What Do Prop Q and the $5.6 billion Convention Center Have In Common?

Two weeks ago Austin voters rejected the City Council's Prop Q tax hike by a near 2-to-1 majority.  As the Austin Free Press observed, the vote amounted to a "constituent revolt,"  revealing a major rift between Austin voters and the 10 council members who campaigned for the measure. (Only District 10 Councilmember Marc Duchen opposed.)  In post-election messages, Mayor Watson and his 9 allies insisted they now "trust the voters," vowing to move promptly toward "transparency" and "fiscal accountability."  Do you believe them? 

If they really cared about any of these values, they would immediately (a) release all the convention center information they are keeping secret, (b) stop the project, and (c) put the 30-year, $5.6 billion convention center commitment on the ballot for voters to decide.  Sadly, they are not likely to do this.  By setting a hasty schedule to adopt an adjusted budget, with back-to-back meetings this week, the Mayor and Council show little interest in revisiting the biggest and most wasteful items in their budget.  Nor is there any meaningful opportunity to hear and consider public input on a budget that reflects the council's "trust the voters,"  "transparency," and "fiscal accountability" pledge.   

The largest and most harmful expenditure in the City's budget is a new $5.6 billion convention center.  And it's not just a waste in this year's budget but a 30-year anchor around the necks of Austin voters.  Widely reported as a $1.6 billion project, that's just the projected but-not-final upfront construction cost:  it excludes 30 years of interest payments to  bond buyers (money exported from the city) and 30 years of annual operating losses in the tens of millions. The $5.6 billion "all in" cost estimate is in writing from the Austin Convention Center Department. 

So what about that wake-up call from election day?  Here's where we are today on these three Council pledges.  

One -- "don't trust the voters -- the Mayor and council are refusing to let Austin voters vote on the $5.6 billion, 30-year commitment.  This refusal led to an SOS-endorsed petition drive to force the 30 year project onto the ballot.  Last Friday, the City doubled down on this refusal, claiming the petition filed by Austin United PAC was 400 votes short of the 20,000 voter signatures required by the City Charter to force an election on the issue.  

Two -- "secrecy is the new transparency" -- After first promising to provide the details of how they estimated the $5.6 billion 30-year costs and revenue requirements "as soon as possible,"  City Convention Center staff are now saying this essential information will be kept secret until 2027.  And now, after promising to provide the details of the City Clerk's "random sample" count  of 25% of the more than 25,000 voter signatures submitted "as quickly as possible,"  The City Attorney's office is claiming some of the information will be kept secret.   

Three -- "fiscal accountability" is like "affordability,"  the Mayor and Council's definition is very different from that of the voters and what you find in the dictionary.  If you have seen The Magic Hole 19-minute documentary,  you know that building a giant new convention center in 2025 for more than $5 billion is a  worst case scenario of wasting public funds that rightfully belong to what we and visitors love and that we are losing -- live music, arts, local businesses, and "nature-in-the-city" parks and waters.  

Since Austin United PAC's petition team validated over 21,000 of the signatures before the petition was filed with the city, we do not accept the City Clerk's sample count as valid.  It's a simple fact issue of whether there are, in fact, at least 20,000 signatures City of Austin voters.  We will try to resolve the disagreement amicably, but will pursue legal action if necessary.