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(The Dallas Examiner) – Less than a week after Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax issued his resignation, a special meeting was held Tuesday by the Dallas City Council in the Council Chambers, 6th floor of Dallas City Hall.
The meeting had three items of discussion. First on the list was “Item A: Discussion of the resignation of Dallas City Manager T.C. Broadnax, and a resolution appointing Kimberly Tolbert as Interim City Manager for the City of Dallas, effective at the close of business on June 3, 2024, to serve until the City Council selects and appoints the city manager.”
As the meeting began, City Councilman Adam Bazaldua made a motion to have the adhoc committee be removed from discussion of items A and B or any discussion regarding the same subjects.
Councilwoman Cara Mendelsohn quickly questioned the legitimacy of the removing the committee that the mayor chose and the special meeting. After being told that it was a proper procedure by the parliamentarian and further explained by Bazaldua, she continued.
“Actually, we shouldn’t even be here today. This meeting was called by only three City Council members. The items that we’re discussing were actually delegated to the adhoc committee and they allow a normal city process to play out,” she insisted.
She went on to motion to table the three items on the agenda. However, she was told that she was out of order and could not make the motion.
The vote passed 12-2, with Mendelson and Ridley voting against the motion. Mayor Eric Johnson was the only member absent from the meeting.
The public was then invited to speak. Harrison Blair was one of two speakers who spoke in favor of appointing Tolbert.
“Hi, I’m Harrison Blair, president and CEO of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, which is one of the oldest and largest Black chambers of commerce in the nation. And today we are here with a broad coalition of multicultural partners from the business and trade organizations, social change and faith leaders including the Regional Hispanic Contractors Association, the Regional Black Contractors, the NAACP – Dallas Branch, NGAN and African American Pastors Coalition, the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, the South Dallas Fair Park Faith Coalition and the Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.”
He went on to say that his coalition didn’t ask for the meeting, but if the meeting must take place, they stood in support of Tolbert.
“If you ask why we believe we need to have this happen now. It’s because it’s not just about how the Council feels or how the mayor feels. It’s really about what’s going to happen with our top staff. They are making decisions about what will happen based on the stability of the decision this Council in this body … We ask that you would think about us, the residents, as you make this major leadership decision.”
Harrison said that the group would continue to follow what happens as they search for and hire a new city manager.
Next, Amy Robbins spoke. She was one of two speakers opposing the special meeting.
“My name is Amy Robbins. I’m the CEO of Alexa Athletica. I also help run the Metroplex Civic and Business Association … I am here on behalf of our 130 members and the 10,000 employees that they represent across the metroplex,” she said. “I’m here on behalf of our members who have expressed concern. We’re here to urge each of you to consider that a vacancy does not constitute an emergency, but an opportunity. We urge each of you Council members to take this opportunity very seriously and not rush to fill the spot until you have done a thorough search for the right qualified candidate.”
Dallas Southern Pride and Abounding Prosperity Inc. were in attendance to support Tolbert’s appointment but did not speak during the meeting.
During the discussion among the Council members, most spoke in favor of the appointment and the consistency that she would offer during the transition.
“I think that this is an extremely important process,” Councilman Adam Bazaldua stated. “I think that we are really blessed in a city with the talent that we have at our picking, if you will. We have some big shoes to fill, in my eyes. And that’s my opinion, because I believe that our direction that the city is headed is a positive one. I believe in the spirit of what an interim should be our focus as a city needs to be providing as much consistency and security for where we are in stability for where we are going. And I believe that Kimberly is the best choice for that. I believe in my experience working with her, she knows the city inside and out, knows the departments inside and out. And institutional knowledge of this city in the inner workings of this city as an organization, to me, is second to none.
“I believe that our city is going to be in the best place to not skip a beat for a very important transition with this appointment. and I’m thrilled to welcome her and hope that this body will come together in a unified front with the as many of us as possible to get this vote through. So with that, I do hope that they realize that the public needs to see their governing body working towards solutions.”
He went on to explain that the special meeting was not a rushed meeting. It was a meeting that needed to happen in a timely matter. He said that there’s never a good time to have hard discussions and such an important discussion needed to be the city’s first priority in order to continue to provide the quality of life and service that it provides.
Councilman Omar Narvaez recalled that Tolbert started her position as an interim 30 years ago.
