drumguy8800

Did anyone catch the special? It ran from 6:30-7:00 today, the 15th. Very interesting. I think that some of us should've been on there.. most of the opinions we express are now finally being "realized," i guess, in the new report published by the DMN. It skimmed some of the things that are going to happen in the future, and the problems with city government. Looks like Mayor Miller, like most of us, is for a strong mayor-type government. Also, she mentioned the Trinity River Project becoming a reality- The first of the calatrava bridges is going to begin construction in a year and a half, she said. Wow! Something actually on schedule! Really, Dallas is in an upturn, even if its not the building-boom of the 80s. I figured I'd open a thread for anyone who saw it to respond..

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TexasStar

I missed it. I record their 6PM newscast to watch when I get home, so I was really upset when I saw the promo.
Oh well, I'll just have to read it in the DMN.

gc

Missed it myself. Can't wait to read the DMN coverage.

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Columbus Civil

How many times did Laura Miller drop the F bomb?

drumguy8800

Well. I'm sure they had to edit it .. she had some mighty fine words to say about little ol' Teddy (his real name is Teodore. (no i didn't forget the 'h')..weird..) and the city government and about how it is limiting what she can do. She appeared a wee bit agitated. The show was obnoxiously short.. if you didn't see it, don't worry. If you dig through the forum, you'll find MUCH more comprehensive information than what can be fed to the il-(thiskindastuff)-literate public in a thirty minute show packed with umpteen commercial breaks.. the show was depressing anyway, and the only good part was the "cinematography" used to shoot the city. One of the main problems with the show is that they were viewing the municipality of Dallas instead of "greater" Dallas. A portrait of greater Dallas is certainly more encouraging. but, again, the city of Dallas' statistics are what everyone in the world sees... not necessarily the DFW area........ asf;klajslfjkfd I DONT GET THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS... someone mail me a copy? .. or someone could be really nice and get me a subscription.

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gc

here you go....coming sunday

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Quiz03

its already online if anyone is interested in not waiting http://www.dallasnews.com/tippingpoint

drumguy8800

One of the things that really bugs me about Dallas, as said in this report, is how poorly DISD is doing. What can be done to fix it? We need more money, but we have no source.. We need benefactors ><.. That's why Booker T. is getting rebuilt. Has anyone ever been inside a Dallas ISD campus? I never have.. anyone want to describe what its like? I've heard some pretty distressing stuff.

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Quiz03

What's needed is parents demanding accountability in the schools their children attend. Now that bussing has finally been removed hopefully the local community wll take pride in their local school, in the high school football team etc etc. Its a lot easier for a parent to get involved in their child's school when it is a mile away instead of twenty. If the schools get demonstrably better and that awareness arrives such that DISD can get over its poor local reputation, and then you might see the middle class stay. I don't think you'll see families move from the suburbs to Dallas. Future transplants, and young professionals are whom DISD should be marketing itself to in the near future. Young singles that decide that DISD isn a gppd district and a good place to raise a family when they do settle down. The boom in uptown has the beginnings, but can they be convinced to stay when it is time to raise a family.

I would say the biggest improvement that would come to Dallas would be a return of middle class families. If the families don't come to Dallas why should businesses come here where their workers would have to commute an hour each way. Business will follow their workers. If mass transit had been developed sooner it might have provided a transit commuting culture and a critical mass of companies willing to do it.

For the southern sector to be successful high level executive housing needs to be developed. $400,000 plus

drumguy8800

Maybe the school district should just be split up. Like.. the UDISD.. or uptown Dallas independent school district. Cause then, they would get wealthy, and as the development of uptown expanded... the wealth would spill over into the neighboring districts. Right now, people are paying big bucks to live in places like uptown, but getting a relatively poor education compared to what they could be getting for cheaper in a suburb.

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Foucault

W.T. White was ranked one of the best-improved high schools in the nation last year.

Quiz03

DISD itself breaking up won't happen. Uptown would be wealthy, but what about pleasant grove, or seagoville. They would be worse off. Imagine Wilmer Hutchins ISD except three or four them.

