Meetings of Interest: Grow the Vote 🗳️

City Council Finance Committee members endorsed a plan to evaluate options for moving City Hall to another location, including a cost comparison with what it would take to repair the current seat of local government at 1500 Marilla Street. The Dallas Morning News editorial board backs the plan, which moves forward for a full City Council vote this week. Meanwhile, this Friday memo clarifies recent misreporting that $7 million in 2017 bond dollars for City Hall repairs has gone unspent. In fact, more than $5.2 million has been spent to date. “The remaining $1.76 million in bond funds are available for projects at City Hall and are currently under review for prioritization,” the memo says.

Four area cities are asking voters in May elections for permission to pull out of Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART). Plano, Farmers Branch, Irving, and Highland Park would immediately end all DART services if voters give the OK, though those cities would continue to pay millions of dollars in debt obligations in coming years. Plano Mayor John Muns tells WFAA’s Jason Whitely negotiations with DART officials continue and there is still the possibility of calling off the elections by early next year.

City Council members voted Thursday to put on ice any talk of turning Dallas cops into quasi-immigration enforcement agents. Members of two committees backed Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux’s recommendation that Dallas not enter into a $25 million partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that Comeaux said would have required his officers to make at least 50 arrests of undocumented immigrants every day. Mayor Eric Johnson, who ordered the public deliberations to review Comeaux’s decision, appeared to OK the recommendation in a written statement on Friday. Read more from D Magazine’s Bethany Erickson.

Dallas sales tax collections for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30 fell $10.5 million short of budget, according to this memo. However, the total of $453.3 million is more than 3% higher than collections for the previous fiscal year.

The FIFA World Cup 2026 Community Engagement Playbook “outlines opportunities for residents, businesses, nonprofits, and neighborhoods across the region to participate in preparations” for this summer’s games. Read more.

Jeffrey Stovall, the former Chief Information Officer for the City of Charlotte, will take on the same role for the City of Dallas effective January 5, 2026, according to this memo.

🎃 Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, November 7, 2025.

Committee members will be briefed on the aforementioned proposal to move future City Council elections from May of odd-numbered years to November of odd-numbered years, part of a long-standing effort to boost abysmal voter turnout numbers. Members of this committee will be briefed on how the change would impact City Council terms and future inauguration dates, among other considerations. The full City Council is expected to vote on the plan on Wednesday. Read more. This meeting was originally scheduled for last week, but was postponed.

Presentations include an overview of a program to “identify emerging technologies and concepts that enhance safety, mobility and system efficiency.”

Dallas Police response times to 911 calls are improving, but they are still short of department goals in all categories. On average, it still takes officers more than 90 minutes to respond to anything besides the most serious violent crimes. Read more.

Overall violent crime is down across the city by nearly 13% so far this year, including a 26% drop in murders. Read more.

Violent crime in targeted “hotspot” areas declined by more than 20% year-over-year, according to this report from nonprofit Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL). The progress is tied to the data-driven City Action Strike Team (CAST) initiative that coordinates multiple departments to tackle chronic quality of life and safety issues in 150 hotspots.

Dallas emergency responders are deep in security planning for the 39-day FIFA World Cup 2026. Nine matches are scheduled for AT&T Stadium in Arlington (to be temporarily renamed Dallas Stadium), a Fan Fest will be held at Fair Park, and the International Broadcast Center will be based at the Downtown convention center. Read more.

Item 24 ratifies a City boundary adjustment with the Town of Addison along Montfort Drive, from the current city limits south to Celestial Road. Addison officials requested the change, which only applies to infrastructure that they believe they can better manage.

Item 28 authorizes a $19.2 million funding agreement with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for “the replacement or rehabilitation” of the Houston Street Viaduct over Interstate 30 and the Trinity River.

Item 29 authorizes another $19.2 million funding agreement with TxDOT for “the replacement or rehabilitation” of the Jefferson Boulevard Viaduct over Interstate 30 and the Trinity River.

Item 31 authorizes up to $440,126 for a design-build construction contract with METCO Engineering, Inc., for capital improvements to The Bridge Homeless Recovery Center in Downtown. Voters approved the funding as part of the 2024 bond program.

Item 46 is a three-year, $225,000 contract with Nextgen People, LLC, “for goal setting and performance evaluation services for City Council appointed officials,” which includes the City Manager, City Attorney, City Auditor, City Secretary, and Inspector General. The vote comes after City Council members went years without conducting performance evaluations for their direct reports until earlier this year.

Item 54 is the aforementioned resolution to move City of Dallas elections from May to November of odd-numbered years.

Item 61 is an agreement with the North Texas Food Bank for up to $1 million to provide emergency food distribution through February. The move comes amid a temporary suspension of SNAP benefits because of the federal government shutdown.

Item 62 is a $3 million agreement with DART for the temporary closure of the convention center station during the center’s redo. The agreement includes a temporary GoLink Zone for on-demand transportation services at the Eddie Bernice Johnson Union Station, Cedars Station, and a substitute bus layover location on Marilla Street. Read more.

Item 63 is a resolution directing the City Manager to evaluate potential options to move City Hall to a new location and compare potential moving costs to the costs to repair our current City Hall building. An update would be due to the City Council Committee on Finance by the end of February. Read the full resolution.

Public Hearing 1 is a public hearing to receive comments on changes to the City’s Park Land Dedication Ordinance. City staff is recommending a simplified process for developers of residential and lodging projects to dedicate a portion of land for parks or pay a fee for future parks development. Read this recent briefing and more details here. City Council members are also expected to vote on proposed changes.

Board members will discuss the legal implications of four service area cities holding May elections to ask voters to let them withdraw from DART. Should voters approve, public transit service would immediately stop in Plano, Farmers Branch, Irving, and Highland Park.

Costs are rising for a long-planned Klyde Warren Park expansion, now estimated to cost more than $122 million, according to RTC documents. RTC staff is requesting approval of a revised funding plan to cover a portion of the cost. Read more.

RTC members will consider projects to prepare for FIFA World Cup 2026, including upgrades to McKinney Avenue Transit Authority trolleys, 911 communications, and Trinity Railway Express trains. Read more.

DART Board Chair Randall Bryant has asked for the RTC’s guidance in assessing how cities withdrawing from the transit agency could violate federal funding agreements. Read more.

High-speed rail lines could ultimately connect Fort Worth, Dallas, and Houston. RTC members will be asked to approve the above actions to advance the plans. Read more.