The Dallas City Council on Tuesday appointed Kimberly Bizor Tolbert to serve as interim city manager while a search is conducted to replace T.C. Broadnax, who submitted his resignation last week, effective June 3.
Tolbert currently oversees the Office of Risk Management, Aviation, Dallas Water Utilities, Human Resources, Communications, Outreach, & Marketing, Office of Homeless Solutions, and the Small Business Center.
The appointment, which begins June 3 and ends when a permanent city manager is in place, was made in a 12-2 vote with council members Cara Mendelsohn and Paul Ridley voting against it. Mayor Eric Johnson, who asked that the search process be handled by the Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs, did not attend Tuesday’s meeting or a separate meeting Monday of the ad hoc committee.
Confusion by Committee
There was some confusion about why the matter was being reviewed by two separate entities composed of similar players.
Councilman Adam Bazaldua, who called Tuesday’s meeting with council members Jaime Resendez and Jaynie Schultz, moved that the Ad Hoc Committee on Administrative Affairs be “discharged from further consideration of … discussion of candidates for the position of interim city manager and the timeline for naming the interim city manager, consideration and discussion regarding the search process for and hiring of a candidate for the position of city manager, or any item involving practically the same subjects.”
Mendelsohn questioned the authority of the council to discharge a committee that was given a charge by the mayor.
“We shouldn’t even be here today,” she said. “This meeting was called by only three city council members. The items that we’re discussing were actually delegated to the ad hoc committee and they allow a normal city process to play out. I’m concerned about a rush to name an interim when we should be considering all possibilities systematically instead of a campaign that is lacking in transparency.”
Members of the public took to social media to decry a lack of transparency in how the process is being handled.
“The very genesis of this governance was started in secret and behind closed doors and that DNA was carried through to today,” wrote John Botefuhr, a former District 9 City Council candidate, after Tuesday’s meeting. “This decision was not made based on the altruistic will of a stronger city, but based because of egos, and a quick opportunity window for perceived power. Let’s all pray that the search for a new Dallas city manager does not continue this process laid out and fertilized by the last one.”
Schultz said the discharge did not undermine or eliminate the work of the committee; it was just a procedural effort to allow the full council to discuss the matter. The charge can be resubmitted to the ad hoc committee, City Attorney Tammy Palomino said. The council voted at the end of Tuesday’s meeting to turn back over the search and hiring process to the committee.
In support of the ad hoc committee’s discharge of duties, Councilwoman Paula Blackmon said, “All 15 of us should be at the table.” Councilman Chad West agreed.
“When you have something this important on the table in front of you, we all need to be working together as one united body getting it done,” he said.
Appointment of Kimberly Tolbert as Interim City Manager
Faith leaders, businesspeople, and community activists appeared during the public comment portion of Tuesday’s meeting to support Tolbert.
Harrison Blair, president and CEO of the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, said residents should be considered when making a major leadership decision.
“We are also here for the long haul,” he said. “Right now, as we transition, we want to make sure we keep our city in steady hands, and Kim Tolbert has represented that. She didn’t ask us to be here, she didn’t want us to be here, but when you ride with us like that, we’re going to stand for you whether you ask for it or not. Like the mayor said, if we want to inspire confidence, hear us when we say as a coalition, we want Kim Tolbert.”
Tolbert’s pay will be increased by 15 percent during the interim appointment, bringing her annual salary to about $367,683.
Tolbert issued the following statement to local media Tuesday evening.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Tennell Atkins, who chairs the ad hoc committee and presided over Tuesday’s meeting, said there was no backroom deal.
“We are going to do what is best for the City of Dallas,” he said. “It’s not backdoor politics … It wasn’t a backdoor deal.”
Watch Tuesday’s Dallas City Council meeting here.
