Budget Adoption

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Steve Adler
Posts: 533
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:12 pm

Budget Adoption

Post by Steve Adler »

Colleagues,

As we prepare for budget adoption this week, here is how I would anticipate chairing the process, subject to the will of the council:

— Please post all draft budget amendments to the message board on this string by noon on Monday, September 10.

— The budget office sent out a form last week to use as a format for amendments.

— We can discuss whether or not the council wants to consider amendments that are not raised until we’re on the dais leaving little or no time for vetting. At the very least, they should be considered only after timely posted amendments.

— Our first meeting will begin with a presentation by Ed Van Eenoo of the updated staff budget proposal and we’ll adopt that as our base budget, subject to amendment by council.

— Instead of immediately moving to individual amendments, we’ll start with a general conversation of where people are and their priorities. This will give us information about where consensus might lie and maybe how best we should proceed

— We’ll then consider amendments.

— We’ll divide and take separate votes on any offered amendment that seeks to both find new monies and to spend those monies. In other words, council will be given the option to accept an amendment that finds or frees up revenue, but to reject the way it may have been proposed that money be spent.

s
Mayor
Steve Adler
Posts: 533
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:12 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Steve Adler »

The post above should have said

"Please post all draft budget amendments to the message board on this string by noon on Monday, September 9". (not Sept 10)

-s
Mayor
Paige Ellis
Posts: 98
Joined: Mon Jan 14, 2019 4:37 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Paige Ellis »

Thank you, Mayor Adler! I look forward to adopting a FY2020 budget that best aligns all of our values and priorities.

-Paige
Paige Ellis
City Council District 8
Delia Garza
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 9:20 am

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Delia Garza »

Good morning. My office is working on our formal budget amendments on the form provided by the Budget office, but below (in the first section) are the amendments I intend to lead on. The second section are amendments I would support/co-sponsor. There are, of course, a number of other important initiatives I support and look forward to the discussion this week.

After discussing the FY20 proposed budget in our budget work sessions and hearing from our constituents at the budget hearings, I would like to see the following changes made in the manager’s proposed FY20 budget:

• Fund the staffing and retrofitting of the temporary fire station in Del Valle – Del Valle residents have been waiting for years for action on building and staffing a fire station in their area. For these residents and for me, this is both a public safety issue and an equity issue—as an underserved community, Del Valle has to endure longer response times, and those longer response times lead to higher insurance rates for residents. We have been working to address this problem for years with multiple resolutions (No. 20160324-009 and No. 20180524-035 in particular) and action in prior budgets. I’m very happy that we have broken ground on the Moore’s Crossing station in Del Valle, but these residents remain underserved until the station is open and staffed in the summer of 2020. I would like to see staff find the funding to staff a temporary fire station at the tollbooth until the nearby Moore’s Crossing station is open so we can reduce response times and start the ISO ratings clock that will lead to relief in residents’ insurance rates as quickly as possible.

I want to make it clear that I do not support diverting a unit from another District 2 fire station, as it would create a precedent that funding for services must come from the same district in which they will be reallocated. This type of reallocation is not fair to council districts that already have scarce resources and is especially troubling in a city with historic inequity and income inequality. I support the implementation of AFD’s Command Tech staffing plan, but if there is no other way to fund staffing at the temporary fire station without reassigning a unit in an already underserved district, I propose delaying the implementation of Command Tech so the savings can be used to fund staffing at the temporary fire station. Delaying the implementation of Command Tech appears to result in greater savings than needed only for staffing the temporary fire station, so I support using those surplus funds to address other pressing needs, such as wildfire mitigation.

