DALLAS — On Wednesday, Dallas' First Assistant City Attorney Tammy Palomino was appointed interim city attorney, starting at the end of February.
Palomino sat in City Attorney Chris Caso’s spot during Wednesday's city council meeting.
Last week, Caso announced his plans to retire on Feb. 28 "to spend more time with my family and to pursue other interests," his email to the mayor and council said.
Palomino will assume her interim role at the close of business on Feb. 28, city council announced.
Item #41 on Wednesday’s agenda reads as follows: “Discuss, consider, and take all appropriate actions pursuant to the performance review and evaluation of City Attorney Chris Caso (This item was deferred on August 23, 2022 and January 11, 2023).”
But during Wednesday’s meeting, city council announced that Item #41 "does not require any action.”
Caso’s performance review, which has already been delayed twice, and retirement were not discussed at Wednesday’s meeting.
Caso joined the city attorney's office in 2005 and was appointed city attorney in April 2020. Caso had been serving as the interim city attorney following the departure of Larry Casto, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2018.
The city attorney's office represents Dallas in various legal matters.
The city is being sued over its recently-passed panhandling ordinance, which bans people from walking or standing on medians.
Then there’s the situation involving poker rooms and card houses, which was discussed during the city council meeting on Wednesday.
“Our city attorney said that yes, COs (certificates of occupancy) could be issued for these card houses,” Dallas City Council Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Omar Narvaez said.
But last year, The Texas Card House told WFAA that the city sent them a letter saying their certificate of occupancy was issued in error.
In a statement, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said, “We thank Chris Caso for his years of dedicated service to the City of Dallas, and we wish him well in all of his future endeavors. We look forward to conducting a thorough national search for our next city attorney.”
We reached out to the city attorney's office to ask for a comment but have not heard back.