“She has worked across this entire city, only giving her heart and her mind and her soul in the spirit of excellence. She believes in Dallas. Dallas should believe in Kimberly Tolbert,” Narvaez shared. She can get us through the opening that we’re about to have now. This is not a rush to permanency. I want to make sure that the public understands that interim means interim. There will be a whole process that will be worked out and laid out as we go forward. But for right now in order to make sure that our staff are sitting our residents and even this body knows that there will be stability in the six months to a year that it’s going to take to search for the next city manager for the city of Dallas will take time.”
Councilwoman Carolyn King Arnold said that she was in support of the city and its goals of ensuring that Dallas is one of the best cities in the United States. Before continuing, she stopped to briefly thank Broadnax for his leadership.
“We have a multi-billion-dollar portfolio that all of us – all 15 of us, as is what a staff – we have to take care of that business. At the end of all of this, what our community simply wants is to make sure the water is running, the police are working, their fires can get put out, the dogs can get put up, the homeless can be taken care of. Now that’s just a few things, but I know for sure, that Miss Kimberly Tolbert – with her leadership staff – is now in a position where they feel a little bit more comfortable and knowing that we care enough about them to give the signal that everything is going to be okay. It’s just going to take us to work harder together for Dallas.
“And I believe strongly in the fact that we have a charter that we must take care of with this business along with the fact that we have to establish the fact that the city manager manages day-to-day operations of this city. It is not the mayor; it is the city manager. You can check your charter if you have a question. So Miss Kimberly Tolbert, I believe that you understand the charter. I believe you understand the duties. You welcome the pressure. You welcome the duties. You welcome the opportunity to work with each and every one of us around this council.
But just know that the constituents of this city depend on us to take care of all those items that I just shared with you. And they don’t care how we got there, but they want to make sure that all those things are done.
And so thank you, for those of you who are out here today to watch us as we manage this conversation. It has been a challenge, but I don’t waver at all on my vote and my confidence …”
After a closed session meeting, the Council returned to continue the discussion.
Bazaldua moved to appoint Tolbert as the interim city manager effective June 3 and until a permanent city manager is hired. The motion was seconded by two Council members. During her time as interim, she will be paid $367,683 annually.
Councilwoman Gay Donnell Willis pointed out the need for stability during the interim and supported Tolbert.
Councilman Zarin D. Gracey said he was proud and honored to support the vote.
Paul Ridley said that he was uncomfortable about the time the Council took to process the position with the lack of consideration of other candidates.
An open vote was called. The motion passed 12-2, with Mendelson and Ridley as the descending votes again.
Narvaez moved that items B and C be returned back to the adhoc committee.
B. Consideration and discussion regarding the search process for and hiring of a candidate for the position of city manager.
C. Discussion regarding process and schedule for performance evaluations for City Attorney, Tammy L. Palomino, City Secretary, Bilierae Johnson, and City Auditor, Mark Swann.
Narvaez’s motion passed, and the meeting was called to an end.
After the meeting, Johnson communicated his disapproval of the special meeting through a prepared statement to the media.
“Making this kind of decision is extraordinarily important to the functioning of our city government and should not have been rushed,” he wrote. “To be clear: I have no issue with Kim Tolbert serving in an interim capacity. My problem is with this deeply flawed process, not with the person. There was no reason we needed to start off this way. These decisions are too important to the future of our city to have been reduced to shameless politicking, maneuvering, and scheming. It sends absolutely the wrong messages to the public and to prospective candidates for this critical job. We should be catering to the people’s best interests, not special interests.”
Broadnax and Tolbert sent their own message to the media with a much different tone.
“I support the City Council’s decision and believe that Kimberly Bizor Tolbert is more than qualified, capable and committed to lead Dallas through this transition,” Broadnax wrote in an email to the press. “I am confident she will work in partnership with the City Council and lead our talented and dedicated staff to serve our residents.”
In that same email, the new City of Dallas Interim City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert was thankful and seemed ready to put in the work on behalf of the city.
“I am honored to accept the Dallas City Council’s appointment as Interim City Manager” Tolbert said. “I remain committed to working in partnership with the Council, staff, residents and businesses, to ensure a seamless and efficient operation of city government during this transition. Alongside local leaders, we will remain laser focused on the vital issues in front of us such as the upcoming Bond Program election, FY25 Budget development, homelessness and stabilizing the police and fire pensions.”
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