Charter Review Commission to Determine What Needs to Change at Dallas City Hall

Dallas’ Charter Review Commission began last month the monumental task of studying the city charter and determining what measures to recommend for a November 2024 election. The panel convenes every 10 years for an intensive charter review. 

At an Oct. 12 meeting, commissioners introduced themselves, reviewed the calendar of upcoming meetings, and set Dec. 15 as a tentative deadline for submitting amendments. 

Attorney and former Texas Rep. Allen Vaught is chairing the committee.

“As we organize in the coming weeks, it is important that we set in place processes that best serve the residents of Dallas,” Vaught said in an Oct. 4 memo to Commission members.

Commissioners on the 15-member panel include former Dallas Water Utilities Director Terry Lowery, former DISD trustee Miguel Solis, and three former Dallas City Council members. 

District 8 representative Greg Franklin said he was honored to serve on the commission. 

“If the City of Dallas isn’t a better city 20 years or 30 years from now, then it’s my fault,” he said. “We all play a part in improving our city.” 

The CRC is charged with gathering public input, introducing charter amendments, and filing a report with the City Council in May. The council will then call an election and take the proposed amendments before voters in November 2024. 

2014 Charter Amendments

Nine charter amendments were introduced by the last Charter Review Commission in 2014. The only one not approved by voters was a proposal to allow alternative forms of notice for planning and zoning changes, which includes the citywide thoroughfare plan. 

“The idea being that trying to [notify] everybody along a thoroughfare was going to be cost-prohibitive,” said Assistant City Attorney Anna Lamberti Holmes. “That proposition failed. It only got 35 percent of the vote. People like to get noticed when things are happening in their neighborhood.” 

Eight of the 2014 amendments came from the CRC and one was council-initiated. The charter amendments a decade ago covered things like raising mayor and council salaries, transparency when issuing debt, conflicts of interest, and creating more independence for the redistricting commission. 

A rumor has been circulating among neighborhood associations that there will be an attempt during this charter review to change the Dallas government to a “strong mayor” form, but such a proposal failed in 2004. Dallas has operated under the city manager structure since 1930. 

As a home rule city, Dallas can do anything authorized by its city charter as long as it’s not specifically prohibited by the Texas Constitution or state or federal law, Assistant City Attorney Laura Morrison told members of the CRC. 

Charter Amendment Submission Process

Jake Anderson, manager in the Dallas Office of Government Affairs, said the city aims to have a “completely transparent process” of submitting amendments for the 2024 ballot. 

Amendments can be submitted by Dallas residents, CRC members, or City Council members. The submissions will be categorized by policy, operational, and technical amendments. The commission is tentatively using a Dec. 15 submission deadline, but board members said that could be extended depending on what kind of feedback they get. 

CRC commissioners suggested having subject-matter experts testify before the commission on complex subjects like redistricting. The next meeting is set for Oct. 24 and will be streamed online.