Dallas City Attorney Chris Caso announced his retirement Thursday, a day after daltxrealestate.com broke the story that his departure was imminent.
In an email to Mayor Eric Johnson and the Dallas City Council obtained by daltxrealestate.com, Caso stated the following:
Dear Mayor and Council,
I will be retiring from the City on February 28th to spend more time with my family and pursue other interests. I have greatly enjoyed my 17+ years with the City and look forward to embarking on the next chapter in my life.
CHRIS CASO, DALLAS CITY ATTORNEY
Caso joined Dallas City Hall in 2005 and “has been instrumental in representing the City of Dallas in trial court and appellate litigation on a wide variety of subject matters including zoning and land use, eminent domain, property disputes, inverse condemnation, First Amendment issues, contract claims, constitutional claims, election disputes, Open Records and Open Meeting matters, among many others,” according to his bio on the city website.
He became the city attorney in 2020 after serving a two-year stint in an interim capacity. Caso reports directly to the Dallas City Council and earns an annual salary of $325,000.
Trust Issues And Poker Rooms
We first got wind that there was trouble on Marilla Street when Caso’s annual evaluation was delayed in August. At that time, other council appointees, including City Manager T.C. Broadnax, City Secretary Bilierae Johnson, and City Auditor Mark Swann were evaluated and granted 3 percent salary increases.
Caso’s evaluation was deferred to Jan. 11, and after an executive session, deferred again to Jan. 25.
Two high-ranking city officials who asked to remain anonymous told daltxrealestate.com that the council had “trust issues” with the city attorney.
The city has been embroiled in legal matters related to the operation of poker rooms, reversing its 2021 decision allowing their operation and stating the state law on gambling was misinterpreted and the certificates of occupancy were issued erroneously.
The council received legal advice on six lawsuits related to the poker room matter during Wednesday’s executive session.
Legal Trouble at Dallas City Hall
The city also has been sued over a panhandling ordinance that some believe unfairly targets the homeless.
District 7 Councilman Adam Bazaldua was vocally opposed to the measure, calling it an effort to enforce poverty and criminalize homelessness.
“It is extremely disingenuous to stand here and tell us this is about public safety,” Bazaldua said in an October meeting. “This is about [Not In My Backyard]ism. This is absolutely despicable. This is not what we were elected to do. We don’t even have law enforcement resources to enforce speeding in our neighborhoods. We can’t let our kids play in our streets because we don’t have the right resources to have patrols just monitoring speeding. But we have the resources to send people out and fine people for standing in a median? This is absurd. We are wrong for this.”
Residents on both sides of the short-term rental debate have threatened litigation if that doesn’t go their way when it comes before the council for a vote later this year.
The Dallas City Attorney’s Office includes more than 160 employees and operates on a $21 million budget.
