IN GENERAL.

Dallas City Code ch. 8, art. I

in effect

Dallas City Code § 8-1 DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 8-1. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: (1) BOARD means a board or commission of the city that is established by ordinance or the Charter of the City of Dallas. (2) CHAIR means the presiding officer of a board whether appointed by the city council or elected by the other members of the board. During debate, the chair shall be referred to by this official title and shall be addressed by prefixing Mr. or Madam, as the case may be, to that title. (3) CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION means any information that could not be obtained by the public under the Texas Open Records Act. (4) CONSIDERATION means the process by which a board disposes of a motion. (5) CRIMINAL RECORD means a record of a person's criminal history, which may include, without limitation, arrests, convictions, dismissals, and acquittals. (6) FORFEIT or FORFEITURE means automatic loss of membership on a board, without the need for council action. (7) ITEM means a particular subject of public business listed on a posted agenda that requires consideration from the board during the public meeting. (8) MEMBER means a duly appointed or elected member of a board. (Ord. Nos. 14180; 19924; 20488; 30555; 31350)

Dallas City Code § 8-1.1 REPORTS TO THE CITY COUNCIL.

SEC. 8-1.1. REPORTS TO THE CITY COUNCIL. (a) By February 1 of each year, each board shall submit to the city manager for distribution to the city council an annual report that has been approved by the board of its activities containing the following: (1) a cover letter transmitting the report, signed by the board chair, addressed to the mayor and city council; (2) a table of contents; (3) a mission statement or the guiding principles of the reporting body; (4) a summary of the year just completed including highlights of objectives and accomplishments; (5) a list of objectives and programs for the coming year including revised goals; (6) a summary of the board's recommendations, including a summary of the recommendations of the minority if there is a minority report; (7) other information determined to be necessary by the board. (b) Copies of the report should be furnished to the city manager, city secretary, and each member of the board. (c) The office of the city manager shall coordinate the preparation of the reports within the applicable city departments and generally give assistance in the development of the reports. (d) The following formatting standards shall apply: (1) The report should be 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size. Each larger sheet should be folded to this size. (2) Covers should include the city of Dallas logo. (e) Minority or dissenting viewpoints should be given full disclosure in the report so that the opinions of each board member are fairly conveyed. The minority or dissenting report should be prepared by those holding such viewpoints and it should be incorporated in the report without editing, except in order to achieve compliance with this section. If the majority report, including attachments, appendices, and index pages, numbers less than 100 pages, the minority report will be placed after the last page of the majority report. If the majority report numbers 100 pages or more, the minority report will be placed after the summary of recommendations and before the body of the full majority report. (f) If a board finds it necessary or important to publish a report other than an annual report, the provisions of this section shall apply to the special report. (g) On behalf of the city council, the city manager shall analyze and evaluate each report submitted pursuant to this section by March 15 of each year. (Ord. Nos. 14180; 15126; 15378; 20488; 21118; 21155; 30555)

Dallas City Code § 8-1.2 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT; ACCEPTANCE.

SEC. 8-1.2. NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT; ACCEPTANCE. (a) After the city council appoints a person to serve as a member of a board, the city secretary shall notify the person in writing of the appointment. The notification shall contain the city's code of ethics and a form of acceptance of appointment to be returned to the city secretary by the appointee. The form of acceptance shall contain a statement that the appointee has read the entire code of ethics and agrees to comply with it. (b) The appointee must return the signed acceptance of appointment to the city secretary within 15 calendar days from the date of receiving notice of the appointment. If the city secretary does not receive the signed acceptance of appointment within the required 15 days, that board position shall be considered vacant and a new appointment made. (Ord. Nos. 15848; 18560; 20488; 30555)

Dallas City Code § 8-1.3 ELIGIBILITY OF EMPLOYEE OF FRANCHISE HOLDER.

SEC. 8-1.3. ELIGIBILITY OF EMPLOYEE OF FRANCHISE HOLDER. (a) A person who is an employee of a public utility providing service under a franchise with the city is not disqualified from serving as a member of a board if the responsibilities of the board are not directly related to regulation of the rates and service of the public utility. (b) A board member who is an employee of a public utility providing service under a franchise with the city shall abstain from voting and comply with Section 8-14 on any matter before the board directly or indirectly related to the business of the public utility. (Ord. Nos. 16467; 17489; 20488)

Dallas City Code § 8-1.4 QUALIFICATION CONSIDERATIONS IN APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS.

