Dallas hires new city manager

Why it matters: In Dallas, the city manager is the CEO, the person who devises the city's $5.2 billion budget and oversees over 13,000 employees.

• Tolbert will be the first Black woman in the role.

Catch up fast: Tolbert was an assistant city manager before taking on the interim city manager role last year. She was one of three finalists for the city manager position.

The latest: Tolbert will be paid $450,000 a year, per a resolution approved Wednesday by the City Council.

• Council members were impressed by the way she approached her interim role.
• She worked with other city leaders to create a 100-day transition plan, finalized the 2024-25 budget, streamlined the process of issuing permits and consolidated multiple departments to save $13 million.

The intrigue: Mayor Eric Johnson and the previous city manager, TC Broadnax, had a tense relationship.

• On Wednesday, Johnson praised Tolbert's work ethic and said he believes she was the best candidate for the job.
• "I've worked with literally thousands of government employees, and I can tell you that Kim Tolbert is, frankly, second to none of them that I've worked with, in terms of knowing her stuff, being prepared and being honest," the mayor said.

Reality check: As the city manager, Tolbert will have to juggle the priorities of 14 council members and the mayor.

• Council members outlined some of those priorities on Wednesday, including equity issues, public safety, tackling homelessness and street repairs.

What they're saying: "Our momentum is great, but we must keep running up the score to make sure that Dallas is at the top of the leaderboard, which is where we belong," Tolbert said after the vote.

What's next: Dallas still needs to hire a police chief.