Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax presented a 100-day action plan in a memo to the Dallas City Council this week, outlining plans to improve city services in several areas, including the often-criticized permitting process.
Last month, the City Council was ready to either fire Broadnax outright or at least put him on notice by moving up his performance review and giving him a stern talking to.
The endeavor ended after Mayor Eric Johnson and Broadnax met to hash things out, with the latter agreeing on a bit of homework—creating an action plan for the city that would address some of the more urgent needs and complaints. That plan, the duo’s announcement said, would be called the R.E.A.L. Impact Plan. R.E.A.L. is an acronym for Responsible, Equitable, Accountable, and Legitimate.
“Through this plan, we will commit to focusing on greater accountability, partnerships, and transparency. And we will work to provide all city services with increased effectiveness, efficiency, and responsiveness,” Broadnax said at the time.
On Wednesday, Broadnax provided that 100-day plan in a memo to the City Council.
The plan addresses the five areas Broadnax and Johnson agreed needed the most attention: permitting, public safety, the 911 call center, a better focus on high-priority issues, and better communication.
Included in the plan is a sketch of how to improve operations for permitting, something that has been a source of contention for several years. In addition to changes already implemented by new development department head Andrew Espinoza, Broadnax said the department will also aim to streamline the permitting process further and staff a call center. The plan also calls for the city to acquire a new facility for the department so it can house all “City-related functions that complement the business development process such as economic development, housing, water, small business center, and the utility partners, among others.”
Some of the goals on the plan are already in play, like requiring event promoters and venues to register with the city, for instance. Others are newer, such as trying to alleviate 911 call times by encouraging residents to report non-emergency issues to an online portal, freeing up 911 operators to take on more high-priority calls.
Broadnax also said that he would like to create a “Homeless Action Response Team(s)” (H.A.R.T.) concept, “that focuses on case management, to address problematic encampment areas and issues across all quadrants of the city as they arise with a quick, decisive, and focused model.”
The memo also calls for more focus on “decommissioning” homeless encampments by working with local nonprofits and city agencies to provide services for homeless individuals, and by working with TxDOT “proactively address trash, debris, and other hazardous conditions near bridges and underpasses.”
Broadax will present all of this in his budget to the City Council next month, and will also have a performance review.
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