City of Austin Council Message Board

Dear Colleagues, Below is an amendment that I intend to offer tomorrow related to our short-term rental zoning regulations. This amendment keeps the limits consistent with today’s rules. As posted, the proposed ordinance would expand short-term rentals beyond our existing limits, and allow 100% of a...

My thoughts are with the families and colleagues of the two officers who were tragically shot in the line of service this morning, and I am hoping for a full recovery for the officer still in surgery. I am deeply grateful for their courage and their service to our community. Thank you Mayor for keep...

Dear Colleagues, This Saturday we will experience a partial eclipse in the Austin area. It is important to plan for viewing an eclipse safely. You can find some good safety resources here -https://outreach.as.utexas.edu/eclipse/resources.html and an invitation to a viewing party here - https://outre...

Colleagues, Before we adopt our 2024 meeting calendar tomorrow, I'd like to suggest we consider adding back a budget work session on July 30th. I believe it would be much easier for us to cancel this later if it becomes unnecessary, but having that additional time set aside to discuss and collaborat...

I agree with my colleagues' statement above and I look forward to the Interim City Manager's explanation as soon as he returns.

Regards,
Alison Alter

Colleagues, Below I have linked to a motion sheet I intend to offer on item 53 regarding approval of the Recommended Land Management Strategies and Climate Vulnerability Analysis for Austin Parks and Recreation Department natural areas. The language has been reviewed by PARD and reflects the issues ...

Dear colleagues, I look forward to continuing our budget deliberations next week. Below please find my proposed budget amendments and budget rider. A. Alter Amendment #1. Victim Services Counselors: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincouncilforum/62-20230803151120.pdf Co-sponsors: CM Fuentes, CM Ve...

Dear Colleagues, I would like to offer two amendments to item 45 (compatibility). My first amendment, which I believe was agreed to at work session yesterday, adds RR and LA to the list of zoning categories defined as triggering properties. The second amendment builds off our Strategic Housing Bluep...

Colleagues, We have a number of land use related items posted for the June 8th agenda, and I'd like to raise a few questions in advance. For item 45, I do not read any mention of an affordability requirements. When the Council approved our most recent compatibility changes on corridors, most of the ...

Dear Colleagues, Tomorrow at work session we will have an opportunity to hear from the City Manager, the Police Chief, and DPS leadership. I am looking forward to an important and constructive discussion. In my view, we need to build a shared understanding of what defines success in this partnership...

Colleagues, I want to invite you to attend tomorrow morning’s Audit and Finance Committee meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m. We’ll be discussing numerous topics of interest, including an update from the City Manager’s office on the previous disaster preparedness audit, an audit of the Austin Fire De...

Council Member Pool, thank you for bringing this to our attention. I also would like my name added as a signatory.

Regards,
Alison Alter

Council Member Kelly, thank you for your leadership on this resolution. Council Member Fuentes, thank you for your strong work on this issue, as well. I would like to be included as a co-sponsor on this resolution.

Regards,
Alison Alter

Colleagues, Tomorrow (Wed. March 29th) the executive team from Austin Water will present their response to the external review that I called for last February together with my co-sponsors, Council Members Tovo, Fuentes, Ellis, Pool, and Kelly. The presentation is scheduled for a joint Audit and Fina...

Mayor, Thank you for the opportunity to suggest agenda topics for the public safety committee. I would prioritize a briefing on the Police Academy with a focus on planned next steps to implement the recommendations found in the two most recent Kroll reports. For those interested, I also want to flag...

Colleagues, Below you will find two motion sheets I intend to offer tomorrow. The first is an amendment to item #57 which I hope will be amenable to the item's sponsor. Item 57: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincouncilforum/6C-20230322143459.pdf The second item relates to item 82, which is a zoni...

Dear Colleagues, I also would like to express my appreciation for our Austin Energy + mutual aid frontline crews and City of Austin’s essential and public safety staff. The crews especially performed dangerous, life-threatening, and time intensive work. We owe them all a debt of gratitude. The City’...

Council Member Kelly, Thank you for bringing this item (#40) related to our cold weather shelters forward for our consideration. I’d like to offer a friendly amendment that will memorialize some other related activities that should be in progress. At the December Audit & Finance Committee meetin...

Dear Colleagues and City Manager, We would like to request a briefing on the City’s storm response during Tuesday’s work session. As we recover from this storm, our community deserves answers. As policy makers, we need to better understand what worked and what didn’t in our response, which processes...

Colleagues, I wanted to share a reminder that the external review of Austin Water, which examines the five recent water service interruptions in our community and recommends changes and actions, will be presented tomorrow (Wednesday) during the Audit and Finance Committee meeting at 9:30 a.m. The Ci...

Colleagues, In February of 2022, after the fifth major incident with our water supply in as many years, I authored a resolution calling for an external audit of Austin Water (https://bit.ly/3ID9oqb) to examine the five most recent significant negative water quality events and water supply service in...

Thank you for moving this conversation forward, Mayor Watson. Colleagues, I intend to continue serving on the following Committees and intergovernmental bodies: • Audit and Finance Committee (Chair) • Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee • Austin Water Oversight Committee • City of Austin / AIS...

Colleagues, Monday morning at 9:30 AM we will have a special called meeting of the City Council to canvass the results of the election (item 1) and to order the runoff election (item 2). It is my understanding that we need at least 7 of us participating to order the election. It is my hope that we c...

Good evening, Our council meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, 11/15) will start at 1 PM. I am planning to organize our afternoon as follows: 1. We will first hear from ALL virtual, non-zoning related speakers and then hear from all in-person speakers who are speaking on non-zoning and non-AE related items. W...

Colleagues, I would like to offer the following direction as we adopt item 34 which is the 2022 Disparity Study. To further Council’s ongoing commitment to support the City’s Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise Procurement Program, the City Manager is directed to explore the development of ...