I think if all school districts were broken up into independently accountable districts it would be a good idea. The State or a North Texas education district having equal taxing authority throughout the area could assign funds based on enrollment and success benchmarks. Similar to Perry's idea the slimmed down districts could decide to have a small "excellence" property tax to fund any extras the district and the public thought important.

gc

Just scanned through the online article: OUCH

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drumguy8800

Although the stuff in the article is very true and very critical, they are certainly playin' it up a little bit. But of course, such a view is GREAT in turn for a city because it calls for action. That's one of the great things about America- the nation's free press can completely and entirely change the face of a community. And that's the intention of Belo, thankfully. Lets hope that this will cause massive public awareness to some of the citys problems and why the city has such difficulty dealing with stuff. Maybe it will open people's eyes to the problems (mainly the city government's set up) that choke our city, and hopefully it will call for the city's voters to stand up and force the city council to back down and let Dallas enter a modern era of government....

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dallastophoenix

"Dallas does not participate in an annual benchmarking study by the association's Center for Performance Management. Booz Allen's analysts sometimes found it easier to get information about Dallas from its peer cities -- which gathered it for their own benchmarking purposes -- than from Dallas."

i find this quote deeply disturbing... benchmarking is usually a basic step for any business to use to remain competitive and get better at what it does/offers. any MBA program will tell you that - heck, any undergrad business program teaches this...

were our council members raised (taught) by wolves, and therefore don't know how to implement the basics of running a successful "business"???

another sad thing is that the majority of dallas' population will read this article and probably ignore it... allowing the current city leaders to continue their masquerade. "look at us, we are getting a downtown grocery store, and we're willing to give them millions!" meanwhile, disd continues to crumble, as kids remain in their portable classrooms and are taught by tired, underpaid, and unrecognized teachers, who just can't wait for that break to teach in the suburbs...

i feel like crying...

oh, and this quote - unbelievable!!!... "Unlike its peers, it operates without relying on either a comprehensive land use plan or a strategic business plan."

don't get me started again...

drumguy8800

Dallas better turn around soon. I don't ever plan on leaving this area.. for all of my life.. and if I'm forced to because it becomes some kind of crap hole.. im gonna be ANGRY. We should go downtown and protest at city hall. Oh yeah, that would be impressive. (sarcasm, btw.) or we could just riot. RiOT!

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dallastophoenix

as i read more, i first feel worse, then a little better:

"Good government," he said, "helps produce good economic results."

Dallas must give itself a thorough self-examination, according to Mr. Finkle at the Washington economic development group.

"The first thing to do: Benchmark yourself," he said. "What are we doing well? What are we not doing well? What are our economic development goals?

"Who is leading the charge?"

still referring to my post above - hopefully, the city will be receptive to this basic exercise...

gc

Good questions. I hope the Dallas Indicators website does starts to answer those questions.

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sterling

gc, thanks for the link to Dallas Indicators Website. I'm amazed i haven't seen it before, as I subscribe to many such services in Texas, and follow the indicators of many cities as well as Dallas. This will be a great new source for me to chart the progress (hopefully) of what's going on in Big D. Again, I must thank THIS forum for providing lively discourse and a service superior to many "authorized" city mouthpieces.

And Quiz, thanks for the link to "Dallas at the Tipping Point". I have never seen the facts presented in such an unvarnished way, especially in a local publication. I must say I agree with every word printed. It's tough for people to hear and ponder, but obviously some people are worried enough that they're dispensing with the current/past mode of "blind praise no matter what". I'll be following the letters to the editor in response to it. I'll bet a lot of folks are "madder than a wet hen". Perhaps being "not in the running" for the future Olympics has had a positive slant after all. Anything to wake people up from their "Dallas Dreamland" scenario.

drumguy8800

What other cities do you follow, Sterling? You seem to follow Dallas pretty avidly, at least from what I've seen in this forum.. and you seem to have a great deal of knowledge on it. Are you this interested in all cities, or is there somethin special about Dallas?

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sterling

I am interested in urban living in a general way, and in that regard I follow all cities. I do have a special regard for cities in Texas and their progress, as they are the cities I know best. I do follow a few cities with more than general interest. Sometimes it seems like I subscribe to just about any magazine that has TEXAS in the title. I've also subscribed to the magazines that focus on the individual cities of Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio etc... The city magazines come and go but "D" probably holds the record for longest running. Currently I read "D" online and not as a mailed subscription, but it will come along again in my rotation this year or next. I try to absorb information from as many diverse sources on Texas as I can, from quality of life and human rights issues, to tourism, to the fine arts. For example, I have formed arguable opinions about how one would rate the various art collections in Texas museums, as well as their operas, symphonies, ballets and theater companies.

