Ever since Kimberly Bizer Tolbert took over as Dallas' interim city manager on May 2, she has been looking forward to changes at City Hall. His new boss revamped the organization chart and outlined goals for the first 100 days.
Yesterday, Tolbert announced in an email to the Dallas City Council that interim Dallas Water Utilities Director Sarah Standifer's title will be changed to permanent director. The move may be seen as controversial by many City Hall watchers, especially those who consider themselves among the city's environmental hawks. Mr. Standifer said that when environmental problems appeared to be common, such as sand pits and drained wetland ponds in the woods near where Trinity Forest Golf Club is being built, He gained attention for his role as head of the department that oversees the management of the Trinity River and watershed. .
Standifer joined the city in 2002 and was appointed interim director of the city's water services in June 2023, when his predecessor, Terry Lowery, retired. In his email, Mr. Tolbert cited Mr. Standifer's expertise in water and wastewater management, as well as his partnerships with the Trinity Regional Flood Commission, the National Waterways Council, and the Metropolitan Water District Association.
In the same email, Tolbert also announced that Emily Liu has been hired as director of planning and urban design. Ms. Liu is from Louisville, Kentucky, where she also held a similar role. Tolbert said Liu had been with Louisville for more than 10 years, much of that time leading the planning department. She has also worked in Illinois and Ohio, and in 2022 she will become the first Kentucky woman to be admitted to the American Institute of Certified Planners' College of Fellows. She is scheduled to start work in Dallas on May 20th.
“Emily has extensive expertise across many aspects of urban planning and design, including long-term planning, zoning, housing, transportation, urban design, and historic preservation,” Tolbert wrote. “She was a key figure in leading Louisville’s highly regarded zoning reform efforts, and she is recognized as a model for other cities.”
Liu's new post has been in the post since September, when then-PUD Director Julia Ryan left to join a consulting firm in Arkansas. Andrea Gil, who was deputy director when Ryan left, became the agency's interim director and helped guide the city through, among other things, continued updates to its land use plan, known as Forward Dallas. Tolbert said Liu will return to his post as assistant director upon his arrival in Dallas and continue working on initiatives such as Forward Dallas, zoning change approval hearings and updates to the city's development code.
In other regions, current top politicians may soon resign. Assistant City Managers Robert Perez and Majid Al Ghafrey are on the short list for city manager positions in Topeka, Kansas and DeSoto, respectively. Both cities' city councils met Tuesday to discuss potential hires in executive session. Topeka took no action, and DeSoto city spokesman Matt Smith said the city could not announce anything yet.
Under the new organizational structure, Perez will oversee code enforcement, sanitation, Dallas Animal Services, 311 and the city's homelessness agency. Al-Ghafley leads the city's Aviation Department, Dallas Water Utility, Public Works, Transportation, the city's Office of Bond and Construction Management, and the Office of Environmental Quality and Sustainability.
Additionally, two new Interim Deputy City Managers have been appointed, Robin Bentley and Donzell Gipson. Mr. Bentley has served as the city's economic development director for many years, and Mr. Gipson has served as assistant director of the police department.
Bentley will now oversee convention and event services, development services (including the beleaguered permitting authority), economic development, housing and neighborhood revitalization, planning and urban design, and the small business center. Gipson is responsible for managing the city's Building Services, Facilities and Fleet Management, IT, Procurement Services, and Civil Service departments.
Dallas continues to make good progress in its search for a permanent manager as former City Manager TC Broadnax enters his third day in his new job in Austin. The city just completed a bidding process for a search firm, and city staff will soon make a recommendation to council on which organization will identify the permanent boss. In the meantime, work continues at City Hall with some new responsibilities as the city asks residents to consider what the job entails.
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Bethany Erickson
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Bethany Erickson is D Magazine. Throughout her career, she has written about real estate, education policy, the stock market, and crime, sometimes simultaneously. She hates lima beans and 5 a.m. and takes her SAT practice tests for her fun.
