City Hall Roundup: Dallas is Accepting Applications For Housing Task Force
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Want to make a difference in how Dallas’ housing policy is implemented?
The city is now accepting applications for residents to join a selection committee for its inclusive Housing Task Force.
The Housing Task Force will be representative of the population of Dallas and members will have a range of backgrounds and technical skills that include resident advocates, affordable housing financiers, affordable housing developers, housing preservationists, and community housing advocates, according to a city press release.
The Dallas City Council approved its Dallas Housing Policy 2033 in April of last year. The document incorporates equity target areas and a city-wide strategy to develop and preserve affordable housing in Dallas.
Community engagement was essential to creating DHP33 and plays a key role in implementing the policy, city officials said.
The Inclusive Housing Task Force members will:
- Discuss policies and programs offered by the Housing Department.
- Serve in a supportive role bridging communication between the Housing Department and residents.
- Serve a term of one to three years.
- Participate in quarterly meetings – an attendance rate of at least 50 percent is needed to remain in good standing
To apply or to learn more, visit bit.ly/DHP33
Dallas Central Appraisal District Releases 2024-25 Budget
Dallas City Council members got a peek recently into the local appraisal district’s budget for the coming year.
Chief Appraiser Shane Doherty and Deputy Chief Appraiser Cheryl Jordan presented Dallas Central Appraisal District’s 2024-25 proposed budget during a Feb. 26 meeting of the Dallas City Council’s Government Performance and Financial Management Committee.
The $37.6 million proposed budget is an 8.2 percent increase over last year’s approved budget.
About 75 percent of the budget covers salaries and benefits, with the remainder going to things like legal services, information technology, appraisal services, and community relations.
Doherty reviewed how recent legislation impacted the amount that school districts can collect due to homestead exemptions.
Former Chief Appraiser Ken Nolan thanked the City of Dallas for its support. Nolan has worked for DCAD for 43 years and served as chief appraiser for 19 years. The City Council does not vote on DCAD’s budget unless concerns are raised at the committee level.
California Company Plans to Convert Former Wyndham Suites Dallas Into Apartments
More housing is coming to Dallas, according to documents filed recently with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
The Dallas Express reported last month that California-based Omni Vision plans to retrofit the former Wyndham Suites Dallas for apartments on Alpha Road.
The $5 million project is slated for completion in April 2025.
Developer Zachary Krochtengel of Sycamore Strategies is planning a similar albeit more expensive project, converting the Cabana Hotel on Stemmons Freeway into apartments. That project, funded in part through tax credits, is anticipated to cost about $116 million.
Dallas Is Already Using Artificial Intelligence, Will Expand Capacity
Artificial intelligence is being used at Dallas City Hall, but it’s not a catch-all solution to data collection, and it won’t replace people, Chief Data Officer Brita Andercheck told members of the City Council’s Government Performance and Financial Management Committee on Feb. 26.
“Quality data is the foundational piece of any AI program, and quality data is created through governance, policy, and training,” Andercheck said. “We must prioritize privacy, security, and the ethical use of data and AI.”
The goal of AI is for it to make decisions and perform tasks like a human, Andercheck explained. She used the analogy of a cartoon character making a pizza with AI. A human has to program the machine to ensure the proper ingredients are used and the product looks the way it’s supposed to.
Such a practice can be employed in the City of Dallas by training an AI model to determine, for example, the probability of a building catching fire, Andercheck said.
“We put it in the machine learning model until the model correctly predicted past fires,” Andercheck said. “Once we knew it was working, we turned it toward the future and we validated the data with [Dallas Fire Rescue].”
Chief Information Security Officer Brian Gardner said other government entities are using AI to find documents requested through the Freedom of Information Act, determine traffic patterns for emergency vehicles, and write requests for proposals.
“Only roughly 2 percent of cities [are] actively using AI,” Gardner said. “There’s a lack of technical expertise, budgetary constraints, [and] ethical considerations. Significant infrastructure is required to do AI.”
Dallas is looking into AI for its camera infrastructure, procurement process, 311 reports, and development plan review.
“One of the things we need to do is keep a human in the loop,” Andercheck said.
