Garza Amendments

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Delia Garza
Posts: 52
Joined: Thu Jan 15, 2015 9:20 am

Garza Amendments

Post by Delia Garza »

Colleagues,

Thank you all for your careful deliberations during this budget process.

As I’ve stated before, I cannot vote for a budget that does not cement our commitment to reimagining public safety by moving significant funds from APD into investments in our community. I’m very proud to stand with Council Members Casar, Harper-Madison, Pool, and Kitchen on the proposal posted on Friday.

Food Access
In that proposal we have planned for funding to support food access. The amendment I will offer for these funds supports a mobile market program from EQUIDAD ATX. While the proposed FY21 budget makes significant investments in food access, there remains a gap between the need in our communities east of I-35 and what we have funded. I have been working to address that since I was first elected, in particular for the Del Valle area in District 2. Our community has been saying for well over a decade that the solution they need is a full-service grocery store with affordable options, healthy food, home and healthcare products for families.

In the last 6 years I have worked with every tool we have to facilitate the opening of a grocery store, but our community is still told they must wait for more favorable market conditions, beyond their control. While some of the food access investments we’re making in this budget are helpful for Del Valle and other communities, I support funding mobile markets as a bridge between our existing investments until brick-and-mortar stores can open to serve these areas.

This amendment will fund the cost of operations of mobile markets based around buses donated by Capital Metro. This includes $150,000 in one-time costs to retrofit the bus, and $252,700 in ongoing costs to operate the program.

Amendment: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 163010.pdf
Policy Direction: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 150540.pdf
More information on our past efforts to address this problem: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 164129.pdf

Let Texas Vote Day
Additionally, I will be offering policy direction to implement Let Texas Vote Day as an optional holiday for City employees, enacting an option from the staff memo in response to Council Resolution No. 20191017-033.

Policy Direction: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 151039.pdf

Abortion Access
In last year’s budget, we passed an amendment to fund logistical support services for people seeking abortions—the first fund of its kind in the United States. I’m so pleased to collaborate with CM Pool on continuing that funding this year. To accompany CM Pool’s budget amendment, I am offering supporting policy direction to guide equitable administration of the program.

Policy Direction: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 203229.pdf

I support a number of additional amendments posted to the message board and I am listed as a cosponsor on many of them. Thank you for your consideration of these amendments and policy guidance during our budget deliberations this week.

Delia
Mayor Pro Tem, District 2