdrawal elections in six DART cities. Those elections could be canceled in coming weeks if DART and member cities come to agreements.
Wednesday, February 11
Dallas City Council, 9 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Item 2 is a $509,581 donation from QuickTrip Corporation for the purchase of four Ford F550 blocker trucks with attenuators for the Dallas Police Department. The trucks are used to protect officers responding to traffic crashes and other roadway incidents.
Item 43 is a resolution to hire Strategic Governance Resources, Inc., as the search firm to help fill the inspector general position, which reports directly to City Council members. Here’s hoping they read the section of the City Charter on qualifications for the job.
Item 44 is a resolution supporting DART governance changes that could include reducing Dallas’s majority hold of the board to “no less than 45% of the total voting power.” This is a major step in the negotiations with six DART cities to call off May withdrawal elections. The draft resolution can be found here and a more detailed summary of negotiations to date and next steps can be found here.
Thursday, February 12
City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs, 10 a.m., Council Briefing Room, 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Briefing: Goal Setting & Performance Evaluation For City Council Direct Reports
City Council members did not evaluate their direct reports for years. Now, they have a consultant helping guide the annual evaluation process for the city manager, city attorney, city secretary, city auditor, and inspector general.
1.37 MB • PDF File
Committee members will also discuss whether to change a section of the City Council Rules of Procedure that bars meeting visitors from bringing any food or drink, including water, into Council Chambers. I can say from recent experience, these rules are strictly enforced.
Ethics Advisory Commission, 10 a.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
The City Council-appointed body is scheduled to discuss possible amendments to the City’s Code of Ethics. No further details are publicly posted.
Regional Transportation Council, 1 p.m., North Central Texas Council of Governments, 616 Six Flags Dr., Arlington, TX 76011
RTC Workshop on DART Scenarios
The presentation outlines two scenarios regarding DART member cities considering withdrawal from the agency. Scenario 1 focuses on funding elements for cities that choose to withdraw, including federal funding constraints and the need for certification as FTA Direct Recipients. Scenario 2 explores funding support for cities that elect to stay in DART, including cash for equity, city capital projects, and legislative commitments. The RTC must decide on funding allocations and policy implications, including potential federal and regional "clawback” requirements for withdrawn cities.
557.00 KB • PDF File
🗣️ Quote of Interest
If we’re not maintaining the alleys, that’s shame on us. If we’re getting the wrong kind of trucks, shame on us... There needs to be a more creative solution coming out of the sanitation department that does not put the burden of fixing this problem on our residents.
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Have a great week.
Best,
Scott Goldstein
Managing Partner
The GoldHam Group
Sam Goldstein, Scott Goldstein, and Vana Hammond are co-founders and managing partners of The GoldHam Group, a Dallas-based boutique communications, events, and public affairs firm.
