Broadnax and Johnson issued a joint statement Tuesday saying they agreed they will be “moving forward together.” And the city manager’s performance review will now take place in August.
This comes after Broadnax's job appeared in jeopardy earlier this month when the mayor and three other council members – frustrated with the city manager's performance — had tried to push his evaluation and called for his firing.
Trouble between Broadnax and detractors at city hall has been brewing for some time. They’ve been unhappy with how the city manager has handled the city’s ongoing delays in the building permitting process and his response to a massive deletion of important police files during a data transfer.
The new peace treaty says Broadnax and Johnson "will begin meeting on a biweekly basis."
“A little over a week ago, I said that it was time for a change at the top of our city government,” Johnson said. “I still believe we need change. But after some serious and frank discussions with our city manager, I believe he is ready to make the necessary changes to address issues that are critically important to our residents.”
Broadnax said he recognizes that he hasn’t handled some issues in a way that is “up to my own standards.”
“I know my team and I can be better. I understand that I am fully accountable to my 15 bosses. So today, I want to say to the mayor, to the members of the City Council, and to all the residents of this dynamic city: I accept the challenge,” Broadnax said.
Here are some of their major areas that were spelled out in the agreement between the mayor and the city manager:
- Permitting: The city manager will develop a clear action plan for fixing the city’s development services backlogs and delays on an expedited timeline. The plan will incorporate feedback from builders and developers and focus on improving the customer experience. It will also focus on both short-term triage and systemic change that will ensure smoother operations in the future.
- Public safety: The city manager and the mayor are committing to working together to make Dallas the safest major city in the United States. The city manager is committing to active and timely meet-and-confer negotiations with police and firefighters. The mayor and the city manager will also collaborate on improving community-based public safety initiatives such as violence interruption services, blight remediation, and lighting improvements in high-crime areas.
- 911 call center: The city manager will continue to make improvements to the 911 call center to ensure reliable, efficient, and high-quality service and public safety for residents.
- Focus on high-priority issues: The city manager and mayor will work collaboratively to address top citywide issues, such as enhancing the city’s international stature, continuing to develop an Economic Development Corporation that puts the City of Dallas’ economic interests first, and passing and implementing the mayor’s policy priorities for City Council’s committees.
- Communication: The city manager will enhance communication about progress on top priority issues. The city manager will also develop a protocol for surfacing problems for City Council discussions. The mayor and city manager will begin meeting on a biweekly basis to discuss major issues, priorities, and progress. The city manager is also committing to promoting citywide initiatives such as the mayor’s “Summer of Safety” campaign.
Got a tip? Email Alejandra Martinez at amartinez@kera.org. You can follow Alejandra on Twitter @alereports.
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