• Child care services at the new Municipal Court building – Per Budget Question 66, an additional $225,000 in one-time funding is needed to retrofit the new Municipal Court building to support a child care facility, as well as an additional $178,976 for rent and operating expenses in FY20. Supporting a child care facility at the new Municipal Court building has been part of the discussion about the new facility at every step of the way, and is aligned with numerous Council Resolutions passed to improve access to affordable, high quality child care, so I would like to see this fully funded in the FY20 budget. This item provides a great opportunity to bring affordable high quality childcare to the COA employees and to the surrounding community. It also provides an opportunity for the city to provide drop-in childcare for Austinites having to go take care of business at our Municipal Court.

• Parks lighting – I appreciate that the funding for installing new safety lighting in parks across the city has been included in every budget since 2017 and that installations are expected to be completed by 2022 in every park where they are needed, but I would like to ensure that parks in underserved areas are prioritized to address this as an equity issue, as recommended by the Hispanic/Latino Quality of Life Commission. I would ask staff to find a way to fast-track the completion of those installations with the funding included in the FY20 budget.

• City of Austin employee cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) – I support raising the COLA increase for City employees from 2.5% to 3%, given their hard work and the uncertainty of our ability to fund increases in future years due to revenue caps. Per Budget Question 19, this increase would cost $800,000 from the General Fund with other increases supported through Enterprise funds.

• Abortion access logistical support services – I support allocating $150,000 to Austin Public Health to be distributed through a competitive RFP process to one or more organizations that provide or facilitate logistical supportive services to Austin residents seeking abortion care, which may include transportation, child care, case management, or other services as needed. In addition to addressing an important equity issue, this initiative is in line with prior City spending on health equity grants and with Council Resolution No. 20160128-068, passed to bring funding for social services contracts into better alignment with needs.


I also support the following initiatives:
• Community Health Paramedics (CHPs) and other first responder mental health calls for service recommendations – I support funding the recommendations for first responder mental health calls for service, including the additional CHPs, as laid out in our budget work sessions. These recommendations are concrete steps toward ensuring that our first responders are able to respond to mental health calls effectively and safely. If it is necessary to reduce the number of new APD positions funded in the current budget to be able to find funding for this work, I would support that.

• Out-of-school time programming – PARD's after-school programs provide an important service to families in Austin, and many of these programs are currently at maximum capacity, falling short of need. I support increasing capacity at several locations with the greatest need in Districts 1 and 4.

• Capital IDEA – This workforce training program has been very successful and transformative for many people in our community, so I am happy to support increasing its funding in this budget by an additional $100,000.

• Small Business co-op program – Funding a co-op program for $75,000 is in line with Council Resolution No, 20170323-053, passed in support promoting the creation of co-operative business.

Thank you,

MPT Garza
Mayor Pro Tem, District 2
Marti Bier
Posts: 22
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:43 am

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Marti Bier »

On behalf of CM Flannigan - please see the attached Budget Amendments for your consideration.

Reappropriate remaining monies from the Rainey Street District Fund and place in the
General Fund Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund.
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 102124.pdf

An amendment appropriating the additional $2,500,000 property tax revenue at the
rollback rate to the General Fund Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund.
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 102203.pdf

An Amendment to the Austin Public Library Fee Schedule for FY2019-20 setting the Non-
Resident User Fee to $0.
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 102236.pdf
Chief of Staff
Office of Council Member Flannigan, District 6
Steve Adler
Posts: 533
Joined: Fri Jan 16, 2015 2:12 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Steve Adler »

Here are the two budget amendments that I plan to propose.

- Census outreach - $200K in one time funds. Currently, the City and County have each contributed funds to hire a Census Program Manager. There is more money needed for outreach efforts. There are a variety of opportunities for grant or foundation funding and these options are being explored by staff and the Complete Count Committee, but some of them may require matching funds. The City should be prepared to make every effort to help the census reach hard to count communities. Helping to get a complete count, including hard to reach communities, helps ensure that our community will receive it's fair share of federal dollars over the next decade.
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 105449.pdf


- FTE for density bonus calibration - $150K in DSD. The city has a variety of density bonus programs which should be re-calibrated on a regular basis. In the past, the City has relied on consultants to do this work and perhaps done it less frequently than is optimal.
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 105515.pdf


-s
Mayor
Alison Alter
Posts: 211
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 3:52 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Alison Alter »

Good morning,

You may find a brief description and the links for my formal budget amendments below.

