City of Austin Council Message Board

Thank you for your feedback, Mayor Pro Tem Fuentes.

I have included a version 2 incorporating your amendment, and will keep the item on the consent agenda.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 191225.pdf

Thanks

Kirk
On Behalf of Mayor Watson

Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am. We will start with drawing for assigned seating on the dais. We will then hear public comment on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate ti...

Council— Before tomorrow’s work session meeting, I wanted to share a schedule outlining the plan for conducting the meeting. Additionally, I am unavailable tomorrow, and Mayor Pro Tem Fuentes will preside over the meeting. In consultation with MPT Fuentes, we will begin the Work Session with public ...

Council Members: I have been following the massive budget reconciliation bill and have been meaning to share my thoughts in a very general sense. As you likely know, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill by the slimmest of margins, 215-214. I called it “massive” and that may be the wrong w...

Council Members: As I said yesterday, DB90 has been an unhappy experience. Even with Council’s well motivated goals for DB90, this density program, as currently created, is proving to be divisive, difficult to utilize, and ultimately too far from achieving the goal of Council to provide more housing...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am and then hear public comment on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being cal...

Council Members: I think Council Member Siegel’s thoughts have merit and look forward to the discussion on Thursday. This is the sort of thing we should discuss as we look to creating a new policy like this. In fact, it creates a focus on what are “base cost drivers” (we don’t want something vague o...

Colleagues, I’m pleased to let you all know that House Bill 2802, the firefighter pension legislation, passed the Texas Senate today on a vote of 31-0 and is headed to the Governor. This is an important bill that will improve the retirement security for our active and retired firefighters while also...

Council— Before tomorrow’s Work Session and the Austin Energy Oversight Committee meeting, I wanted to share a schedule outlining how we plan to conduct the meeting. Tomorrow, I will be participating virtually, as will Mayor Pro Tem Fuentes. So, Council Member Vela will chair tomorrow’s Work Session...

I understand that there's a question about whether the policy and process for TREs that has been proposed by the Audit & Finance Committee would preclude a Council Member from bringing an IFC proposing a TRE and/or keep the Council from acting on a TRE. The policy and process is not intended to ...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am and then hear public comment on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being cal...

Council:

I want to update you on the firefighter pension bill (HB 2802 by Bucy). The bill passed on the House Local Calendar today.

On to the Senate!

Thanks.

Kirk

On behalf of Mayor Watson

Council, I’m including a proposed FY26 Budget timeline as an attachment to this message board post (see below). Last year, we had good success navigating the budget process by starting with a timeline and I think it would help to do it again. The outline below is to help and assure transparency both...

As you know, our current City Auditor, Corrie Stokes, has announced that she will be retiring at the end of the year. The City Auditor is a position that is appointed by the City Council. It also is a position with specific requirements for the appointment that are set out in City Code and the City ...

We received word today that the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-MO) released his piece of the massive budget reconciliation package that the House leadership hopes to pass before Memorial Day. The House T&I Committee has instructions to produce its portion...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am and then hear public testimony on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being c...

As a follow up to my recent Message Board post about the agreement re the Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund, I’m attaching the MOU for your information.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 170158.pdf

Thanks,

Kirk

On behalf of Mayor Watson

Council: I'm happy to report that there is an agreement regarding the Firefighter Retirement System. The Austin Firefighter Retirement Fund (AFRF) and the City have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and there will be Committee Substitutes for the pertinent legislation. There will be hearings on t...

Council: The City Manager and his team have let my office know that there are no scheduled briefings or pulled items for our upcoming Council Work Session scheduled for Tuesday, April 22nd. With no briefings or pulled items to come before Council, the Work Session is cancelled. Everyone have a good ...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am and then hear public testimony on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being c...

Council: As we prepare for the FY26 Budget, I want to share an outline of upcoming dates when the Audit and Finance Committee or the full Council will have discussion and possible action on financial matters, including the Budget. Please note that we will be adding a Special Called Audit and Finance...

Council: We will convene tomorrow at 2:00 PM for the Joint City Council and Planning Commission special called meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to review the proposed amendment to the preservation bonus program related to multiple units on one lot. Tomorrow, I will call to order the meeting o...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10 AM and then hear public testimony on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being ...

Council Members— Before Thursday’s Council Meeting, I want to share Version 2 for Item 62, which pertains to the Walnut Creek Wastewater Expansion. City staff has requested that Chapter 25-7 (Drainage) be added to the list of initiating amendments. This recommendation comes from the staff’s ongoing ...

Council Members: I wanted to make sure you all are aware that staff has paused Phase I of the public art plan at the airport. The reason given was to reassess the artist selection process and it was also stated the pause is “to ensure meaningful participation from Austin-based artists”. You received...