Dallas drops plan to tackle pothole problem

DALLAS - People in Dallas won’t vote on a tax increase to fix the city’s pothole problem – at least not during the next election.

The city council met Wednesday morning and discussed a bond proposal for the May election. The measure would have included $476 million for pothole repair, general street maintenance and alleyway and sidewalk improvements.

It also would have allocated $34 million to each council district to be spent on the street projects each council member deems necessary.

But, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings insisted the city should deal with its pension crisis first and give the new city manager time to get up to speed on both issues.

He moved to adjourn the meeting without taking any action on the proposal. That’s significant because Wednesday was the deadline for submitting a bond measure to the elections office so that it would appear on the May ballot.

Councilmember Phil Kingston said he doesn’t understand the mayor’s logic. He believes the problem will only get worse.

Kingston also pointed out that most council seats are on the May ballot, so challengers will now have ammunition to accuse incumbents of putting off one of the biggest issues for Dallas residents.