I do have a number of tenuous ties to Dallas both historic and current. Members of my extended family have been there a hundred years or so, though I don't keep in contact with any of them. There is a street and an expressway reflecting two of those family names. My grandfather's first wife and son (there were a few) are interred in that mausoleum behind Northpark. There was a house on Ross (which I never lived in), which has been a vacant lot awaiting development for more than 30 years. My grandfather was a comic vaudeville entertainer on "Theater Row", and another forebear was a politician who championed the building of Fair Park. So yes, there is something special about Dallas to me. I grew up hearing about the "glory days" when anything seemed to be possible in the city, and in my mind naively equated Dallas with Paris, France and other glamorous destinations. It was probably as a result of this former glory that Dallas was the first city I "chose" to live in as an adult. I have fond memories, from the "fashion hounds" in the discos of Oak Lawn, to the "jazzers" in the illicit ghetto "gambling/music dens" of Garden Street. Sometimes I think of returning. On and on...

I'll stop there as this is starting to sound like a resume'. But just in case someone thinks I pick on Dallas without a second thought, I assure you it isn't so.

rantanamo

I respect the knowledge of the firm that did this study, but a lot of what they conclude is a bunch of hooey. It's nothing but a rehash of the obvious. I guess the intent was to publicly embarrass govt officials, which I can't really disagree with needing to happen. Some of the comparisons to area suburbs are unfair to compair without mentioning some advantages they have. Some of the suggested models to follow in the editorial for urban successes are Frisco and Flower Mound? Some of this stuff is good. Some of this stuff is horrible. Most of it is obvious.

Do you guys think it will embarrass officials enough to start making changes immediately? Because obviously that was the intent or it doesn't go public.

TexasStar

I have to admit it was painful to read much of the article. But if it takes a punch in the mouth like this to get people off the sidelines and into the game, then give the DMN credit for throwing the punch.

My optimism has not been dampened in the least. I think Dallas is on the verge of taking off like never before. But, of course, it still going to require a lot of smart effort, guts, and a rebirth of the sheer civic boosterism that made this city famous in the first place.

Let Booz Allen Hamilton check back when the Cowboys are once more playing in Fair Park on Sundays, the BCS is coming to town for the NCAA Championship, a Super Bowl and Final Four are being planned, the Trinity River Park is open with fancy new bridges sparkling in the sun, Victory is built out, West Village is completed, and Downtown is humming with new residents, restaurants, and night life. When it all plays out we may determine the tip toward prosperity started long before this article was published.

Detroit my ass.

gc

Residents want a voice in city's future
Civic leaders discuss Morning News study on Dallas' prospects
10:27 PM CDT on Sunday, April 18, 2004
By VICTORIA LOE HICKS and ANGELA SHAH / The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...pint.3e48d.html

Memo to City Hall: Don't sell us short.

That was one message delivered Sunday by a panel of grass-roots civic leaders who came together to discuss "Dallas at the Tipping Point," an analysis of the city's prospects presented in Sunday's editions of The Dallas Morning News.

"Our city leadership in general doesn't give the voting public the credit for being intelligent enough to understand what constitutes an investment in our future and what's wasteful," said John Floeter, who lives in Lakewood.

"They sell the citizens short frequently," agreed Betty Wadkins of the Piedmont-Scyene area.

The consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton analyzed Dallas city government for The News, comparing Dallas to 14 cities of similar size. The consultants found that Dallas chronically under-invests in its infrastructure, lacks a strategic plan and labors under a tangled organizational structure that leaves no one ultimately accountable.

The panel, city leaders and other newspaper readers disputed some of the findings. But they generally agreed that the analysis was a valuable assessment of Dallas' situation.

Several panelists said Dallas residents have more faith in their city than leaders recognize.

"The bond program is a testament to that," said Angela Hunt, who lives in Greenland Hills. Mayor Laura Miller and nearly half the council resisted the $555 million bond package, which voters later overwhelmingly embraced.

"I don't care whether it's the city manager or the mayor, but somebody needs to come forward and say, 'Look, folks, we need to invest in this city,' " said Bill Peterson, chairman of the city's Crime Watch executive board.

In City Hall's defense, some panelists said, residents must recognize that Dallas is in a healthy transition from government-by-the-few to government-by-the-many. It's only natural, they said, that there be some tentativeness along the way.

"The city is going through a very significant transition in its power structure," said Martin Hoffman, who lives in the Park Royal neighborhood. "We're seeing a gradual change to a more bottom-up city government as opposed to a small group of downtown business leaders who control city government.

