Good evening:
The Dallas Police Department finished the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30th with the highest number of new hires since 2009, the year before overall staffing peaked.
The department hired 330 officers last year, exceeding a goal of 300 set by City Council, police officials will report to members of the Public Safety Committee on Tuesday afternoon. The improvements come as attrition has also trended down in recent years, helping to grow the overall force to 3,280, the highest total since 2016.
Dallas has been digging out of a staffing hole for more than a decade. A pension crisis and national hiring woes kept the force hundreds short of its goal.
How city leaders made this progress — and how they intend to continue it — will be discussed in detail at the committee meeting. The work is years in the making, and includes qualification changes to broaden the applicant pool, financial incentives to keep veteran cops, and boosts in starting pay.
A new modern police academy is seen as a critical piece to continuing to build a force that currently trains at a dilapidated former strip center. The new academy is now expected to span two separate locations. A total cost is not yet known.
Additional officers can’t hit the streets fast enough, as the department continues to struggle to answer 911 calls quickly.
All of this will be discussed at the upcoming committee meeting.
More on that and everything else you need to know about the latest City Hall happenings below.
Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux recently touted his department’s success in hiring and recruitment in a FOX News interview. Click the image to watch.
A note to readers: Meetings of Interest is an independent newsletter curated and authored by Scott Goldstein and sponsored by Downtown Dallas, Inc. (DDI). 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 DDI or 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’s Meetings of Interest
Dallas City Council members on Wednesday, Oct. 8:
Approved Item 6 to authorize an Oct. 22 public hearing on a key element of a proposed funding plan for a $409 million Bank of America Plaza redevelopment project. For the project to receive up to $103 million in public Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District funding, City Council must approve an expansion of the Downtown Connection Sub-District of the Downtown Connection TIF District. Read more.
Approved Item 13, another bond project that authorizes a $390,000 design-build construction contract with Phoenix I Restoration and Construction, LLC, for services tied to Meyerson Symphony Center partial roof replacement and water infiltration mitigation. Design is expected to begin next month, with construction completed in December 2026. Read more.
Approved Item 28, an ordinance to increase thresholds for when a City contract must be competitively bid from $50,000 to $100,000, as allowed by a new state law. It would also increase the threshold for the city manager to sign off on expenditures and contracts without City Council approval from $100,000 to $300,000 for goods, general, professional, personal, and other services, and $500,000 for architecture, engineering and construction services. The stated aim is to increase efficiency, save money, and make it easier to do business with City Hall. Read more on this from The Dallas Morning News, including this editorial arguing against the change.
Housing and Homelessness Solutions Committee Chair Cara Mendelsohn began what she said will be a series of discussions on policies to address homelessness found in other communities. “The goal is to understand the pros and cons of each,” she said before briefings on tiny homes and pallet shelters. Read more from KERA.
The proposed “Winners Tower” lost at City Plan Commission on Thursday. Commissioners rejected rezoning to allow for a 25-story luxury high rise along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, The Dallas Morning News reports. Columnist Robert Wilonsky found a few laughs earlier this summer in South Dallas about the supposed God-given vision for the tower.
Park Board members (including this newsletter’s author) weighed in on Thursday on the future of Fair Park. The City is weeks removed from a messy divorce from the failed public-private management agreement with Oak View Group and nonprofit Fair Park First. Read more from KERA and The Dallas Morning News.
Regional Transportation Council (RTC) members discussed transportation plans for next summer’s FIFA World Cup 2026, FOX 4 reports in the above piece. Nine matches are scheduled at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, with the International Broadcast Center to be housed in Downtown Dallas, and a fan fest in Fair Park.
Presented by Downtown Dallas, Inc.
In Downtown Dallas, crime and quality of life infractions are down, enforcement is up, homeless encampments are closed, and our response system is stronger than ever. Safe in the City is a movement that is delivering results… Right Here. Right Now. Learn more at safedowntowndallas.com.
📝 Memos of Interest
Dallas parks and police officials say multiple suspects stole plaques from the historic Freedman’s Cemetery in Uptown, one of the largest such cemeteries in the country. Security is being stepped up in response. Read more from The Dallas Morning News.
