Two factions within the Dallas City Council have scheduled two separate meetings Monday to discuss who the next city manager will be. Most council members skipped the first meeting.

The outcome of the second meeting? Another meeting is planned for Dec. 23 to “virtually interview candidates,” according to a motion made by District 14 council member Paul Ridley.

The dueling agendas come after some council members said they were left in the dark throughout the search process. That includes 46 other candidates turned down by elected officials as of last week — and two very different hiring timelines proposed by other officials.

Council members who attended Monday’s meeting allowed public speakers who showed up at City Hall to talk about the city manager hiring process.

Frank Mihalopoulos, owner of Corinth Properties, said at the meeting that he has been in and around Dallas City Hall since the 1970s and has seen what can happen when a council works together on a problem.

But he said that didn’t necessarily happen during the search for a city manager.

“Unfortunately, we’ve been delayed for several months…it’s not good, it’s not healthy for our city,” Mihalopoulos said. “What I’m here to do today is ask you and those who aren’t here to make sure we’re all working together toward the goal of… having a new city manager.”

District 9 Councilmember Paula Blackmon, District 11 Councilmember Jaynie Schultz, and District 13 Councilmember Gay Donnell Willis called the Monday morning meeting last week.

But only two other council members showed up: District 6 Council Member Omar Narvaez and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Adam Bazaldua.

And that ended the discussion – for the most part.

“The ability to discuss”

Willis said after the public speakers that she had hoped the council could have met “and been able to discuss this very important hire for the CEO of the ninth largest city in America and move the process forward.”

“We just wanted to be able to discuss our concerns with our colleagues, hear them and allow them to hear us,” Willis said. “We were prepared to interview, informally and virtually, three of the semi-finalist candidates.”

Willis said she would ask the city clerk to cancel the interviews. Other council members also provided feedback.

“I was very disappointed that my colleagues who did not come chose to be swayed by politics rather than our (city) charter,” Schultz told KERA after the meeting.

Monday’s meeting “added to the drama of this process,” Schultz said and added that while the Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs had followed the timeline for hiring a city manager set earlier this year, the meeting would not have been summoned.

The city was expected to offer the position to someone before the end of the year, according to an early August timeline proposed by Baker Tilly, the search firm hired to conduct the search, reviewed by KERA.

But an updated calendar in early November shows a final hiring date of February 2025.

“It’s a little confusing as to what timeline we’re following, because anyway…they’re not being followed,” Blackmon told KERA on Monday.

Monday morning’s special council meeting also included a voting item. Blackmon said that probably wouldn’t have happened even if a quorum was present.

“I think we would have changed that,” Blackmon said. “I don’t think we would have made a final selection.”

Chaos or politics?

The search for the next city manager comes as Dallas faces uncertain times. Former Dallas and current Austin City Manager TC Broadnax announced his resignation earlier this year. Around this time, many other top city leaders also left the city.

This includes the former Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia has left the city to join Broadnax in Austin as deputy city manager.

Most recently, Dallas voters approved two controversial charter amendments this significantly changed the functioning of local government.

Elected officials seem to agree on one thing: The city of Dallas needs a permanent city manager — and soon.

Schultz said she doesn’t know why the process happened the way it did. Outside, the search was a source of drama in the city.

That includes tense discussions and tough questions asked after some elected officials discovered that 46 other candidates for city manager had been denied them until a committee meeting last week.

Schultz says the chaotic account of the research is not correct.

“It’s not chaotic, it’s political, and (residents) should pressure their council members to make a decision,” Schultz said. “People use chaos and confusion to distract from the real issue of decision-making. »

Blackmon, Schultz and Willis sent a memo to the city clerk Friday calling Monday’s meeting.

“The most important job of a city council is to hire a city manager. Before yesterday’s ad hoc committee meeting, the process was loose and non-transparent,” the three elected officials said in a statement to KERA on Friday.

“This has excluded council members from our most important duty to taxpayers and it is time to put this crucial choice before the entire governing body.”

Blackmon told KERA on Monday that the apparent division among council members could be overcome.

“The board can do its job when it chooses to do it, we’ve proven that,” Blackmon said. “We put together a budget, we worked on a solid restoration plan for the Dallas Police and Fire Retirement System.”

She added that the council will likely meet, but “it seems like there’s a power struggle, there’s a struggle over what the real process is and who’s the voice in that process.”

Some candidates for city manager are scheduled to be interviewed on Monday, December 23 at 9 a.m.

Do you have any advice? Email Nathan Collins at [email protected]. You can follow Nathan on Twitter @nathannotforyou.

KERA News is made possible thanks to the generosity of our members. If you find these reports useful, consider make a tax-deductible donation Today. THANKS.