The Dallas Charter Review Commission is nearing the end of its term. And soon a recommendation for what to change in the charter — an opportunity that only comes once every decade — will be due to the city council.
And some of the amendments that could significantly change the city's charter are slated for Tuesday's commission meeting.
One proposal could take away nearly a century of park and recreation semi-autonomy within city hall — while another would give even more independence to the department and board.
Amidst confusion over what a civilian police oversight board can and can’t do, another proposed change may codify the body’s full authority to independently investigate complaints against officers.
And another suggested amendment looks to create a different community led bond advisory group to inform the city council how to issue over a billion dollars’ worth of debt — and claims that the change is necessary since Texas Open Meetings Act rules didn't apply to the task force who advised the council on the upcoming bond package.
“Task forces to consider specific problems or issues…may be appropriate,” District 12 Council Member Cara Mendelsohn, who submitted the bond commission amendment, told KERA.
“But when millions or billions of taxpayer debt is being considered, I strongly believe there must be the highest standard of public involvement and transparency.”
Last year the council-appointed bond task force delivered a recommendation to spend nearly a third of the then $1.1 billion-dollar debt capacity on parks and recreation needs. That’s in lieu of housing, art facilities and homelessness funding.
The task force consisted of over six park board members and was led by the board’s current president, Arun Agarwal.
So far, the charter commission hasn’t passed any large amendments. Proposals to change city elections from May to November, changing elected official’s term lengths and abolishing the positions of mayor pro tem and deputy mayor pro tem were all voted down by the commission.
‘If something’s not broken’
Charter Commission Vice Char Adam Medrano and District 13 Commissioner Marshall Mills submitted an amendment that would leave the decision of who picks the director of the park department up to the city council.
Currently, the council-appointed board chooses who leads the department.
The commissioners simply listed “increase transparency and accountability” as the rational for the amendment.
That proposal is slated to be discussed during Tuesday’s meeting while simultaneously discussing an amendment that would further increase the department’s quasi-autonomy.
Tim Dickey and Scott Goldstein, who both currently sit on the park board, submitted an amendment that would leave approving the park and recreation department’s budget directly up to the city council — instead of the city manager.
“This revision would bring the annual budget process in line with the quasi-independent nature of Dallas parks governance generally and, most importantly, would give the duly elected City Council members full authority over the department's annual budget,” the amendment’s rationale said.
During their last meeting, the commission didn’t seem sold on amendments aimed at the over-hundred-years of park board semi-autonomy — similar to Medrano and Mills’.
Chris Luna, who served as a city council member during the 1990s, submitted an amendment that proposed to place the park department under the city manager’s oversight.
“Please do not take the bait from the alarmists that are saying that this will be ‘the end of the world as we know it’,” Luna said in the statement read during an early March commission meeting.
“This amendment promotes efficiency, effectiveness and a more responsive city government.”
District 9 Council Member Paula Blackmon, who oversees significant park space like White Rock Lake in East Dallas, told KERA the question should be asked.
“I think it’s a valid question: Should all the departments flow under the city manager?” Blackmon said. “I believe that is something that should be asked and should be reviewed, and if so put to the voters to see if that is the direction we should go.”
Former Park Board President Bobby Abtahi told KERA before the meeting, that things are basically working fine in the park department.
“If something’s not broken, there’s no need to try and fix it,” Abtahi said. “And our parks system has been consistently recognized over the last few years as one of the top in the nation.”
The measure was ultimately voted down by the commission.
‘Complete oversight’
One proposed amendment, submitted by civil rights activist Minister Dominique Alexander, proposed the Dallas Community Police Oversight Board report directly to the city council and “to amend the charter to grant complete oversight” to the board and the police oversight office.
Alexander listed “to increase transparency to the city council and the public about the affairs of the Dallas Police Department,” as rationale for the amendment.
The item was tabled during the commission’s last meeting after discussion over the structure of the board and how it functions.
And that discussion comes at an opportune time.
In late February, the board members learned to their surprise, their power may have been limited. The board was formed to investigation complaints against police officers.
But a confidential legal opinion, passed down by anonymous Dallas City Attorney’s Office lawyers, to the board says it can’t investigate just any complaints.
“It’s just that OCPO nor the board can vote to investigate something that hasn’t first been investigated by IAD,” Office of Community Police Oversight Interim Director Elaine Chandler said.
Board members were furious. The legal opinion comes at a time when the investigative body is looking into the case of Dynell Lane.
Lane is a disable veteran who was mocked by Dallas Police Department officers and reportedly forced to urinate on himself after being denied a bathroom in Deep Ellum last year.
The case was originally given a “no investigation” determination. And while the board is currently looking into the case — under the new interpretation of the city code that governs it, it wouldn’t be able to investigate.
“It used to be that we could investigate those,” District 14 Board Member Brandon Friedman said during a mid-March meeting.
“We spent four years investigating those. Then all of a sudden…city attorney has decided the way the police oversight board has been operating for four years, is not correct.”
‘Bare minimum needed’
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn is suggesting a new community bond commission be formed under the city’s charter. Its members would be appointed by the city council and mayor — much like the Community Bond Task Force that advised the body on the 2024 allocations.
Mendelsohn suggests those appointed “should be registered to vote and meet the qualifications for service on a city commission,” according to the amendment text.
“In our normal process for appointing residents to boards and commissions, a person goes through four background checks,” Mendelsohn told KERA in a statement. “For a task force, there are no background checks.”
And she says the designation of a commission versus a task force has other implications — like when and where city officials have to post notices about public meetings and how they are archived for viewing later.
“My understanding is there was a public meeting near the end of the process at Love Field that was not posted 72 hours in advance,” Mendelsohn said. “I found out about it less than 12 hours in advance. Meaning, the public didn't even know it was happening if they wanted to attend or watch online.”
Mendelsohn said city staff has said the Texas Open Meetings Act does not apply to task forces. KERA reached out to the city to clarify when the meeting agenda was posted — if at all — and to see the differences in public meeting requirements for a task force versus a commission, but has not received a response.
Mendelsohn says when taxpayer money is at stake — more transparency is need.
“Adhering to [Texas Open Meeting Act] meeting notifications and accessibility is the bare minimum needed,” she said.
Arun Agarwal, who served as the task force’s chair and is currently the park board president, told KERA the bond group preforms one of the most important roles in the city.
“This group should get the highest level of mandate and operation with transparency, making it a commission serves that purpose,” Agarwal said. “Also as a commission, their work might be taken more seriously by [city] council.”
The charter commission must decide whether to send amendments related to advisement and management of a billion-dollar bond program, how a independently a civilian oversight board can operate — and whether the park and recreation department will see a limitation in its power — or an increase.
Got a tip? Email Nathan Collins at ncollins@kera.org. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.
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