"I think it's somewhat unfair to the city to say, 'This is the city's that's broken,' because we've just started this new era. And I think the new era has a lot more potential than the old era."

That doesn't mean there is no longer a place at the table for business leaders, he and other panelists said. In fact, they agreed, greater involvement by more groups must be the hallmark of the new Dallas.

"I think the community as a whole needs to work together, the pieces, and I think it's starting to happen in Dallas," said Jeri Arbuckle, president of the Dallas Homeowners League.

"In Dallas we tend to react to crisis situations, including the press, and we allow things to develop to crisis level before it becomes a public conversation. I think dialogues are starting now."

Ms. Miller took a page from the same book.

"I ran for mayor two years ago on a platform of major change – exactly what the newspaper's report is advocating. As a result, the Dallas City Council has been working feverishly to turn the city around, often with the help of business leaders and the faith community," Ms. Miller said in an e-mail.

"We've vastly improved the Trinity River project. We're revitalizing and greening downtown block by block, building more housing, reducing crime, aggressively tackling the homeless problem, and demanding accountability at City Hall. Can we do better? Sure. Will we keep making progress? Yes."

"It's certainly a worthwhile report; we all need to pay attention at City Hall," said Mayor Pro Tem John Loza. "Obviously, there are some deficiencies that we need to work on. ... We've started that process: identifying goals, establishing performance measures, setting targets."

Council member Ed Oakley's initial response was that news coverage of Dallas' problems is counterproductive.

"I think that a story like this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy," he said. "This is what our competitors will use across the country to say, 'You don't want to come to Dallas.' ... I worry about articles like this. Y'all aren't helping."

He conceded, though, that council members sometimes lose sight of the long view in the crush of day-to-day issues.

"It's always good to raise our awareness. Sometimes we're so bogged down in the day-to-day operations," he said.

The Booz Allen report – which is available online at www. dallasnews.com/tippingpoint – found the city performing poorly on the very items that city residents say matter most: crime, public schools and economic growth.

Response from readers reaffirmed the importance of those quality-of-life issues.

Wilma Avalos, who has lived the Love Field West neighborhood since 1965, said in a phone interview that crime is topic No. 1 among her neighbors.

"We've been told about the crime, that our crime rate for the last four months is almost zero out here," she said. "We know different. Three Sundays ago they found a dead woman at Empire Central and Harry Hines. The following week [the Police Department] gave us a report saying zero murders."

A reader who identified himself as Jimmy and said he lives in Allen weighed in via e-mail. "The only thing keeping my family from living in Dallas proper is the education situation in Dallas," he wrote.

First Assistant City Manager Mary Suhm said elected officials and the city staff will use the Booz Allen report to help refine Dallas' operations.

"I know each and every one of us will look seriously at the research and observations of The Morning News, for possibilities to improve our day-to-day services as well as our long-range strategic planning," she said.

Attempts to reach City Manager Ted Benavides were unsuccessful.

Although Jimmy from Allen doesn't live in Dallas, he said he's rooting for the city and hopes leaders will heed the wake-up call inherent in the data presented by Booz Allen and The News.

"We all agree that the suburbs, as well as the rest of the metropolitan area, depend on a central urban core to do well in order for the whole area to prosper in the long run," he wrote. "This is a very important report that I hope the leaders of Dallas look at closely and take action on immediately."

E-mail vloe@dallasnews.com and ashah@dallasnews.com

__________________
“We shape our Cities, thereafter they shape us.”

LakeHighlands

After reading the entire article here are some of my views...


***Although Dallas accounts for a third of the population in the statistical area that bears its name, less than 10 percent of the region's new single-family homes are constructed within the city limits. The number of apartments built in the city outpaces houses 2-to-1.

Not surprisingly, 57 percent of Dallas households are renters rather than homeowners.

DALLAS INCLUDED -- have done much in recent years to repair a tattered urban fabric. Trendy nightspots and in-town lofts for childless twentysomethings and empty-nesters are symbols of downtowns on the rebound.

Only one ingredient is missing, experts say: middle-class families with children.

"For cities to have a middle class is very, very important," said Paul Grogan, president of the Boston Foundation, one of the nation's oldest community foundations.

