City Comprehensive Audit

[Colleen Pate]

Council Members:

I know you share the belief that it’s important for City operations to run as efficiently as possible to provide the excellent services the community expects and for us to best utilize every tax dollar.

My goal has been for us to put affordability first and that includes delivering the best city services possible while living within our means. Our community expects this too.

So, I’m asking you to join me in a process for the City of Austin to have an institutionalized program for an independent, collaborative citywide review of service delivery to achieve greater accountability, improve efficiency, and better assure we get the best value from our government.

The City has been doing this with several individual departments, and I know we’ve been pleased with the evaluations and improvements in departments like Austin Development Services, APD, the airport, and others.

These individual audits are significant and we’re getting results, but there’s value in a more comprehensive approach.

We need a performance audit process that is city- and system-wide. I’ve talked with our incoming City Auditor and the City Manager to develop an ordinance for the beginning of next year.

This is an opportunity to achieve a substantial government reform that results in tax savings and better services. It’s also a chance for unifying our community and building trust.

Some propose amending the city charter to require an audit. I like aspects of that proposal. I don’t differ with the proponents on the goals of accountability, efficiency, and cost savings. But a well-crafted ordinance would be a better tool to achieve our common goals and can evolve with the community’s needs and the changes in City governance.

I’d like to move swiftly to make sure we get results in time to inform the next budget season, and there’s no time like the present to implement efficiencies that improve services and keep costs low.

I’ve shared more of my thoughts in a “Watson Wire” I sent out this morning.
https://mailchi.mp/77bba9e163ac/watson- ... nhancement

My thoughts on a schedule are to request that the City Auditor and City Manager have something prepared for January 20, our first work session of 2026. Ideally, we would be able to discuss it again on February 3, and vote on an ordinance at the February 5 council meeting. We can also schedule a special called Audit & Finance Committee meeting before then if needed.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Thanks.

Kirk

On behalf of Mayor Watson

[Ryan Alter]

Mayor,
Thank you for taking the lead on this. I agree that looking systemwide at how we can operate more effectively and efficiently is something that we should absolutely do. At a time when we find ourselves in state-created budget deficits, we are going to have to do more with less and this is one tool that we should absolutely use. I look forward to getting such an ordinance put in place so we can start this work now.

- Ryan

[Marc Duchen]

Thank you Mayor, I appreciate your efforts to expedite this kind of work as an ordinance early next year. We know that other cities have successfully benefitted from this kind of efficiency process and it represents an opportunity we literally can't afford to ignore.

I look forward to getting this work done.

-Marc