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Connecting You With City Information, News, and Resources
Councilmember Cara Mendelsohn

Council appointments:
*Chairman, Government Performance and Financial Management
*Chairman, Ethics and Investigations Ad Hoc
*Vice Chairman, Public Safety
*Housing and Homeless Solutions
*Transportation
*COVID-19 Ad Hoc
*Legislative Ad Hoc
*Regional Transportation Council

Other city-related appointments/elected positions:
*National League of Cities Youth, Education, and Families Council
*Board of Directors, National League of Cities Women in Municipal Government
BUDGET SEASON HAS BEGUN!

Yesterday the City Manager released his draft budget for FY 2021-2022. It's a record-breaking $4.3 billion dollars. The budget is comprised of many parts, with the bulk of revenue coming from property and sales tax. In addition to the federal funding received last year under the CARES Act to address COVID-19, the City of Dallas has also received $355 million under the American Rescue Plan Act to be used in the next two fiscal years ($177 million each year).

Even if you've never participated in city government before, I encourage you to have a say in the budget process this time. There are many decisions now that can impact our future, and with more dollars available, how we use them will either be an investment in our future or a squandered once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

My priorities remain reducing the property tax rate, funding and staffing for public safety, and investments in infrastructure (streets, traffic signals, etc...), maintaining city assets, and assuring the availability of effective homeless services.
Last week the city council had a briefing on spending $25 million on homelessness by deploying an additional rapid rehousing program. Please read the article below and attend the virtual town hall tomorrow (Monday) evening to give your input.

Please see the four Budget Town Halls planned for D12 residents listed below, starting August 12. I look forward to seeing and hearing from you.

Stay safe, Cara Mendelsohn

PS- as COVID-19 cases rise again, you can find testing and vaccination sites, virus data, legal orders, business assistance, and more on the city website at: https://dallascityhall.com/Pages/Corona-Virus.aspx
Funding for Homelessness
I support additional funding to address homelessness in Dallas. With the $377 million of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) received by the City of Dallas, the City Manager and City Council have agreed to put $25 million of the federal funding to address the issue of homelessness.

Last week, the city council was briefed by city staff on their plan to use the full amount to collaborate in a rapid rehousing program. It would offer 12 months of rent, along with case management, apartment set-up of furniture and necessities, plus flexible dollars as needed for special circumstances. The dollars would be rolled out over two years and serve approximately 2700 households in the North Texas region.

I do not support using the full $25 million for the rapid rehousing plan. While it will help households immediately, in three years, we will look around and see that we have spent all our dollars and not changed the circumstances or resources available in Dallas. We will literally have nothing to show for it. City staff proposes MDHA administer the dollars in a sole source (non-competitive bid) contract, although the organization has no history of being able to administer the money, which is nine times their annual revenue, or to reduce homelessness, which has gone up 50% since 2013.

I support a different approach, which includes investing in affordable housing, single room occupancy housing, and non-congregate sheltering, like purchasing hotels and can continue to provide decades of assistance to individuals and families in need, as well as a better return on taxpayer's investment. There are still 4-5 city council districts that have not yet added a homeless facility to their area. Dallas has added few affordable housing units annually and many areas of the city are gentrifying quickly, pushing out the working class. By partnering with private developers, we can maintain workforce housing close to jobs and transportation and help individuals and families in times of great need.

You are invited to hear from city staff about this program and give your input. You can also give your input to city council by signing up to give public comment virtually this Wednesday, next Wednesday, or on voting day August 25th. If you speak this week or next week, it is not on an agenda item and your comments will be heard early in the meeting, which begins at 9 am. If you wait until 8/25, your comments will be heard just before the agenda item, which could vary by many hours. Registration to speak at a city council meeting is on the city secretary site and the deadline to speak at a Wednesday meeting is 5pm on the Tuesday prior to the meeting.
Short-Term Rentals
Short-term rentals, like AirBnBs or Vrbos, have grown all over the city, including in District 12. With many homes that are suitable for wedding venues and party houses in our area, our office is hearing a lot more complaints about the traffic, noise, trash, parking issues, safety, and nuisance issues with neighbors.

