Major changes in store at City Hall

Dallas City Manager Mary Suhm will present her latest budget "snapshot" to the Dallas City Council Wednesday and it recommends major changes in the way the city is run and who runs it. Among the changes:

• Reducing the number of departments/offices from 32 to 23
• Demoting nine directors
• Combining Development Services and Building Inspection into a Sustainable Development and Construction Department
• Reconfiguring the the Housing and the Environmental and Health Services departments into a Housing/Community Services Department
• Combining the Library Department with the Office of Cultural Affairs
• Reducing the 3-1-1 incall times from 24/7 to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
• Consolidating financial services, strategic customer service, emergency management, intergovernmental services, fair housing, efficiency team, public information and environmental quality into a single Financial and Management Services department
• Central Library and branch libraries closed Sundays and Mondays
• 6 percent water rate increase and a 9 cents a month sanitation rate increase
  

This will be the final budget briefing that will be heard by the present council. At least two and possibly three new council members (depending on the results of today's runoff elections) will be inaugurated a week from Tuesday.