City News Roundup
Dallas City Council embraces ugly holiday tradition and more trending news
Dallas' new city manager was approved, the Casa View neighborhood has a plan, and it was Ugly Sweater Day for the Dallas City Council. Here's what happened in Dallas this week:
Broadnax thumbs up
The city council cast a unanimous vote for T.C. Broadnax as Dallas' next city manager. Broadnax was Tacoma’s city manager for four years; his Dallas tenure will begin on February 1. He replaces City Hall veteran A.C. Gonzalez, who will retire in January after three years.
Broadnax's starting salary is $375,000. He'll receive a $20,000 raise in January 2018, plus $35,000 in relocation expenses, a $700 monthly car allowance, and $18,000 for a deferred compensation program.
Panhandling action
The city council is looking at solutions to the city's panhandling situation, which in certain neighborhoods is looming out of control. The Neighborhood Plus group suggests that the city offer panhandlers jobs doing manual labor. The problem is that panhandling theoretically pays more, as high as $40-$70 an hour.
Other suggestions include posting signs to call 311 and discouraging the public from giving money to people on the streets.
Casa View, one-way streets, and ugly sweaters
The city council approved a master plan for the Casa View neighborhood, east of Casa Linda. Council member Mark Clayton called it "a great day for an area full of affordable homes and great neighborhoods" that will benefit from having a defining plan that city hall staff can refer to when making zoning and design recommendations.
The city council also approved an initiative to change the traffic pattern from one-way to two-way streets on McKinney and Cole avenues.
Miraculously, the council accomplished all of this while observing an Ugly Christmas Sweater day at the office. The council is now going on holiday; the next meeting will be January 11, 2017.