The city will soon embark on discussions about regulating short-term rentals. Throughout Texas, different cities have taken very different approaches, from outright banning them, to limiting them to certain areas, limiting them to only homes where the owner is on-site, limiting the number of people allowed in a short-term rental and even when they are allowed outside, to allowing them anywhere with no regulation. What do you think? I'd love to get your input on short-term rentals here:
Home Improvement and Preservation Program (HIPP)

The Department of Housing & Neighborhood Revitalization’s Home Improvement and Preservation Program opens on Friday, August 6, 2021. The program has been retooled to accept only paper applications, and is no longer completed online. 

The Home Improvement & Preservation Program (HIPP) provides financial assistance to homeowners, at or below 80% AMI for rehabilitation and improving residential owner-occupied properties within the City of Dallas. 

WHO IS ELIGIBLE? 
  • Property must be located within the city limits  
  • Own and occupy their home as their primary residence  
  • Be current on their property taxes or on a tax payment plan  
  • Homeowner must have clear title to the property and owned home for at least six (6) months  
  • The homeowner may not have any liens on the property, except those associated with a first Mortgage (Rehab and Reconstruction Programs only). 
  • Have current homeowners insurance or can obtain standard property insurance satisfactory to the City and maintain adequate property insurance for the term of loan 
  • Qualified Income (see specific guidelines) 

Family Size   -   80% AMI
1           -   $49,850
2           -   $57,000
3           -   $64,100
4           -   $71,200
 
Major Rehabilitation Program  

The Major Rehabilitation Program provides the homeowner with a means to make necessary repairs to their homes. The homeowner must live in the house. This is a forgivable loan of up to $50,000, if the homeowner stays in the house for more than 10 years after the repairs are completed. If the homeowner moves out or sells the home, it is prorated accordingly. There are no exceptions. 
Reconstruction Program 

If the necessary home repairs exceed the limits of the Major Rehabilitation Program or if the home is not structurally sound, the City may determine, in its sole discretion, whether a homeowner is eligible for total home reconstruction. This a low-interest loan subject to City established underwriting criteria/requirements and shall no exceed a loan to value to ratio of 85% for all outstanding loan obligations secured by the property. The affordability period for the Housing Reconstruction Program shall be 15 years.  
 
HOW CAN PEOPLE APPLY? 

Applications are available for pick up, only at the following locations from August 6, 2021 to September 10, 2021 from 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.: 
 
  • Pleasant Grove Branch Library  
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Branch Library  
  • Bachman Lake Branch Library  
  • Hampton-Illinois Branch Library 
 
Applications may also be downloaded at www.dallascityhall.com/HIPP 
 
Applications can only be dropped off from 9am - 1pm on Saturday, September 11, 2021 at any location shown above.

Applications will be accepted and process on a first come, first served basis until allocated funds are depleted. Applicants can have a representative drop off their application on their behalf.  
 
City staff is hosting virtual and in-person workshops to educate applicants about changes to the program. The workshop will discuss how HIPP works, what supplemental information is required to complete an application and program deadlines. 
 
HAVE QUESTIONS? Join us virtually or in person: 
 
Virtual Q&A Session – 4 to 5 p.m., August 17, 2021 
Registration at: https://bit.ly/2UunDXX 
 
Virtual Open House - 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4p.m. to 8 p.m. August 24, 2021 
Housing staff will present about HIPP at the top of every hour and answer questions afterwards. Presentations will be given in Spanish at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. 
Login at:  https://bit.ly/36ToC6v 
  • Meeting number: 146 728 1001 
  • Password: HIPP 
 
