Mayor Eric Johnson appears to be taking a page out of President Donald Trump’s playbook in an attempt to get Dallas’ fiscal house in order.
On Friday, Johnson requested an item be placed on the city council’s agenda for August 27 that proposes to rename two of the city’s eight established committees and limit when council members can appear via video conference for committee meetings.
Notably, the mayor wants the Workforce, Education & Equity Committee to be renamed to Government Efficiency Committee, seemingly evoking Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Dallas has been on increasingly shaky fiscal ground in recent years. The city budget has increased each year since at least FY 2019-2020, growing from $3.8 billion to the latest proposed record-breaker of $5.2 billion. And despite regular reductions in the property tax rate, homeowners have been feeling the pressure from swelling valuations amid the state’s housing shortage.
Earlier this summer, staff hit the city council with bad news on the anticipated revenue front. Sales tax and property tax collections were projected to come in below previous expectations, leaving the city with a $36.5 million shortfall. Around the same time, the Department of Facilities & Real Estate Management told council members the city was already spending less than half of what it should be to maintain its extensive $1.5 billion portfolio of municipal buildings.
Slide from June 18, 2025, Department of Facilities & Real Estate Management presentation
Tolbert came back to the horseshoe in August with a balanced budget proposal, which includes increases to public safety spending and street maintenance coupled with cuts to other departments.
In addition to calling for a Government Efficiency Committee, Johnson wants the Government Performance & Financial Management Committee renamed to the Finance Committee. It’s currently unclear what exact mandates the two renamed committees would operate under, assuming they are authorized by the full city council. However, the mayor did lay out what he wants to achieve.
Eric Johnson“The renaming of these committees reflects this Mayor Administration’s priority that the City of Dallas (1) practice fiscal responsibility and serve as a prudent steward of taxpayer dollars; and (2) be efficient in its internal operations, delivery of public services, and interactions with other branches and levels of government,” Johnson wrote in a memo to City Manager Kimberly Tolbert.
On the subject of encouraging council members to conduct committee business in-person, the mayor proposed only allowing for video conferencing in cases where it’s “necessitated by official city business.”
“Physical presence fosters higher-quality deliberation through face-to-face interaction and promotes efficiency,” Johnson wrote. “It also increases focus, attention, and transparency, and reduces risks of technological disruption, while ensuring clear voting and quorum procedures.”
He added that in-person attendance would also facilitate more informal interaction with staff and other stakeholders like residents and local media.
City rules didn’t always allow for at-will virtual attendance. The practice was instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic but has since outlived the emergency regulations that provided for the option.