My first month in office representing District 14 has been exhilarating and lots of hard work. Because the Council is in recess during July, the month of June is always busy, but new Council members must make an extra effort to become knowledgeable on issues our colleagues have been studying for weeks.
Mayor Steve Bartlett has made committee assignments, and I will be serving on the following:
• Arts & Education: As chairman, I plan to emphasize the City’s role in supporting our public schools with the goal of expanding cooperation, particularly in the area of after-school and summer programs.
• Neighborhood Redevelopment: Bringing a strong “inner-city” background, I plan to pursue an overhaul of our code enforcement activities and to concentrate on housing and economic development issues.
• Transportation Committee and the Regional Transportation Council: These two panels are important to ensuring efficient and cost-effective mass transit in the region. We succeeded in appointing a new, smaller board of directors with two veteran East Dallas members, Michael Campbell and Ralph Rodriguez, to represent our interests.
• Finance: An important assignment that touches nearly every issue and City program.
• Legislative: This committee lobbies for laws that benefit the City. My goal is to increase our share of outside funding for programs in Dallas.
• Minority/Women Business Enterprise: The mayor appointed me vice chairman, and I will be seeking to expand economic opportunities for companies in Dallas that are minority-owned.
• Central Business District Enterprise Board: Councilmen Chris Luna, Glenn Box and I have been appointed to work with Downtown business leaders on improving and revitalizing Dallas’ central core.
One issue resolved during June was the D-1 liquor control ordinance. Old East Dallas neighborhood groups, business owners and chambers of commerce have pursued this legislation for more than four years. Not only did D-1 pass, but it applies City-wide.
The ordinance requires any business that derives 75 percent or more of its revenue from the sale of alcohol to have a specific use permit from the City. The permit process enables residents and business owners adjacent to the liquor-related establishment to support or oppose the permit.
“Good-neighbor” businesses can expect support from the community, while bars and stores that foster crime and noise in our neighborhoods should prepare for opposition.
Because of court rulings and other zoning laws, this new ordinance only applies to a few hundred existing establishments in the City. However, about half of them are in City Council districts 2 and 14, which include much of East Dallas. Our new law gives us a tool to help determine what kind of neighborhoods we are going to build in East Dallas.
The most important issue looming over City Council now is next fiscal year’s budget. The City operates on a $1.2 billion budget, which must be balanced each year. The city manager recommends a budget to the Council, which must set spending priorities and make up any gap between expenditures and revenue.
It is not uncommon for that budget gap to be up to $70 million. This year, the gap began much lower and is now at about $24 million. The bad news is that previous City Councils have taken the “easy” budget cuts and imposed higher fees for many services, leaving the current Council very difficult choices.
You will have an opportunity to share your ideas and views about our City budget at two town hall meetings Councilman Luna and I will be holding jointly. The first is Aug. 17 in the auditorium at Woodrow Wilson High School and Aug. 19 at Polk Recreation Center on Roper Street near Love Field. Both meetings begin at 7 p.m. We welcome everyone to attend and want to hear your comments.
Finally, our district is lucky to have Rhonda Duncan as the City staff member assigned to our Council office. She and I are available at 670-5415 to hear your concerns and intervene if you have problems dealing with City government. We look forward to serving you.