"They're the bedrock of society," he added. "Having empty-nesters and childless people only is an organic weakness in a community." *** From Article


I like uptown and I am very glad Dallas has it, but Dallas also needs a middle class community. Dallas does need to keep on developing Uptown. But look at Dallas; it is almost a city of the very wealthy or very poor. There are areas like Preston Hollow or much of North Dallas, and then there is Pleasant Grove and South Dallas.
This is a neighborhood with a strong middle class values and lots of community sprit. Lake Highlands is often referred to as a small town in the big city. I have lived in the Lake Highlands for 17 years and the price that people are paying for new houses in this area are very high considering what they are buying. Almost all new houses built in Lake Highlands are zero lot homes. The newest development on the corner of Walnut Hill and Fair Oaks goes for $400,000. I have never seen houses built so close together in my life. These are very large houses, with about 3 feet from the back of the house to the alley, no more than 6 feet from the front door to the street and you can touch the other house on the side by putting your hand out the window of your house.

At least its not as odd looking as new neighborhood where people paid $400,000 to look at a 20-25ft cement wall in their back yard. They build this one into the side of a hill in LH. It is very interesting to look at. I have also noticed the Mc Mansions popping up in LH. (For those people who do not want zero lot homes) I’d be driving down the street, all of a sudden where 2 one floor houses used to be, there is this giant 7000sg ft house. (I’ll post photos of these developments soon). Taxes in LH are some of the highest in the city of Dallas. (RISD $1.82 per $100 of home value) State MAX

The city is in the process of rezoning much of LH, (been 25 years since the city looked at it) let’s hope they get rid of all the low income apartments in the area. The rest of the city should care because LH will be the blueprint for how much of the City of Dallas will look in the future. If the city rezones the apartment to single family homes, it will increase the middle class families with kids in the city and increase the number of home owners. Also property values will increase a lot in LH, and the burden placed on area schools will be lifted. By removing the apartment, Dallas will free up much need land for housing. The prices that people are willing to pay for houses in LH shows there is a high demand for people wanting to stay in Dallas. For the price people are paying for zero lot homes in LH, they could build a much larger house in Allen or McKinney with a front and back yard. Also by removing apartments from single family residential areas like LH, Dallas would be able to build more apartments in Downtown or uptown in areas more suitable for apartments.

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"One of Dallas' strongest communities, Lake Highlands boasts a true sense of neighborhood spirit. Local stores reflect passionate support for Lake Highlands schools with school posters and signs. True to its name, the area features handsome traditional homes up and down rolling hills and charming, winding roads." --Lake Highlands People

LakeHighlands

From Article
***In city neighborhoods with homes in the Dallas and Richardson school districts, those in the RISD portion are valued at 30 percent to 35 percent more. That means lower tax receipts from properties on the DISD side of the boundaries.

Schools in the Richardson district, where more than half of the students live in Dallas, averaged 18.7 volunteer hours per student in 2002. The DISD schools averaged three hours.

Dallas has an informal relationship with its second-largest district, the better-performing Richardson schools.

"Families with school-age children who can afford to move outside the district or send their children to private school are strongly inclined to do so," the Booz Allen report found.***(Referring to DISD)

Amazing how a school district can make such a difference. Back in the 60’s and 70’s the rival schools for Lake Highlands High School were Hillcrest and Bryan Adams. Today the rival schools are Highland Park, Plano East, etc. What happen to DISD? Why in 30 years did Hillcrest and Bryan Adams fall from being peers of LH to under performing schools, while LH, under the Richardson ISD, is one of the top 100 high schools in the country? Here is a grim picture, imagine what the City of Dallas would be like today, if huge parts of northern Dallas were not under the Richardson and Plano ISD but under the DISD. That distance relationship the City of Dallas has with RISD, has left residents of LH feeling they have more in common with Richardson and can relate more to Richardson than they can to the City of Dallas where Lake Highlands is located.

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"One of Dallas' strongest communities, Lake Highlands boasts a true sense of neighborhood spirit. Local stores reflect passionate support for Lake Highlands schools with school posters and signs. True to its name, the area features handsome traditional homes up and down rolling hills and charming, winding roads." --Lake Highlands People

LakeHighlands

From Article
***Nearly one in five Dallas residents moved to a nearby city from 1995 to 2000. That made Dallas, along with Houston, the biggest losers in terms of migration to the suburbs.***

Why do so many people leave Dallas? Besides the poor school, City Hall does not listen to its residents very well. Dallas City Hall has done a poor job in our area. (LH) From giving Strip Clubs permits to open on the outskirts of LH to wanting to open Section 8 apartments in LH, and not doing enough to enforce city rules on some problematic apartment complexes in LH. When we say we do not want a strip club in our neighborhood, we mean it, or when we say no section 8 apartments, we mean that too! I think a lot of people leave for the suburbs because the suburbs listen. I never heard residents of Plano, Richardson or any other suburbs have to tell their city council not to let a strip club in. The cities know better. Hopefully, this report will wake up city hall. Dallas needs to fix DISD, and it need to listen to its residents.

