Memorandum

DATE August 18, 2017 CITY OF DALLAS

TO Honorable Members of the City Council
SUBJECT Mayors Task Force on Confederate Monuments

I am writing to update you on our timeline and process for the Mayors Task Force on
Confederate Monuments, which I announced on Tuesday. This citizen body will consult
with the Cultural Affairs Commission consistent with our policy regarding the
deaccessioning of public art. The charge of the body will include the following:

Hold public meetings to capture input from the citizens of Dallas and relevant
stakeholders
Identify the process, cost and timeline for actions warranted from citizen input
Identify the process, cost and timeline for compliance with Landmark, Dallas
Historical protection and other procedural requirements, should the
recommendation be to remove or relocate
Make a recommendation to the Cultural Affairs Commission

The Cultural Affairs Commission will then make a recommendation to the City Council to
appropriate funds to address the costs of the recommendation for the monuments.

After reviewing our City Council calendar, I believe we must complete our work on this
matter before our Thanksgiving break. That means the City Council would take action in
less than 90 days. This is a tighter timeline than what I previously announced, but I believe
it is appropriate given the urgency of this matter. The timeline for City Council
consideration is as follows:

Monday, October 23: Cultural Affairs Commission reports final recommendation

to the Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee
Wednesday, October 25, 6 p.m.: Special Called City Council meeting strictly to
receive public input
Wednesday, November 1: City Council briefing and opportunity for additional
public input (open microphone)
Wednesday, November 8: City Council action

* Any recommendations related to any other Board or Commission can be briefed at the
discretion of the chair (i.e. park issues will be briefed to Park and Recreation Board)

Our Product is Service

Equity | Empathy | Ethics | Excellence
 DATE August 18, 2017
SUBJECT Mayors Task Force on Confederate Monuments

It is critical that this task force be an independent, qualified and diverse panel. I urge each
City Council member to appoint a Dallas citizen to the task force. I will take those
nominations and round out the list with specialists who may not be included among the
council nominees. Please send the name of your appointee, contact information
(including email address) and a brief biography to Patricia Blasquez at
patricia.blasquez@dallascityhall.com no later than Monday at 5 p.m.

Next week, after receiving your appointees, I will send another update including the full
makeup of the task force and the date of its first meeting. All meetings will be publicly
posted in accordance with open meetings law and video recorded.

As I said on Tuesday, I am in support of removing our monuments to Confederate figures.

But it is critical that we go about this process in a way that makes our city more united.
Lets use this opportunity to listen to one another, to learn from one another and to make
our city stronger.

Best Regards,

Michael S. Rawlings
Mayor

c: Larry Casto, City Attorney Jon Fortune, Assistant City Manager

Craig D. Kinton, City Auditor Joey Zapata, Assistant City Manager
Rosa A. Rios, City Secretary M. Elizabeth Reich, Chief Financial Officer
Daniel F. Solis, Administrative Judge Nadia Chandler Hardy, Chief of Community Services
Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Chief of Staff to the City Manager Raquel Favela, Chief of Economic Development & Neighborhood
Majed A. Al-Ghafry, Assistant City Manager Services
Jo M. (Jody) Puckett, Assistant City Manager (Interim) Theresa ODonnell, Chief of Resilience
Directors and Assistant Directors

Dallas, the City that Works: Diverse, Vibrant and Progressive