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City Council addressed several key issues during its Tuesday, June 17, study session, including potential changes to the city's ethics code regarding political endorsements and revisions to the demolition-rebuild program.
The most contentious discussion centered on Ordinance 3811, which restricts council members from endorsing political candidates. Councilman Roger Neal brought forward the item, stating there appeared to be "clear violations of this ordinance" during the recent election.
"I'm not here to indict anyone for those violations in any way," Neil said. "I only wanted to bring this forward and see if the council feels that it's appropriate to continue this ordinance."
The discussion quickly became heated, with Councilman Omar Roman addressing what he called "the elephant in the room," referencing the mayor's involvement in recent campaigns.
"I think it was very clear that the mayor had openly endorsed candidates and helped finance them and it does create an uncomfortable work environment," Roman said.
Mayor Terry Lynn defended his actions, acknowledging he attended a Dallas County Republican meeting to seek endorsement but argued all council members have First Amendment rights.
"Our local elections are supposed to be nonpartisan and yet there were mailers that were delivered to folks that said 'Dear Democrat voter' and advocating for a particular candidate," Lynn said.
City Attorney Nicole Corr confirmed the ordinance is unenforceable due to First Amendment protections. Multiple council members, including Councilwoman Tina Bennett-Burton, expressed support for removing the ordinance entirely.
"It is a First Amendment violation and I'll stand on that," Bennett-Burton said. "Since it is unenforceable… it does not make sense to have this ordinance on the books."
The council also discussed simplifying the city's demolition-rebuild incentive program. Economic Development Manager Megan Holloway presented two options to replace the current four-tier system with a single-tier approach.
The program has assisted 159 homes across all districts since inception, with 23 applications this year alone. District 5 has seen the highest participation with 99 homes, while District 1 has had only four participants.
"This year we've had 23 homes and last year we had 15 and in the past it's been in the teens," Holloway said.
The council showed preference for a three-year tax rebate with a $10,000 cash grant, though the mayor suggested gathering additional input from local developers before finalizing the decision.
In other business, the council agreed to reconvene the charter review committee with elections scheduled for May 2027 rather than November 2026 to save costs. Erin Flores, city secretary and deputy director of administrative services, outlined a timeline for appointments.
"The earliest that we could reconvene is November of 2026 or if we would like to have it on May of 2027 or May of 2028," Flores said.
Several council members suggested allowing the committee to select its own chairperson rather than having the council make that appointment.
The council is expected to vote on removing the political endorsement ordinance at its next regular meeting.
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