Dallas Ethics Reform Proposals to Go to Vote November 9

Dallas council members' control over development in their districts led earlier this month to the conviction of one council member and four associates for extortion.

Now the Dallas mayor, Tom Leppert, is effectively forcing the hand of the city council to enact ethics reforms to provide more transparency and oversight with respect to development matters. According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, at this week's council meeting, despite attempts to close debate, the mayor somehow got ten of fifteen council members to support his reforms, as amended, in a straw poll. A final vote is expected at the next meeting, on November 9.

Here's what the ethics reform proposals look like:

Lobbyist Disclosure - Lobbyists (people who make or spend more than $200 to influence city officials) will have to register and file quarterly reports disclosing contacts with high-level city officials, the issues those officials were lobbied on, and a list of expenditures used for lobbying on municipal matters, among other requirements. In addition, on significant zoning cases, applicants, landowners, and people with contracts to purchase property must disclose contacts with City Council members and plan commissioners.

Campaign Contribution Ban - Ban on campaign contributions from the time a zoning application is filed until 60 days after it is resolved, and the same applies to applicants seeking tax abatements, credits, grants or similar city subsidies, and to those bidding on city contracts (some argued that this would be prejudicial to incumbents, but this would hardly offset the advantage incumbents have)

Zoning Oversight - Council members must get two other council members to "second" any zoning motion, and acknowledge having reviewed the case, before it could go to a vote of the full council (an interesting quote from a council member: "Corruption is not corrected by my having to do some other council member's work. Corruption comes when I don't have enough time to do the work that supports my family." This was the most controversial provision.)

Zoning consultants were strong in their criticism of the first proposal. One of them told the council, "I think you have diluted the idea of transparency. This is more of a public ploy. It's not going to change corruption – don't get that in your minds." He called the disclosures cumbersome and costly, and suggested it was an effort by City Hall to make money.

The zoning consultant is right about these reforms not being enough to end corruption. But they're steps in the right direction. All of these are good, important ethics reforms.

Robert Wechsler
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics

---