Dallas County Needs a New Courthouse - Dallas Morning News
I was quoted liberally in an article in today's Dallas Morning News along with a Pulitzer picture of me poring over documents. The genesis of the article were some remarks I made several months ago after an interloper slipped in to a jury room after lunch break resulting in a mistrial. I suggested that the commissioners court consider replacing the Frank Crowley Courthouse with one designed to meet the security needs of our judiciary and our modern courts.
Travis County spent five to seven years studying a new Justice Center to meet the needs of their courts and voters in 2011 approved $340 million in bonds to fund it. Travis County, like Dallas County, enjoys a "triple A" Standard &Poor rating so a bond program to fund a new criminal courts facility is not pie-in-sky. This is Dallas - we think big here and live large and I believe we should settle for nothing less than the finest court facilities and system in the state.
We have a new commissioner’s court today, a new county judge, a new team of county administrators and new judges. But Dallas County is still operating under priorities determined and decisions made in the late 1980s. The "pay-go" vision of financing county government is certainly sober and responsible and has much to recommend it, but it also has its costs. By electing an entirely new county leadership team and new judges, I think the public expects a re-examination of the strategic direction of county government, its tax structure and its operations.
Master Plans are policy documents that represent the strategic vision and priorities of an organization. Our latest Master Plan was issued, ironically, in 2007 the very year that forty-nine new elected officials took office. By electing new leaders, the voters of Dallas County have demanded change and that means a re-evaluation of the priorities set by a previous generation of elected officials. Commissioners should take steps to invite the public to a larger discussion of what direction the county should be moving in, what our tax structure should be and whether the county’s policy against issuing capital bonds, something every other county over 1 million does, is best for our future..
Imagine Riverfront without the Jail - Dallas Morning News
I was gratified that Raul De La Garza of the Dallas Morning News pointed out that in the discussion of costs associated with building a new facility, what must be factored in is the economic benefit derived from the improvements that would be made possible along Riverfront and the Trinity corridor.
Dallas has a great opportunity to transform a mundane flood plain into a destination for recreation, entertainment and commerce. The likely closure and demolition of the Dawson State Jail across from Lew Sterrett is a big step in the right direction. The improvements sighted by the Trinity River Corridor Project are essential to our county's economic future. Indeed, over the next twenty years the county will be challenged with meeting the needs of an aging population, housing and infrastructure. In addition, we continue to face stiff competition from the rapidly growing exurban counties to our north and south. By investing in county government we are investing in our community’s infrastructure and resources to meet these challenges.
Dallas County has undergone a remarkable change in the attitude and outlook of its people. If the strategies adopted by previous commissioner courts are as right for the county now as they were then, great. But opening up the dialogue and the discussion, in my view, is not an option. It’s our responsibility.
