Efforts to Oust Dallas City Manager Fizzle as Mayor Calls for ‘Reset’
Facing a council divided over whether City Manager T.C. Broadnax would continue in his role and days after declaring that he would vote to fire him, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson and Broadnax released a joint statement on the path forward. Just days after declaring it was time for a change, Mayor Johnson expressed his belief that Broadnax is ready to make necessary changes and that “now is the time for a reset with real results and accountability.”
Broadnax, in turn, acknowledged that he needed to handle some issues better. “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. “I take full responsibility for addressing the issues that are critical to the long-term success of the City. I recognize that our problems are not just about what the media reports, but how we perform. I own that.”
Permitting was the number one issue on the list of priorities for improvement even above public safety. After two years of crippling delays, the statement calls for the city manager to, “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.”
“Whether it gets fixed because the city manager has turned over a new leaf and is now empathetic toward what we have been through or he simply needs to get it right because his job depends on it doesn’t matter to me,” said Dallas BA Executive Officer Phil Crone. “Last month we were told it should be perfect in nine months, but the reality is we still have a long way to go just to be average.”
On June 14, the Association, in a letter signed by Crone, called for a dignified yet decisive transition at the city manager position. The letter cited hundreds of jobs lost due to the permitting crisis and tens of thousands of families left unable to find housing in Dallas.