Three applicants were interviewed by a committee for the position of city manager of Dallas. Since the last city manager departed, one of those three candidates, Kim Tolbert, has been filling in.
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Dallas will hold meet-and-greets with its three finalists for the city manager job.
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Kim Tolbert, William Johnson and Mario Lara are competing for the job.
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The lone finalist is expected to be announced and voted on in January.
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Dallas will hold meet-and-greets with its three finalists for the city manager job.
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Kim Tolbert, William Johnson and Mario Lara are competing for the job.
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The lone finalist is expected to be announced and voted on in January.
DALLAS: To introduce the candidates for the open city manager post, the City of Dallas is hosting a number of meet-and-greet events.
City Manager Candidates Meet-and Greets
In order to engage with the candidates and learn about their outlook on Dallas’ future, residents are asked to meet with the finalist for the city manager post.
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Saturday, Jan. 11 – 10 a.m. at Dallas City Hall (1500 Marilla Street)
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Saturday, Jan. 11 – 3 p.m. at Singing Hills Recreation Center (6805 Patrol Way)
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Sunday, Jan. 12 – 1 p.m. at Fretz Recreation Center (6950 Beltline Road)
Dallas City Manager Finalists
What We Know: Three final candidates have been selected from the Dallas city manager search.
Mario Lara, William Johnson, and Kimberly Tolbert are the contenders, who were revealed last month.
Kimberly Tolbert
Since May 2024, Tolbert has been the acting city manager of Dallas.
She had previously been the City Manager’s Chief of Staff and Deputy City Manager.
Tolbert also held administrative and financial positions with the city.
She also spent 15 years in executive positions with the North Texas Tollway Authority.
William Johnson
Since 2019, Johnson has served as Fort Worth’s associate city manager.
In addition, he served as the Director of the Baltimore Department of Transportation and the Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Public Works Commissioner for the City of Atlanta.
Johnson was a member of senior leadership with a focus on emergency services in the private sector as well.
Mario Lara
In Sacramento, Lara is the assistant city manager in charge of the police, fire, emergency response, and community response divisions. Since 2022, he has been employed in the position.
He spent almost three years as the Director of Youth, Parks & Community Enrichment before that.
Lara also held positions in San Bernardino County, the Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department, and the Riverside City Manager’s Office.
Next Steps: In January, the single finalist is anticipated to be revealed and put to a vote.
Challenges Ahead
Why It Matters: There is a lot of uncertainty around the management of the municipal government at the time the new city manager will take office.
Until the courts take action, the city manager will have to choose a new police chief and proceed with a strict police staffing requirement that may put a strain on the city’s finances.
The city may also be sued for failing to uphold any charter provisions, according to a recently ratified change to the city charter.
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The City of Dallas and discussions with members of the Dallas City Council provided the information for this article.
The City of Dallas and discussions with members of the Dallas City Council provided the information for this article.
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