Austin City Council & Budget Items for July

​The Austin City Council is returning from its summer break, and it’s back to business. Here’s a quick sneak peek at what’s coming up in July. 

Austin City Budget
The Save Our Springs Alliance is proud to be a supporter of the Community Investment Budget (CIB), a project of over 45 local nonprofit attempting to reprioritize City of Austin investments to meet urgent needs for Austin residents and promote climate resilience. 
​
Mark your calendars for July 12th, at 10am—that’s when City Manager Broadnax will unveil the proposed FY 2025 budget. With the draft budget, we’ll see how the City of Austin intends to focus investments for the next fiscal year. 
SOS will be watchdogging for water-smart policies. That means making sure Austin’s water rates encourage conservation and don’t hit our low-use residential customers with hefty increases.
Here are some key dates and opportunities to engage with the Austin City Council:

1. July 12th, 10 AM: Manager Broadnax will present the draft FY 2025 budget. You can register to speak online until July 11th at 12 PM. If you prefer in-person, head to City Hall on July 12th (starting at 12 PM) and register there.
2. July 24th: Budget Work Session and community input session at 10 AM. Speaker registration should open on July 19th.
3. July 30th: Another Budget Work Session (no public hearing), which you can watch either at City Hall or on ATXNetwork.
4. August 1st, 3 PM: The Public Budget Hearing on the proposed FY 2024-25 budget and tax rate. Speaker registration opens on July 29th.
5. August 14th-16th: The big moment—FY25 Budget & Tax Rate Adoption. Speaker registration opens on August 9th.

Want to reach a particular council member? Here’s what we know so far about the Budget Town Halls, where you can chat with council members:

• CM Kelly/D6: July 15th, 6-7:30 PM at Spicewood Springs Branch Library (in person)
• CM Fuentes/D2: July 17th, 6-7:30 PM at Bedicheck Middle School
• CM Qadri/District 9: July 20th, 10-11 AM at Austin Central Library (RSVP required, parking validated)
• CM Ellis/D8: July 22nd, 6-7 PM (virtual, registration link)
• CM Pool/D7: July 23rd, 6-7 PM at Northwest Recreation Center
• CM Harper-Madison D1/Vela D4 Joint Town Hall: July 29th, 6-8 PM (Location: TBA)
• CM R. Alter/D5: July 31st, 6-7:30 PM at South Austin Senior Activity Center
• CM Velásquez/D3: August 3rd, 10-11 AM (Location: TBA)
• CM A. Alter/District 10: August 5th, 6:30 PM at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church.

Austin City Council Meeting, July 18, 2024
On July 18, 2024, the Austin City Council will convene to discuss several items, and here’s a sneak peek at what’s on the agenda. Registration to speak starts Monday, July 15th at 10am. For full instructions on participation in person or by telephone, please visit the Council Meeting Information Center: 
http://austintexas.gov/department/city-council/council/council_meeting_info_center.htm.

Here Are the Key Items We’re Watching

• Item 3. As recently reported by Jo Clifton with the Austin Monitor, the City Manager has proposed to sell the City’s District Energy and Cooling system, including the Paul Robbins District Cooling Plant, the downtown cooling system named after SOS Member Paul Robbins. This is one of the first major efforts we’ve seen under the Mayor Kirk Watson era to privatize a key asset of Austin Energy. This item requests City Council approval for a contract with J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to assist in the evaluation of a potential sale of the system, where J.P Morgan who would be compensated on a percentage-fee basis if a sale is completed. This is an obvious attempt to stack the deck by using a contractor who has an incentive to recommend the sale of a public resource. SOS is opposing this item.
• Item 70. Following the Save Our Springs Alliance’s third victory challenging the Austin City Council’s meeting procedures as violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act, this item strikes “Part 2” of the City Council’s meeting procedure ordinance that attempted to nullify the legal effect of their council procedures. Now, members of the public will be able to address the council for a guaranteed two (2) minutes per council item, and the City Council will be required to honor their rules. 
• Item 93. Recently, the Save Our Springs Alliance published support for prioritizing funding to implement climate-responsible actions included in the City of Austin’s various approved plans. Unfortunately, the urgent need to respond to climate change is being countered by voices calling for delay. Many of Austin’s adopted recommendations in Water Forward and the Climate Equity Plan have yet to be funded or completed, including goals to protect land within the Barton Springs Zone and restoring tree canopies in East Austin. This item would delay a proposed climate bond until 2026. 
• Item 96. Direct democracy is under threat with proposed charter amendments to raise signature thresholds for voter-initiated ordinances (from 20,000 voters to 3.5% of total voters) and for City Council recalls (from 10% of district voters to 15%). Both proposed amendments are anti-democratic. Voter-led petition efforts have been catalysts for change in Austin policy, bringing together voices and encouraging more to participate in the democratic process. The impacts of these efforts have brought about generational and transformative change, such as the SOS Initiative Ordinance leading to the prioritization of environmental protection throughout the City of Austin and the 10-1 Geographic Representation charter amendments that led to the prioritization of equity and geographic fairness in the City policy. SOS urges the City Council to reject these amendments. 
• Item 100. This item proposes to delete drainage (i.e., stormwater) requirements and review for site plans with less than 16 residential units, so long as the applicant proves that it points its drainage to the street. Austin is a city that is prone to flash floods and significant lot-to-lot/localized flooding issues. Recent code changes by the Austin City Council will significantly increase pavement in neighborhoods throughout Austin. We are concerned about how failing to address drainage as part of the site planning process will affect neighborhoods, creeks, and infrastructure capacity. SOS is opposed to these code amendments. This item will likely be postponed. The Austin Planning Commission will consider a recommendation on this item on August 27, 2024, at 6pm (Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street). Please consider coming to speak on this item at the Austin Planning Commission. 
• Items 99 and 120. The Austin City Council will be considering changes to its land development code to create a new zoning district specifically for the South Central Waterfront area. This new district would extend downtown-like development south of Lady Bird Lake and modify requirements of the Waterfront Overlay that has protected the lake from overdevelopment for over 30 years.  The Waterfront Overlay was originally designed to protect Lady Bird Lake from overdevelopment, preserve riparian areas, and maintain public access to the lake. The proposal removes height limits for most properties in the district (marked in red on the map below) and sets a 600 ft. height limit for many  others (most properties in this area are currently capped at 96 ft. under the Waterfront Overlay). The proposed ordinance modifies required setbacks for development from Lady Bird Lake and Bouldin Creek. It also increases impervious cover throughout the district. SOS (Save Our Springs Alliance) is concerned about the changes to the Waterfront Overlay and will advocate for maintaining its integrity.