City of Austin Council Message Board

Dear colleagues,

We’ve requested that staff prepare two bond packages for discussion at the August 4, 2026 Council meeting and potential placement on the November ballot.

The first proposal is a parks bond along the lines of the July 17, 2026 proposal presented by staff. We’re asking staff to enhance the proposed projects in Districts 2 and 6 to achieve more equitable investments across all Council districts. These enhancements would be offset by a reduction to the Parklands Acquisition budget in the prior staff proposal.

We’re also asking staff to prepare a community facilities bond, in support of the Hampton Branch Library.

In terms of proposed active transportation and animal services investments, we hope Council will consider capital budget and general fund amendments to address these community needs. And regarding the proposed Homeless Resource Center and Shelter, although we support the idea of a master campus for addressing unsheltered homelessness, this is still a new idea that has not been fully vetted. We fully expect staff to work through the planning so this item can be considered as part of the 2028 comprehensive bond program.

We look forward to the conversation Tuesday!

MPT Vela
CM Siegel

Colleagues,

I would advise if we're asking staff to retool a bond package based on equitable investments across council districts, it would be more helpful to include all council districts rather than single out or target districts.

-Marc