Funding wildfire preparedness and mitigation: By delaying the implementation of the Command Tech program, the associated savings (around $2.1m) can be used to fund investments in wildfire mitigation. Therefore, I propose the following:

1. $108,403 for a Program Manager to handle operational tasks at the Wildfire Division
2. $82,815 to reclass a PT Program Coordinator to a permanent full-time position to increase the Division’s capacity for outreach and education
3. $86,168 to reclass a temporary GIS tech to a permanent GIS analyst to retain and increase the GIS and data analysis capacity of the Division
4. $600,000 for fuels mitigation contracts.

I anticipate delaying the Command Tech Program will result in savings beyond my proposed allocation to wildfire preparedness, and I support using the surplus funds on other fire safety needs, such as staffing the Del Valle station should no alternative funding means be found.

Link: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 15836.xlsx

Providing the incoming Homelessness Strategy Officer with flexibility: This amendment would set aside funding to provide the incoming Homelessness Strategy Officer with flexibility and ownership of programs and approaches. An estimated $1.2 million is available by setting aside in advance only three more years to fulfill our commitments to Pay for Success. I also would like to explore opportunities to set aside funding in the Housing Trust Fund for the same purpose.

Link: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 20014.xlsx

I will post the budget rider I mentioned at work session later this afternoon and may have some additions after I get answers to outstanding Budget Q & A requests.

Regards,
Council Member, District 10
Greg Casar
Posts: 189
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:20 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Greg Casar »

Colleagues,

Thank you Mayor Adler for outlining the proposed process for our budget deliberation this year, and to those who have shared your priorities thus far.

I strongly support the following improvements to the City’s mental health first response system that I understand Manager Cronk will be proposing to the Council:
• Additional six (6) community health paramedics to both engage in follow-up visits after mental health calls and to engage proactive work serving the needs of Austinites experiencing homelessness, substance use disorder, mental health challenges, and more, with a goal of reducing need for 911 calls for the residents served.
• Training for the 911 call takers and clinicians to improve triage in the 911 call center
• Clinicians to serve Austinites experiencing mental health crises, both via telehealth and in-person

I am planning to introduce policy direction to the budget as an accompaniment to these amendments to ensure that these improvements to our mental health first response system result in saved police officer time. Since we do anticipate saving officer time, I join MPT Garza in supporting the use of some of the new funding for the Police Department to make these much-needed improvements to mental health first response possible.

I strongly support the following Council budget amendments:
• Continuing funding for relationship violence crisis intervention. $130,000 in one-time funds were allocated during FY19 deliberations, and I am planning to make a motion that Council continue these funds for FY20. Police department data has shown that relationship violence is a significant driver of the violent crime rate in Austin. Relationship violence and domestic violence are public safety challenges that require a specialized approach to ensure the safety of current or potential victims. The funds from FY19 were granted by Austin Public Health to SAFE Alliance for their “Bridge to Safety” program, and the funds are used to assist those in immediate danger of relationship violence in getting to safety. These funds positively impact the Safety and Health & Environment strategic outcomes, particularly indicators related to fair administration of justice and healthy conditions among individuals, and metrics related to the violent crime rate, percentage of residents who say they feel safe, percentage of residents who trust the City’s public safety services, and years of potential life lost before age 75.
• Abortion access logistical support services – I am joining MPT Garza in supporting the allocation of $150,000 to Austin Public Health to be distributed through a competitive RFP process to one or more organizations that provide or facilitate logistical supportive services to Austin residents seeking abortion care, which may include transportation, child care, case management, or other services as needed. These funds will positively impact the Health & Environment and Economic Opportunity & Affordability strategic outcomes.