Dallas officials are pondering how to respond to a state directive that could lead to the removal of pro-LGBT crosswalks in the Oak Lawn area of Dallas — or force the city to give up millions of dollars in state and federal funds, according to this memo. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) notification referenced an announcement earlier this year by MTV’s “The Real World: Boston” housemate Sean Duffy, who is also the U.S. secretary of transportation. Duffy’s SAFE ROADS Initiative is apparently focused in part on the life-threatening dangers of driving over rainbows, something he likely learned about on his path to winning the 2002 “Real World/Road Rules” challenge. Read more.
Dallas is touting a system upgrade that now allows for multipage PDF submissions for building permit applications. Next up, a follow-up correspondence system by fax? Read more.
City officials expect sales tax collections for last fiscal year to fall $12.2 million short of budget, according to this memo.
Here’s the complete City Manager memo packet for Friday, October 10, 2025.
🔢 Number of Interest
330
The number of police officers hired in Dallas for the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, which is 30 more than last year’s goal and the highest total since 2009.
🤝 Meetings of Interest: October 13 - 17, 2025
Monday, October 13
North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG) Transportation Public Meeting, 12 p.m., 616 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, TX 76011
This meeting includes presentations on a regional air quality improvement plan and a rail crossing improvements program. Watch live here.
Tuesday, October 14
City Council Public Safety Committee, 1 p.m., Council Chambers, 6th Floor, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
This briefing offers new insight on how DPD has stepped up recruitment and retention, as noted in my opening.
The department is continuing to struggle with 911 response times. This briefing dives into the latest historical data, as well as what kinds of actions are being implemented and studied to make improvements.
Despite the challenges, DPD reports overall violent crime is down by more than 14% as compared to last year, including a nearly 32% drop in homicides (46 fewer total victims). Learn more.
Committee members will also discuss the decades-long history of agreements with Dallas County to jail the City’s prisoners. City Council members voted last month to delay a vote on an annual $8.7 million jail contract with Dallas County so this committee could hold this discussion first. Read the briefing.
Dallas City Council members are expected to vote on Wednesday, Oct. 22, on a nearly $4 million purchase of an Airbus H125 helicopter for use by the Dallas Police Department. It would replace one of the two 2006 Bell 206B3 helicopters in the fleet, which are frequently grounded for maintenance. Read more.
Planning continues for a proposed new police training center at the University of North Texas at Dallas, according to this memo update. City Council members are expected to vote on Oct. 22 on a supplemental agreement with the project architect, HKS, Inc. A second site must still be identified for a separate complex for emergency vehicle training, a reality-based training village, and multiple gun ranges.
Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) Committee-of-the-Whole, 2 p.m., DART Conference Room C - 1st Floor, 1401 Pacific Ave., Dallas, TX 75202
Board members will continue discussions on potentially increasing the voting threshold to approve agency budgets from a simple majority to a two-thirds vote. Read more.
City Council Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs, 4 p.m., Room 6ES, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
Committee members will discuss how to proceed with a search for a new Inspector General, the person charged with investigating allegations of fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption, according to this memo. The last one was let go because City Council members wasted months and untold taxpayer dollars hiring someone who was not an an attorney, as is required by a 2024 voter-approved City Charter.
Wednesday, October 15
Dallas Civil Service Trial Board Hearing, 9 a.m., Room 1-C South, Dallas City Hall, 1500 Marilla St.
A former Dallas police officer whose history of violence was documented in a 2023 Dallas Morning News series is attempting to get his job back. Former Officer Christopher Hess will argue his case in a proceeding that may carry into Thursday. Hess was found not guilty of aggravated assault for an on-duty 2017 fatal shooting of a mother of two. The News reported Hess previously “faced 10 internal investigations for punching, kneeing, tackling and injuring people over his decade with the department.” The three-member trial board will rule whether he is worthy of again wearing a DPD badge.
Dallas Landmark Commission Designation Committee, 5:45 p.m., Preservation Dallas, Wilson House, 2922 Swiss Ave., Dallas, TX 75204
The beloved former Belmont Motor Hotel on Fort Worth Avenue is back on this agenda for discussion. Read Robert Wilonsky’s August 2025 Dallas Morning News column to get up to speed. Perhaps the committee will take him up on his suggestion to serve strong drinks.
🗣️ Quote of Interest
This particular project is instrumental in… creating a node of development at the Bank of America building that will facilitate the development of the entire Lamar Street corridor down to the new convention center.
Did I miss anything? Do you have any questions? Just want to talk about meetings and memos and other fun stuff? Hit me up.
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Have a great week.
Best,
Scott Goldstein
Publisher
Meetings of Interest