SEC. 8-1.4. QUALIFICATION CONSIDERATIONS IN APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS. (a) An appointee to a board must: (1) have been a resident of the city for at least six months prior to the date of appointment; (2) have no conviction that is considered by the city council to be so serious that it should serve as a disqualification; (3) not be an adversary party to pending litigation or a claim against the city or a city employee, except for eminent domain proceedings; disqualification of an appointee under this subparagraph may be waived by the city council after review of the specific circumstances unless the subject of the litigation or claim involves the board on which the appointee will serve or the department providing support services to that board; (4) not be an employee or a business associate of either an adversary party or a representative of an adversary party, nor have a pecuniary interest, in any pending litigation or claim, other than an eminent domain proceeding, against the city relating to the board on which the appointee will serve or the department providing support services to that board or against any individual officer or employee of the support department (unless unrelated to such individual's office or employment); disqualification of an appointee under this subparagraph may not be waived; (5) not be in arrears on any city taxes, water service charges, or other obligations owed the city; (6) have a creditable record of attendance pursuant to Section 8-20 in any previous board service; and (7) except as provided in this section, meet any other qualifications for service on a board that are mandated by the city charter or other ordinances. (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an appointee to a board is not required to live in the district for which he or she is appointed, unless district residency for a board is expressly required by this code. (c) A person may serve on only one board at a time, except that this restriction does not apply to ex officio board positions. It is the city council's intent that a board member is not required to resign one board position before being appointed to another board, but must resign the first position before accepting appointment to the new board position. (d) Notwithstanding Subsection (c), a person may serve on up to two boards of directors of reinvestment zones established under the Tax Increment Financing Act, as amended. (e) A person appointed to a board must meet, at the time of appointment and during the entire period of service on the board, all qualifications for appointment to that board that are required by this section and any other applicable provision of a city ordinance or the city charter. This subsection does not apply to a qualification waived by the city council pursuant to specific authority granted in a provision of a city ordinance or the city charter applicable to the board to which the person is appointed. (f) The city secretary, using resources available to the city, shall inform the city council if any person nominated for appointment to a board has been convicted of a misdemeanor offense, other than a traffic violation, or of any felony offense. (g) A person is not disqualified from board service under Subsection (a)(6) if the person has entered into an agreement (authorized by the city, state law, or court order) to pay the obligation on a scheduled payment plan and is current on payments under the plan and in compliance with all terms and conditions of the plan. Before the person is appointed or reappointed to any board, the city secretary shall inform the city council if the person is on such a payment plan. The city secretary shall monitor compliance with the payment plan and notify the city council and the city attorney whenever the person is not in compliance with the plan. (h) Except as provided in this subsection, if a person does not meet or continue to meet the qualifications set forth under this section, the city secretary shall send the following: (1) a notice that the person forfeits membership on the board due to failure to satisfy a qualification requirement under Paragraph (1), (2), (5), (6), or (7) of Subsection (a) of this section. (2) a notice that the city secretary shall place an item on a council agenda to consider appointment of the person to the board or removal of the person from the board for failure to satisfy a qualification requirement under Paragraph (3) or (4) of Subsection (a) of this section. (i) City council may waive a special qualification requirement in other chapters of the Dallas City Code when waiver would be in the public interest. (Ord. Nos. 16525; 17087; 19983; 20016; 20488; 21933; 22495; 26007; 26246; 30555; 30789; 31504; 31505)

Dallas City Code § 8-1.5 LIMITATION OF TERMS.

SEC. 8-1.5. LIMITATION OF TERMS. (a) A person who has served as a member of a particular board for four consecutive two-year terms will not again be eligible to serve on that same board until at least one term has elapsed, regardless of whether service was as a member or chair. (a-1) Reserved. (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), a person may serve as a member of a particular board for the maximum number of terms that may be fixed for the particular board by the city charter or federal law and will not again be eligible to serve on that same board until at least one term has elapsed. (c) In determining whether a full term has been served by a board member, the same definition of "term" that applies to a city council member, as set forth in Chapter III, Section 3A(c) of the city charter, will also apply to a board member. (Ord. Nos. 22259; 22570; 24141; 30555; 32801)

Source: City of Dallas, Dallas City Code and City Charter (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/dallas/latest/dallas_tx/0-0-0-136947Fetched: 10/26/2026