I am still working on items related to the following:
• Funding to support city employees, regarding cost of living increases and life guard pay
• Child care/youth programming

I am looking forward to deliberating with you all tomorrow.

Thanks,
Greg
Gregorio "Greg" Casar
Council Member District 4
Ann Kitchen
Posts: 294
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:04 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Ann Kitchen »

Colleagues,
Please see below links to forms for the 2 budget items I mentioned at our last work session.

BOA Residential Fees Amendment:
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 22014.xlsx

AE Customer Assistance Program Budget Direction:
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 21907.xlsx

Best,
Ann Kitchen
City Council, District 5
Ann Kitchen
Council Member District 5
Julie Montgomery
Posts: 41
Joined: Tue Feb 12, 2019 1:26 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Julie Montgomery »

On behalf of Council Member Ellis, please find the attached budget amendment and associated budget direction for your consideration:

Summary: Maintain the Clean Community Fee at its current FY 2018-2019 level, pending a report back from the City Manager with additional information no later than November 12, for Council consideration and final fee-setting no later than December 2019.

Budget Amendment: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 125535.pdf

Associated Budget Direction: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 125223.pdf
Chief of Staff
Office of Mayor Pro Tem Paige Ellis, District 8
Jimmy Flannigan
Posts: 85
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:44 am

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Jimmy Flannigan »

CM Alter --- you can add me as a co-sponsor to the wildfire amendment, since I wasn't able to confirm before you posted today. Thanks!
Jimmy Flannigan
Council Member, District 6
Louisa Brinsmade
Posts: 76
Joined: Mon Oct 19, 2015 4:27 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Louisa Brinsmade »

On behalf of CM Pool, see the attached budget amendments for council consideration.

Out of School Time Child Care Budget Amendment: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 141419.pdf
CM Pool Revised Information Sheet: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 133007.pdf

Increase in Cost of Living Adjustment for city employees from 2.5% to 3%: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 133141.pdf

Increased investment in Capital IDEA workforce training: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 133313.pdf
CM Pool Information Sheet: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 133404.pdf

CM Pool is also co-sponsoring other budget amendments, notably funding for access to abortion access logistical support services, and funding for child care at the municipal court building.

She will also bring two budget directions to the dais tomorrow regarding improvements for people with disabilities as recommended by the Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities, and directing the Economic Development Department to initiate a pilot program for Small Business Cooperatives. She will hand out these directions on the dais.

Thank you.
Chief of Staff
Office of Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool, District 7
Ann Kitchen
Posts: 294
Joined: Fri Jan 09, 2015 4:04 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Ann Kitchen »

Colleagues,
Please see link below to an additional budget amendment I intend to move tomorrow.

Homelessness Housing Amendment:
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 52320.xlsx

Best,
Ann Kitchen
City Council, District 5
Ann Kitchen
Council Member District 5
Greg Casar
Posts: 189
Joined: Tue Jan 20, 2015 3:20 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Greg Casar »

Colleagues,

Please see below for a link to the budget amendment regarding relationship violence crisis intervention.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 190518.pdf

Thanks,
Greg
Gregorio "Greg" Casar
Council Member District 4
Lauren Hartnett
Posts: 36
Joined: Wed May 22, 2019 2:13 pm

Re: Budget Adoption

Post by Lauren Hartnett »

On behalf of Council Member Madison:

Colleagues,
I look forward to working with you all today to adopt a budget that reflects our priorities as a city.

I'm cosponsoring several amendments including expanding the Out of School Time program in Districts 1 & 4, census funding, maintaining the Clean Community Fee, Child care services at the new Municipal Court building, and ensuring the Small Business Co-op Development pilot is funded.

I also strongly support improvements to the City’s mental health first response system, and continued funding for relationship violence crisis intervention.

Finally, I plan to bring a motion to postpone establishing scooter fees until our October meeting when we discuss the micromobility regulatory framework.

Kind regards,
CM Madison
Policy Director
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