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"One of Dallas' strongest communities, Lake Highlands boasts a true sense of neighborhood spirit. Local stores reflect passionate support for Lake Highlands schools with school posters and signs. True to its name, the area features handsome traditional homes up and down rolling hills and charming, winding roads." --Lake Highlands People

LakeHighlands

From Article
***Only 10 percent of the housing stock in Dallas is suited to middle-income buyers. Booz Allen found that the overwhelming majority of units -- 85 percent -- consists of apartments or houses valued closer to $50,000. They're not likely to appeal to anyone who can afford a nicer home in the suburbs. ***

How can this be? Are they saying that the area west from Midway east across Dallas to White Rock Lake Area and North from 190 in Dallas to all the way south to the Park Cities only make up 15% of Dallas housing? You sure won’t find a house that cost $50,000 in this area. The houses in that area are only getting larger and more expensive. Most houses in this area range from $200,000 to the several million.

WOW, after drawing it on a map of Dallas, the Area is not that big. I included uptown even thought there are not much house there, but there are many expensive condos. It makes me sad to see how much of Dallas can fall in that 85%. Red outline show the area I'm talking about.

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"One of Dallas' strongest communities, Lake Highlands boasts a true sense of neighborhood spirit. Local stores reflect passionate support for Lake Highlands schools with school posters and signs. True to its name, the area features handsome traditional homes up and down rolling hills and charming, winding roads." --Lake Highlands People

dallastophoenix

from the report:

"LAURA MILLER

Mayor

Dallas' biggest attribute: Enthusiastic people willing to donate their time and talent to make the city better

Dallas' biggest challenge: Better schools, cleaner air, safer neighborhoods, a clear-eyed vision

The most important thing Dallas can do to enhance its future is: to get the Trinity River completed and downtown revitalized. Attract new business, conventions and tourists to town. Generate new money to improve city services. We need a major shot in the arm."

i'm sure her intentions are good, but what she states as dallas' biggest challenges do not mirror her response to the most important thing dallas can do for its future... it seems to be simple rhetoric.

gc

LakeHighlands, good points...I hope this report wakes folks up as well...DISD, affordable housing, crime, etc need fixing....and need fixing fast

dallastophoenix, funny you noticed that too...her statements almost contradict one another....

__________________
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mikedsjr

GC and DtoP,

But that is what politicians do, but aren't we all poiticians.

gc

nope...not me...i am perfect! :biggrin2:

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“We shape our Cities, thereafter they shape us.”

trolleygirl

Move to the City of Dallas and start organizing. Run for City Council. If more young people actually started doing this, then they would have to pay attention to us. And maybe we would have more challengers running against incumbents. Those guys aren't grooming any young people for office.

gc

The Front Burner has lots of thoughts on this too....

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trolleygirl

We have to understand what is meant by "affordable" housing. It's supposed to be something like 80% of the average median income, which my may calculations when I look at the applicants for affordable housing, would cost $900 for a 2 bedroom apartment. I can't figure how they calculate that "affordable" is $900 for a two bedroom apartment if "affordable" is 80% or less than the average median income.

If you ask a developer, he'll tell you that a $120,000 home is affordable.

gc

...from Wick Allison on the Frontburner...


HERE'S WHAT I TOLD THE MAYOR
Laura Miller just called to get my reaction to the Tipping Point study. I told her two themes permeated all sections of the report. The first was the awful culture at City Hall, from the city council all the way down. That culture is marked by defensiveness, avoidance, scapegoating, and decision-avoidance. The second theme was structural. The organizational structure diffuses responsibility. Under the present city charter, nobody is in charge.

As I see it, the second problem causes the first problem. Booz Allen said that form of government really doesn't matter: cities run successfully under council/manager and under strong mayor systems. But to overhaul and replace the culture at City Hall, we need to produce a shock to the system. Like Laura, I'm in favor of switching to strong mayor to produce the kind of radical change to the culture that Dallas needs. And that's what I told her.

