No longer in an interim role, Dallas City Manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert’s work has only just begun. Days after the City Council appointed her for the permanent role — the first Black woman hired into that position in the city’s history — Tolbert hasn’t had a chance to breathe.

Dallas City Council hired Kimberly Tolbert as the Dallas City Manager last week, approving a $450,000 contract.

The other semifinalists were William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth, and Mario Lara, an assistant city manager in Sacramento, California.

The Dallas City Council could extend the city manager position to one of three candidates during Wednesday's meeting.

Dallas City Council members met behind closed doors on Wednesday morning to discuss hiring one of the three finalists for the role -- interim Dallas City Manager Kim Tolbert, assistant Fort Worth City Manager William Johnson, or assistant Sacramento City Manager Mario Lara. After that deliberation, they publicly voted to offer Tolbert the job.

Nearly everyone on the Council said the process wasn't easy, but (mostly) agreed that Tolbert, who has served 11 months as interim city manager, was the right pick.

This announcement will come as a surprise to few: Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has officially been named Dallas’ next city manager by the City Council in a vote of 13-2. Tolbert is the first Black woman to be named to Dallas’ top leadership role.

The Dallas City Council voted to offer Kimberly Bizor Tolbert the role of city manager. The vote comes after a tense, confusing and often chaotic search process.

Leaders listed real estate permitting, homelessness and public safety as some of the issues they want the newly appointed chief executive of City Hall to focus on.