From left, Street outreach workers with Downtown Dallas, Inc. Leia Reneau and Charles Davis watch as paramedics speak to a men they discovered needed medical attention while talking to people at Civic Garden on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in downtown Dallas.
Juan Figueroa/Staff Photographer
The person who runs the nonprofit overseeing downtown Dallas makes more than New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Some Dallas City Council members questioned Wednesday how much of Downtown Dallas, Inc. president and CEO Jennifer Scripps’ $451,043 salary comes from city coffers. Amid a projected $51 million budget deficit, the pressure to prune city spending put a microscope on downtown.
Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Maxie Johnson pointed out the tax forms that show her pay is much higher than Mamdani’s $258,750 annual wage and questioned how much of the $1 million the city pays Downtown Dallas, Inc. each year goes toward salaries instead of services.
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Scripps told council members that her pay matches market rate. More than 70% of the nonprofit’s budget goes toward security and park maintenance, she said.
Downtown, the city’s economic engine, has experienced a string of upheavals in recent months. AT&T, one of the area’s largest employers, is moving north to Plano, and efforts to bring the Dallas Mavericks downtown ended with the basketball team choosing the former Valley View mall site instead.
Downtown Dallas, Inc. aims to attract businesses and works with the city to reduce street homelessness. The organization maintains downtown’s parks and sidewalks.
The discussion during Wednesday’s council meeting showed the City Council recognizes the organization’s work to keep downtown “safe, clean, and vibrant,” said Monica Gonzalez, the vice president of marketing and communications.
“That critical work has fueled billions of dollars in tax base growth, which in turn funds core services across neighborhoods throughout the city. We look forward to continuing our work together for years to come,” Gonzalez said in a written statement.
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DDI receives tax assessments paid by downtown property owners, including the city itself.
The City Council is considering whether Dallas should pay into other public improvement districts the way it does downtown. If the council decided to, the city would be spending an additional $430,000 annually and about $4.3 million over a decade.
Property owners in such districts choose to pay extra to fund security, landscaping and maintenance services. The investment is assessed on property values and don’t go into the city’s budget.
Instead, the money stays in the public improvement district.
Sixteen improvement districts
Dallas has authorized 16 public improvement districts, but downtown’s is the only one that receives money.
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Downtown is unique because it has the largest share of the city-owned facilities, including City Hall, the public library and the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which means the city pays on its properties there.
Council member Kathy Stewart said if the debate wasn’t actually about expanding PID funding but about salaries, then the city could use its agreement with Downtown Dallas, Inc. to ensure city dollars are only spent on services.
The City Council discussed whether changing its longtime policy to make payments to other districts would add more pressure on the budget. In South Dallas, homeowners and developers have expressed a desire to petition for a district and want the city-owned Fair Park to pay into it.
Council member Adam Bazaldua said “it’s time for us to reevaluate us putting all of our eggs in one basket” when money collected from the city’s properties can be used as seed money for communities to grow.
Downtown improvements
The downtown district was the first of its kind in Dallas. It was created in 1992 when offices and retail stores were leaving the urban core.
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Since then, downtown officials have helped build more parks on former parking lots to make the neighborhood a more walkable and residential space. DDI estimates at least 15,000 residents living there.
Council member Paul Ridley said DDI serves as the “eyes in town.” Its security takes away the expense of hiring additional officers and patrol cars.
But, he said, the proposal to invest in other public improvement districts just adds another expense to the city’s books. He said the districts were designed to be self-sustaining and were not meant to rely upon city assessments.
The process requires property owners in a particular area to initiate a public improvement district.
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This story has been updated with comment from Downtown Dallas, Inc.