The City’s Charter Review Commission is considering potential changes to the Dallas City Charter, including raising council members’ pay, increasing term lengths, and adding more seats to the city council.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Charter Review Commission is in the process of reviewing the City Charter and determining potential amendments. After proposed amendments are finalized, the commission will present them to the Dallas City Council in May.
After approval from the city council, the amendments will be placed on the ballot to be approved by Dallas voters.
“It’s important,” said Commissioner Terry Lowery, former director of Dallas Water Utilities, per The Dallas Morning News. “It’s our constitution, basically.”
Any Dallas resident can submit ideas for amendments to the commission until January 19.
One amendment being considered would give members of the Dallas City Council a pay raise, matching their pay to the median household income of the metroplex. The proposal would also adjust the mayor’s salary to 135% of that median income.
“I think it’s something that should happen, and I do think it needs to be tied to something measurable that will increase over time like everything else,” said Lowery, per the DMN. “To me, it’s common sense.”
Lowery added that a proposal to increase the term lengths of council members seems to “have legs” in the commission.
Council Member Cara Mendelsohn said three-year terms would allow council members to focus more on City business and less on campaigning.
“With a two-year term, council members frequently find themselves considering campaigns very soon after they were elected,” she said, per the DMN. “A three-year term would allow them to focus on complex policy questions without the split attention of a looming campaign.”
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, Mendelsohn submitted a series of proposed amendments in December, including the introduction of term limits for council members rather than allowing them to run again after “sitting out one term.”
Mendelsohn told the DMN that she also supports staggering city council terms rather than having every representative be appointed at the same time.
“Having staggered terms would provide a continuity that would be more efficient for city business and policy development,” she said.
However, Commissioner David de la Fuente said he would not support staggered terms as it would mean residents in some districts would have to vote two separate times for the mayor and their city council member, while residents in other districts could cast their vote for both in the same election cycle.
“I think it’s an abomination,” he said. “Every single year would be an election year in the City of Dallas, which I think is asking too much of voters.”
Two other proposals on the table would add more seats to the Dallas City Council. One would add four seats to the council, while another would add six. Both amendments were submitted by Hany Abdel-Motaleb and former council member Philip Kingston, as reported by the DMN.
Currently, the city council has 14 seats, in addition to the mayor.
Abdel-Motaleb and Kingston say the City should add more members to the city council because of the population growth Dallas has seen over the past several decades.
“I think increasing City Council seats not just increases representation, but increases the likelihood that those kinds of neighborhoods get to be represented by the candidate of their choice,” said Albert Mata, former candidate for City Council District 1.
As previously covered by The Dallas Express, the Charter Review Commission is also considering a proposal to move Dallas municipal elections from May to November.
De la Fuente told the DMN he is continuing to support this proposal, as well as another that would introduce ranked-choice voting, should it become legal under Texas law. This would allow voters to rank candidates in their order of preference, eliminating the necessity of runoff elections, according to de la Fuente.
“It saves time and money [for the city],” he said, per the DMN. “Who could disagree with that?”
Dallas residents still have time to submit charter amendment proposals, as the deadline is 5 p.m. on January 19. Amendments can be submitted through the City’s website, by emailing [email protected], by calling 214-671-5148, or by speaking to the Office of Government Affairs at Dallas City Hall.