In-Person Q&A  
  • Pleasant Grove Branch Library – August 17th 3-4pm  
     Spanish Translation Available 
     RSVP Here – Space is limited to 75 people  
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Branch Library – August 17th 2-3pm 
     RSVP Here – Space is limited to 30 people 
  • Hampton-Illinois Branch Library– August 17th 11am-12pm 
     RSVP Here – Space is limited to 50 people 
 
For more information about the program, visit dallashousingpolicy.com or call 214-670-3644 or email hipp@dallascityhall.com. 
District 12 Virtual Budget Town Halls
Join the D12 Virtual Town Halls. If you've already signed up for a previous town hall, we'll automatically send you the link around 5 pm the day of the event. If you haven't signed up yet, register here so you'll receive the link:

We've scheduled budget town halls in person, virtually, and by tele-townhall. Come share your priorities for next year, including the tax rate and how tax dollars should be spent on funding public safety, street and traffic signal maintenance, alley and sidewalk repair, parks and libraries, panhandling and homeless services, sanitation services, etc... It's your time to speak up!

District 12 - Community Spotlight!
Thank you to the Preston Green Townhome neighbors!

These generous neighbors collected and filled 60 backpacks stuffed with school supplies for the Mayor's Back to School Fair to help low-income students start the school year off ready to learn and succeed. Thank you for your kind and timely efforts!!
Quick Updates & News
  • 44 new LED street lights have been installed on Haverwood! The goal is to reduce crime and increase safety. 11 LED street lights are coming soon to Pear Ridge and 58 to Rosemeade/Midway. Research has proven this an effective, lasting way to improve safety and this was a recommendation by the Mayor's Task Force on Public Safety.

  • It’s time for Dallas residents to help the City improve safety on the road! You are invited to take the Vision Zero survey to give feedback on the issues and improvements you think are most critical to improving traffic safety. The following survey should take approximately five minutes to complete and will help the City determine what areas to focus. The City is making it a priority to end traffic deaths and reduce serious injuries. Find the survey here: www.dallascityhall.com/visionzero

  • See a homeless encampment? Please report it to 311. There are over 440 known encampments in Dallas and the city staff expects there are others that are unknown. The Office of Homeless Solutions prioritizes their response based on resident reports.

  • Panhandling at an intersection you pass? Please report it to 311. Again, the Office of Homeless Solutions prioritizes responses based on resident reports. A new panhandling ordinance with enforcement in being developed and will be presented to city council in the fall.

  • The Dallas Public Library offers courses to help students to read music and play instruments. This program is available online only. Registration is required. Click here to find a music class that interests you: https://dallaslibrary.librarymarket.com/events/month.

  • The City of Dallas in partnership with the Dallas Housing Authority has a program available to help renters negatively impacted by COVID-19. The program, available through DHA has $18 million in rental assistance funding to disperse through Dec. 31, 2021 for renters who have been adversely impacted by COVID-19 and meet the income eligibility requirements. Applications for Emergency Rental Assistance are available now at www.DallasRentRelief.com through Dec. 31, 2021. The program provides assistance for up to 12 months of past-due and future rent payments from March 2020 to December 2021. This program exclusively covers rent and does not include utility payments. Landlords can also apply on behalf of their tenants. Applicants must submit a completed application with supporting documentation.

  • Cotton Belt/Silver Line - Yes, Hillcrest will have construction going on through January 2023. A group of homeowners will join state and local transportation agency representatives, along with DART and City of Dallas representatives to assess the intersections where the train crosses at grade for safety to meet the quiet zone standards.

  • Poker rooms - more research and meetings have been conducted and within a week more information on a strategy by the city will be shared. For now, all certificate of occupancy permits are on hold by the city attorney's office.

Your Trash Service May Change - Give Input!
Need help, got a question, or want to give input?

Email: Cara.Mendelsohn@DallasCityHall.com
Office phone: (214) 670-4067
Text phone: (214) 490-1036