Wick Allison · 12:57 PM

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trolleygirl

Earth to Wick: Did you read the report??? The strong mayor/council manager debate is a D-I-S-T-R-A-C-T-I-O-N!!! What makes makes Wick Allison more qualified than Booz Allen to determine that? I cannot believe the denial that continues. I've been saying since I got booted off the Charter Commission that there is nothing wrong with the current system but everything wrong with current leadership. That was at least cnfirmed to me by Booz Allen's study.

Maybe nobody listenes to me because I'm too young.

gc

I know your pain TG, but he makes a point that I have made before (I know you disagree)...."The organizational structure diffuses responsibility. Under the present city charter, nobody is in charge." To me, that is true..period. I know you say that the council is accountable to their district...but the overwhelming majority of people don't vote....so they are basically accountable to nobody. You combine that with their incompetence and what do you have.....a major report about our beloved Dallas being at it's Tipping Point. This is not good.

Perhaps, if the orgainizational structure were altered some...you know...to give someone more power to do something...a.k.a. make policy...then maybe people would start to pay more attention and care.

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“We shape our Cities, thereafter they shape us.”

trolleygirl

I understand very well the points that you are making. But remember, the report also stated that other cities work fine under both systems.

Here is what I see: it's so obvious that our current council leaders have a serious cae of denial. When asked if she thought Dallas was at the Tipping Point, Mayor Millers resonded with, "no I don't thisnk so, I think that in five years we're going to be a different city." Did anyone else find the reomtest degree of irony in that ridiculously stupid statement? Yeah, we've got the worst case of denial. The Trinity River will fix everythng and we shouldn't focus negative attention on Dallas because that would be bad. Yeah yeah, and the emporor has no clothes. But the way to fix our problems here in River City is to change the city charter. Yeah that's the ticket! That'll fix everything.

I think report was trying to focus on our real problems. They did that well. I think the denial syndrome caused the Council, the Mayor and Wick Allison to respond by ignoring that one teeny detail, that the system of government isn't THE problem and changing it won't, by any means, be the cure to our problems.

I have $100 that says that if the report highly favored changing the City's Charter, that the council would have been beaming about it. The Mayor would have said, "all of our problems begin at the door of the council/manager form of government and as soon as we change that charter, then all will be well." Instead the report did not give them that "way out" and is forcing them to look at themselves for an answer. Which, they are choosing not to do. They are choosing not to be resposibe for their inability to be good leaders.

It will be left up to the citizens to decide in '05.

gc

word TG!

another entry from the FrontBurner...


HERE'S WHAT RON KIRK TOLD ME
Ran into Ron Kirk at lunch. He dismissed my analysis with gusto and said, "It's all about people" (This from the mayor who hired Ted Banavides.) He went on: "Get a strong mayor and a strong city manager, and the problem fixes itself. Everybody forgets that we had the Dallas Plan, and we worked it, and yes, it was boring, detailed work, and nobody wanted to cover it in the newspapers or magazines, but that's how we accomplished all that we did." Basically his advice boils down to Teddy Roosevelt's dictum when asked how he planned to build the Panama Canal: "A man, a plan--a canal." All my carefully thought-though analysis of culture and structure could be dealt with in one stroke, ala Kirk, by hiring a first-rate city manager.

Wick Allison · 02:13 PM

__________________
“We shape our Cities, thereafter they shape us.”

tamtagon

It was a stupid thing to say. If Dallas is a different city in five years, it wont be because of Fair Park (aka New Cowboys Stadium) or the Trinity River Park. One or the other may be close operational, but not to the extent that a dramatic change to the city will have been realized. The construction mess which will be Project Pegasus will inhabit large scale growth in the CBD for years.



I know that's right!

tamtagon

None of Proj Pegasus should begin until all DART lines are open and running into the CBD.

gc

So then, we all have different viewpoints and opinions. I have already emailed the mayor and council twice today. I'd say if you have time to read this post, then you have time to send the mayor and council an email regarding your concerns, thoughts, and recommendations. After all, they do claim that they want city "input", whatever that means.

Fill in the form here!

