City Hall

City Hall Roundup: Should 1500 Marilla Street Receive Dallas Landmark Designation? 

By April Towery / January 26, 2025 /

Lately, Dallas residents have expressed strong feelings about how business is conducted in City Hall. Locals also have strong feelings about the building itself, an inverted pyramid structure designed by Chinese-American architect I.M. Pei that opened in 1978.  People who “aren’t from here” are prone to point out the unusual building. Native Dallasites and those…

Mendelsohn Pledges to Support City Manager, Cites Concerns Over ‘Missed Management Opportunities’ 

By April Towery / January 25, 2025 /

No one was surprised this week when the Dallas City Council hired Kimberly Bizor Tolbert as the city manager. She’s already been on the job as interim for 11 months and has an impressive decades-long career in Dallas under her belt. She was widely supported by city staff and local business leaders.  But there were…

BREAKING: Dallas, We Have a City Manager and it’s Exactly Who You Think it is

By April Towery / January 22, 2025 /

The Dallas City Council extended an offer Wednesday to Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, who will become the first Black female to lead the ninth-largest city in America. Her salary is $450,000. Council members Cara Mendelsohn and Paul RIdley voted against it. Ridley expressed concerns about a “golden parachute” severance package in Tolbert’s contract amounting to $900,000 or…

Dallas Planning and Development Department Rebounds with Improved Permit Turnaround

By April Towery / January 21, 2025 /

Writing about the Dallas Planning and Development Department is tricky. We frequently hear readers say that morale is low, many good employees have departed, the leadership doesn’t listen, and no one wants to do business here. We hear from builders who actually do business in Dallas and want to give staff the benefit of the…

Dallas Neighborhood Leaders Urge Enforcement of Board, Commission Term Limits

By April Towery / January 20, 2025 /

A group of more than 80 neighborhood leaders is calling out what they say is a violation of the city charter: appointees who serve on boards and commissions past their terms’ expiration date. City code mandates that board and commission appointees are limited to serving no more than four consecutive two-year terms.  The example often…