Let me be direct with my fellow Dallasites: The recent criticism directed at City Manager Kimbery Bizor Tolbert is, in my view, both unfair and counterproductive at precisely the moment our city can least afford it.
Drawing upon my experience as a former nonprofit CEO, I understand the importance of engaging with a board of directors and having ongoing conversations with current and prospective stakeholders.
I look at Tolbert as the CEO of an organization with over 13,000 employees. The city is a complex, multilayered institution requiring Tolbert and city staff to engage in constant strategic financial thinking, relationship-building across every sector of a community and yes — candid conversations with a wide variety of people, not all of which get routed through a committee or recorded in a set of meeting minutes.
That is what effective executive leadership looks like. And that is exactly what she is doing here.
Look at the business development efforts with Scotiabank to encourage them to relocate their regional headquarters to Dallas, creating over 1,000 jobs. While the economic development incentives were brought to the City Council for approval, before that Tolbert and her staff were involved in numerous conversations and meetings advocating for Dallas and coming up with an economic incentive plan that is a win-win for Dallas and Scotiabank.
The allegations against her, that she has been having conversations and taking actions outside of some imagined narrow lane, would be unremarkable — even expected — if she were in the private or nonprofit sector. A CEO who doesn’t engage broadly with stakeholders, citizens, community leaders and civic partners isn’t doing her job. Why would we suddenly hold the city manager of one of the largest cities in America to a lesser standard of executive engagement?
I serve on this council. I am not uninformed. And more importantly, I do not need and should not need a transcript of every conversation Tolbert has with every stakeholder on every topic. Neither should my colleagues. There is a profound difference between oversight and micromanagement, and conflating them does a disservice to good governance and to the citizens who elected us to focus on the bigger picture.
Which brings me to the bigger picture.
Dallas is entering one of the most consequential budget seasons in recent memory. The pressures are real, they are structural, and they are not going away — pension obligations that continue to grow, revenue capped by state law limiting our flexibility and mandated increases in public safety spending that leave us with shrinking room to maneuver. These are not political talking points. They are fiscal facts.
I am confident that Tolbert is not only aware of these constraints. She is, by every indication, acutely and deeply focused on them. She is doing what any responsible executive in her position should do: examining every available financial option. That includes hard questions about city infrastructure, including City Hall itself. Whether Dallas renovates a building that will require significant and costly investment, or whether the city explores savings by relocating operations, those are exactly the kinds of questions a fiscally responsible city manager should be asking. The fact that she is asking them is not a scandal. It is stewardship.
The Dallas City Council has begun next year’s budget process. Our briefings and meetings matter enormously. They will set the tone for decisions that will affect every neighborhood, every department and every Dallasite who depends on city services. I would invite my colleagues — and our constituents — to focus their energy there.
We have serious work to do. Our city manager is doing her part. Let’s let her.
Kathy Stewart represents District 10 on the Dallas City Council.