City of Austin Council Message Board

Mayor,

I agree. Budget staff is still looking at final numbers and getting clarifications from department staff. Once we have those numbers, the proposal - as clarified by staff - would become the base motion for debate on the dais if a majority of council members agree.

Chito

Colleagues, This budget has been one of the most challenging in Austin’s recent memory. Throughout this process, we have been grappling with tough decisions, trying to strike a balance that is morally responsible and fiscally sustainable. To successfully navigate these rough waters, we must stand to...

Thank you for this item, CM Qadri. Please add me as a cosponsor.

Chito

Colleagues, For most of my constituents, the most important question is not how tall the buildings are, but what benefits does the new development bring to the community. I’ve had a number of DB90 cases in District 4 and worked closely with my constituents on these cases. Almost all the DB90 rezonin...

Colleagues, I appreciate the suggestion but the decision we have to make on Thursday is different than the one you describe. We have to decide which of the roadway elements we will fund on Thursday. TxDOT is about to ask for bids on the first phase of construction for the highway. TxDOT needs to kno...

Thank you for the post, Mayor. If we are going to go to the voters and ask for a tax increase, we need to show them we have been thoughtful and deliberate about the need for additional revenues. A committee recommendation that follows a set process with established guidelines will help us show just ...

Colleagues, Here is the exact language for my amendment tomorrow. This amendment matches the language I linked to earlier this week which staff offered in response to the resolution council passed last year asking staff to bring us a single stair option when we consider the building code. http://ass...

Colleagues, Staff will be briefing us on the highway caps at our next work session. We are facing an extremely important decision: whether to fund the foundational roadway elements that would make highway caps on I-35 possible in the future or eliminate this opportunity for the next 50 years or more...

Colleagues, I am very excited to see that we will have the opportunity today to approve a new five-year strategic plan for the Animal Services Office. The priority areas and goals identified in the plan directly address the most critical issues that have been consistently identified by stakeholders ...

Colleagues, I’m sure your offices - like mine - have been receiving many emails in support of a single stair amendment! I wanted to explain why. Proposed building code amendments are set for a public hearing as item 76 on Thursday’s agenda. A vote on the building code amendments is set for April 10t...

Thank you, Council Member Qadri, for your leadership on this important part of our city's amazing culture and our local economy. Your resolution addresses a number of issues that I know many of us on the Council have been focused on, and I believe shifting our model of funding Art in Public Places f...

CM Siegel, I completely agree with you about the necessity of improving our drainage improvements and the opportunity of using fee in lieu from new development as a tool to help fund these improvements. My office has been working on a broad amendment providing direction on fee in lieu for drainage a...

Thank you, Council Member Fuentes, for your support of this item and your thoughtful suggestions. I am honored to have you as a cosponsor and have requested the Clerk's office to include you. I wholeheartedly approve of your proposed amendments and recognize the value in having the additional data y...

Colleagues, Thank you for this discussion. My preferences for committee appointments are: Stay: Austin Energy Sobering Center Capital Metro Mobility I have been the vice chair of the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee for the past two years and would like to chair the committee. Join: Housing...

Thank you for your co-sponsorship, Council Member Alison Alter. I sincerely appreciate your support of Rally Austin and hope to see it grow and support many more Austin businesses and cultural institutions.

Chito

Colleagues,

We are still working on these items with staff and stakeholders and need additional time before the items are ready to be considered by council. I will be asking for a postponement to the Dec 12 meeting. Thank you.

Chito

Colleagues, The Office of Police Oversight (OPO) recently released its previously confidential disciplinary recommendations to the public. These files used to be considered G-file material and confidential. Thanks to OPO for releasing these materials. We also understand that a public information req...

Colleagues, I am posting the legal memo released by the City Attorney yesterday in response to my questions about how police personnel records are treated under the proposed contract, particularly G-file type records. Our City Attorney says that under the contract and relevant court rulings, all rec...

Colleagues, I’m glad the City of Austin and the Austin Police Association have reached a handshake agreement on the terms of a potential contract. My top priority is ensuring we have a good public safety system, which requires a mutually-supportive relationship between the City and our employees. A ...

Thank you, Mayor Watson, for publicly sharing valuable information surrounding the Texas Gas Service rate case. My office has been closely following the developments surrounding these utility rates. Given the understandably needed improvements to our electrical grid in light of extreme weather incid...

Colleagues, My office will add the following amendment to our list of budget amendments for this year. Vela 5: Adjust Pool & Golf Fees - $0 (http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincouncilforum/FC-202408226105256.pdf) This cost-neutral amendment proposes lowering the pool fees to the FY24 level and ...

Colleagues, My office will pursue the following four amendments in the FY25 budget. This year, we focused on improving public safety and city services, both within District 4 and throughout Austin. I would like to invite any of you who are interested in co-sponsoring these amendments to reply to thi...

Thanks to CM Ryan Alter for sparking this important conversation. His suggestion of "no later than November 2026" language is a good one. A public process reviewing the various planning documents/projects and suggesting possible climate bond investments could be ready for the November 2025...

Thank you for this resolution, Mayor. Please add me as a co-sponsor.

Chito

Colleagues, Over a year after its victory at the polls, key provisions of the Austin Police Oversight Act (APOA) remain unimplemented. The city is currently defending itself against a lawsuit from criminal justice reform advocates who demand the city open up the secret “(g) file” disciplinary record...