City of Austin Council Message Board

Colleagues, As promised at today’s Audit and Finance Committee meeting, here is the schedule and suggested process to review and consider amendments to the City Charter for the November 2026 ballot. Because of the high amount of public interest, there will be several opportunities for public testimo...

Colleagues, As promised at today’s Audit and Finance Committee meeting, here is the schedule and suggested process to review and consider amendments to the City Charter for the November 2026 ballot. Because of the high amount of public interest, there will be several opportunities for public testimo...

Council Members: Today, the City Manager will file the draft budget with the City Clerk. It will be posted online on the city website, which I've included the link below, and a physical copy will be delivered to Mayor and Council by City staff no later than Tuesday, July 14. https://www.austintexas....

Council Members: As we consider the use of Tax Increment Financing in order to build needed city infrastructure in the Dog’s Head area, we thought we would share a couple of thoughts. Our professional financial staff is working with the developer about the creation of the TIF (the funding mechanism)...

Correction: This was written yesterday and should say "After the discussion during yesterday’s work session"

Thanks,

Kirk
On Behalf of Mayor Watson.

Councilmembers— After the discussion during today’s work session, I’ve decided to withdraw Item 60 from consideration at Thursday’s Council meeting. As I indicated, because of the timing and requirements for financing and the previous council division, I felt some obligation to bring this item forwa...

Colleagues, This week, I’m bringing an initiative requesting an assessment and overhaul of the City’s procurement and grants processes and oversight. The co-sponsors are MPT Vela, CM Alter, CM Ellis, and CM Qadri. We’ve heard the results from the City Auditor about failures to properly document the ...

Councilmembers-- As you know, the City of Austin and TxDOT have been working together to figure out what decisions need to be made now, while the highway is being rebuilt, regarding the I‑35 Cap and Stitch program. Some of the choices—like how strong the bridge structures need to be or how much spac...

I’ve included an updated version two of the resolution and exhibit A, which I will be bringing to Council on Thursday. It includes comments from the sub q and the community. I appreciate everyone’s support. http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincouncilforum/C1-202605125150823.pdf http://assets.austint...

Council Members– Over the last few months, our community has engaged in discussions as a result of the threat that The SAFE Alliance would stop providing forensic exams for victims of sexual assault. We have kept the survivors of sexual assault our priority. That has been our focus. This has not bee...

Item 24 on next Thursday’s agenda is a proposal for a City of Austin economic development program. Today, I published a Watson Wire about the proposal. I hope you’ll take time to read it. https://mailchi.mp/a2a3efccd216/watson-wire-funding-our-values Thanks to those who have signed on to the proposa...

Council Members: I’m introducing an IFC, together with the Mayor Pro Tem and Council Members Alter, Qadri, and Ellis, that comprehensively lays out an active, progressive economic development policy for the City of Austin. A deliberate, equitable, and sustainable economy is the foundation on which A...

Council Members: This is to inform you about two items on the Austin Transit Partnership Board agenda this coming Wednesday. I had the opportunity Saturday to review the Board packet and visit with my staff in preparation for the meeting. The two items are to 1) authorize the Executive Director to n...

Members of the Audit & Finance Committee: We are scheduled to meet this Wednesday, April 15, 2026, at 9:30 AM. Items 2 and 8 on the Committee Agenda relate to potential appointment of member(s) to the Municipal Civil Service Commission. Item 2 is the potential Action item. Item 8 is posted for u...

Council Members-- The Council Members listed below and I have reviewed the memo from the City Manager regarding the future of the services provided by SAFE Alliance for Austinites who have been victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. These services include operating a shelter and supportive...

As we start the budget process, I’ve proposed we begin by asking our professional finance staff, as part of the forecast, to include calculations using the no new revenue tax rate. I’ve included some of my thoughts about this in a Watson Wire that I’ve put out today. You can see it here: http://asse...

Council: Tomorrow, we will begin with the Work Session. We will begin with an executive session. We will then take up the items pulled for discussion and follow those with the briefing on Austin I-35 Cap and Stitch Recommendations. At the conclusion of the Work Session, Chair Vela will conduct the A...

Colleagues—

The Work Session scheduled for Tuesday, March 10th will be cancelled since there are no prepared staff briefings, and nothing has been pulled for discussion by members of the Council.

Thanks,

Kirk

On Behalf of Mayor Watson

Please see the attached revised resolution and decision tree that reflects the feedback from CM Siegel and Ellis Resolution: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincouncilforum/0D-20260257112825.pdf Decision Tree: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincouncilforum/0D-20260257112917.pdf On behalf of Mayor...

Good afternoon:

This is a friendly reminder that we all bring the “Evaluation Notebooks” we were provided by HR yesterday.

We will have an executive session at some point tomorrow for an evaluation of the City Manager.

Thanks.

Kirk

On behalf of Mayor Watson

Colleagues, Thank you, Council Member Siegel, for your thoughts and input. We’re embarking on a very important step in how we make disciplined decisions, so it’s good to have this input. I believe it’s fine to change the language so that it’s explicit the entire Council will be making the recommenda...

Council— After I requested that the correct version of the decision tree for Item 55 be placed in the backup, the agenda office again shared the incorrect version. To address any confusion, I’m including the version that was recommended by the Audit and Finance Committee and what we will consider du...

I want to provide some information regarding Item 49. This is a unique opportunity for Austin to obtain significant state funding to meet a critical need. You will recall that in July 2023, I secured a partnership between the City and the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) to ...

Thanks for the good discussions we've had at the Council work session and the Audit & Finance Committee regarding the proposed Citywide Efficiency Assessment Ordinance. As we look at our operations and budget, I believe everyone shares my determination to safeguard public confidence, assure oper...

Council— I want to thank the Audit & Finance Committee for yesterday’s discussion regarding the proposed framework or “decision tree” around a potential future bond election. The Committee also discussed the decision tree at the January 14th meeting. The committee forwarded a recommendation to t...