__________________
“We shape our Cities, thereafter they shape us.”

dallastophoenix

I totally agree! If a new Trinity River, Cowboy's stadium, and dt grocery actually lifted the moral of our police force, reduced crime, made housing affordable, and fixed our streets (among other things) then I would be jumping up and down w/ excitement. If it's only going to take 5 years to achieve all of the city's problems, then dallas' city government will surely be remembered all throughout this nation's history as accomplishing so much w/ such little time (and effort)... btw, what happened to miller's "back to the basics" campaign b4 she was mayor?

drumguy8800

Isn't most of this stuff DISD's "fault"? Or its the fault of the people that are ruining DISD? Somewhere.. at some point.. something happened. At some time or other, crime got too bad in an area and all the rich people moved out and all the poor moved in. And this trend has continued across the DISD service area and much of Dallas.. putting DISD in a HUGE mess. Lakehighlands pointed out part of the article up there--^ There aren't enough middleclass families. Why not? The school system. If we had better schools.. better teachers.. more impressive test scores, people would be FLOODING into this city. FLOODING. There wouldn't be enough houses. All the undeveloped lots in Dallas would be filled up, and Dallas would be prospering more than it ever had. All because of the education - probably the number one factor in looking for a place to raise or relocate a family. Now, I'm not saying that DISD is doing it to themselves. They aren't. But lets look at what is.. partially. Kind of a chain of events.

DOWNARD CYCLE

1. Greed. Someone gets angry, needy. Commits a crime.
2. Crime rates increase in an area.
3. People get scared.
4. The middleclass moves.
5. The poor fill the void.
6. Property values drop.
7. School incomes drop.
8. School performance drops, teachers are hired just so there can be a face in front of the classroom.
9. As there are now more lower income familys, theft increases
10. crime rate continues to increase
11. Everything continues to deteriorate. As people aren't getting good educations, they don't go to college. They can't get good jobs, and therefore are low-income AGAIN.

And then one day, some really nice guy- Someone like *COUGH* Bill Gates decides to get really philantropisty on us, and gives DISD billions of dollars.

(UPWARD CYCLE)

1. School systems improve.
2. Lower income families, now with educations, get better jobs.
3. They rebuild their homes as something nice.
4. Property and taxable property values increase.
5. City is nicer.. happier. More middleclass.. more upperclass. More children.. Better everything.

I personally think that education is the key to making Dallas a great city. This city is never going to get better unless DISD improves! Thats why the cities that are within DISD are deteriorating and the parts of Dallas within other school districts are thriving.

There needs to be something to break the cycle.. and the only answer I can thing of is a ton of money.

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gc

drummy, aceplace hit the nail on the head....the biggest part of it is "white flight"....all the minorities came in and the white folk left. It is terrible and really sucks...but it is the truth for the most part.

__________________
“We shape our Cities, thereafter they shape us.”

drumguy8800

I was gonna say whiteflight.. as thats basically what I was trying to say. But, I figured "white flight" would be kind of rude, so I avoided it. Unfortunately, most minorities take in lower incomes. Its really a bad epidemic. and its only getting worse. Half of the people who moved into Dallas between 1990 and 2000 were either foreign or domestic immigrants. I'm guessing a huge chunk of that was Mexicans immigrating. If they're the majority of the projected 4 million person growth in the next 25 years.. and most are low income.. thats gonna be trouble.



I plan on running for City Council and being an architect. If the power structure changes, I wouldn't run for the only "in-the-public-eye" job, mayor, because that would be too much power for me to handle. In the event that the structure changes, I would probably try and become the head of the Public Works Dept.

__________________
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dallastophoenix

gc, besides letting the Frontburner know what I think (I copied one of my posts from this thread), I also included the link you provided:

BLIND, DUMB, AND DEAF
A civic-minded FrontBurnervian points out a line in the Tipping Point report that I meant to highlight myself. He does a better job than I would have, so here he is.

"Dallas does not participate in an annual benchmarking study by the association's Center for Performance Management. Booz Allen's analysts sometimes found it easier to get information about Dallas from its peer cities -- which gathered it for their own benchmarking purposes -- than from Dallas."

I find this quote deeply disturbing... Benchmarking is usually a basic step for any business to use to remain competitive and get better at what it does/offers. Any MBA program will tell you that - Hell, any undergraduate business program teaches this...

Also, I'm not sure if Frontburnervians would care to do so, but here's a link to let the mayor and city council members know what residents think about the city's leadership, leadership structure, priorities, and lack of a strategic plan (among numerous other issues).

Wick Allison · 05:05 PM

gc

Good job dallastophoenix, I saw that post on the frontburner and thought it sounded familiar.

drummy, white flight is the term used. Whose fault is it? The minorities for moving to a desirable location or the "white folk" leaving?

__________________
“We shape our Cities, thereafter they shape us.”