City Council Regular Meeting Transcript – 8/2/2022 Title: ATXN-1 (24hr) Channel: 6 - ATXN-1 Recorded On: 8/2/2022 6:00:00 AM Original Air Date: 8/2/2022 Transcript Generated by SnapStream Please note that the following transcript is for reference purposes and does not constitute the official record of actions taken during the meeting. For the official record of actions of the meeting, please refer to the Approved Minutes. [3:05:59 PM] >> Mayor Adler: We have a quorum present. Council member vela is here with us remotely. Good to see you. We have seven more on the dais. Colleagues, we have today about 50 or so speakers, 53 total speakers. About half remote, half in person. We'll do the remote first and then the in-person. That would mean that we have probably about two hours worth of speakers that should get us to a little after 5:00. Unless you tell me differently we're not going to ask for dinner to be brought in and we'll just work through until seven or eight and then we'll break and end the meeting. [3:07:06 PM] But if she brings in dinner, it would be whataburger or something like that, but I've told her no otherwise we say otherwise. There are five things on the agenda. We're going to do the speakers and then we'll approve item number 1, which is the maximum tax rate. It does not set the tax rate, it's just a procedural action required by the state legislature to say this is a rate above which we will not go. And we'll set that. We have the opportunity on the agenda to discuss the budget, both process and procedures, and we also have an executive session for us to be able to discuss a couple of matters there. So with that -- yes, mayor pro tem? >> Alter: Thank you, mayor. I understand that speaker sign-up was closed at 2:15 [3:08:08 PM] for the 3:00 hearing. I know of at least one person who got here at 2:19 and still was not able to sign up. I'm wondering if we could let anyone who is in the room who wasn't signed up at this point who wants to speak to go over to the clerk and be added who is in the room. >> Mayor Adler: We could do that. I'm a little hesitant about doing something that's that broad because then we set the precedent. Do we have people that tried to sign up and couldn't? Just the two gentlemen -- three. Would you three give your name to the clerk? And I think when we have speakers in-person there would be someone on the dais who moves to let you speak, then I'm sure it will be [3:09:11 PM] allowed. >> Alter: -- To let them speak and I think it's different that it's a budget hearing. >> Mayor Adler: Sounds good. We'll just do it with those three names rather than the general -- councilmember tovo? >> Tovo: Mayor, are we definitely going into executive session today? >> Mayor Adler: I think so because I think there are one or two things that will take longer and counsel needs to talk to us. >> Tovo: I was going to suggest that if we're at the point where we're through speakers and at the discussion if we could try to do the executive session around the dinner time period that way we could at least eat during that period. >> Mayor Adler: We could certainly do that. >> Tovo: I'm not saying Kay order us dinner, but it would give us a chance to get a drink. >> Mayor Adler: All right. Colleagues, let's go ahead and start the speakers as soon as the clerk has taken down those three names. [3:10:23 PM] >> Clerk: The first speaker is Cyrus reed. Mr. Reed, please unmute. >> Can you hear me? >> Mayor Adler: Say that again? >> [Inaudible]. >> Mayor Adler: Just barely. If you could speak up and then start. >> Okay. This is Cyrus reed, I'm here, hopefully you can hear me, representing lone star chapter of the Sierra club. I was wanting to speak on item 3, which involved the Austin energy budget and rates. And I sent some written testimony so hopefully you all got it. So I'll be very brief in my spoken testimony. And I just wanted to remind the council and hopefully [3:11:24 PM] you can all hear me -- >> Mayor Adler: Yes. >> Yeah, great. That the document, the budget document before you includes an expectation that you guys are going to be approving a rate increase for Austin energy and obviously I think you all know that that rate accuracy is subject to a rate proceeding and hearing. So I would just ask that you consider that as you look at the budget for 2023 and that you not make any major changes to the Austin energy budget based on a proposed rate increase that has a lot of opposition in the community and hasn't gone through the rate proceeding yet. And I have some information in the written comments about that. And then specifically in Austin energy tariffs, there are a number of tariffs that could be influenced by the [3:12:25 PM] rate case so the lone star chapter would ask that you keep that under consideration as you consider new potential rates on value of solar or energy efficiency fees or cap programs for the community benefit charge that you consider them later in the year. You'll be considering a rate increase. And I also wanted to let you know that the electric utility commission of which I'm a member will be looking in-depth at the Austin budget on Monday evening. I've given you seven or eight issues we'll be looking at. I don't want to get ahead of the committee I serve on, so just know that we'll be sending you all some information about our recommendations on the Austin energy budget at that time. And with that you've got my written testimony and I'll let you read it and react accordingly. Thanks so much. >> Lindsay E? [3:13:31 PM] >> Hi, I'm sorry, how long do we have to speak? >> Mayor Adler: Three minutes. >> Thank you. So my name is Lindsay. She/they pronoun. I am a district of 44 and also a member of vsa Austin chapter. So I want to speak on the budget and my first thing is just the lack of clarity in budget documents that are put out I understand that they're a snapshot in addition to a 971 page budget proposal document. From a person who has a master's degree in communications I still have a really hard time to parse what is in that budget and I want to process something like having a line by line item that really more directly and succinctty compares this year's proposal to previous year's. I want to see how much the proposed increases to the police budget and it's really hard for me to discern that. If someone were able to throw out a number while I'm [3:14:33 PM] speaking that would be helpful. But I wanted to remind the council that any increase to the police budget will be permanent thanks to the law passed by the Texas legislature last year that only expects large cities like Austin and other big cities. So I urge y'all to not fund any increase to APD that would be permanent and would never be able to be taken back. And instead fund the community investment budget. We are asking for a 22-dollar per hour minimum wage for our city employees to fund ems, to fund trauma recovery center, to fund climate resiliency centers. And essentially just to take care of our city and invest in the community rather than invest in policing. And also just to clarify the community organization which is over 30 are asking for $75 million which is a really, really small fraction of the over one billion in the general fund. [3:15:33 PM] And as I understand, it's much less than even the amount being proposed to increase APD. So we ask for full funding of the 75 million requests for the community investment budget. >> Clerk: Sasha rose. >> Yes. Hi council members. I'm Sasha rose, please excuse my raspy throat. I have covid again. I'm the executive director of Austin mutual aid. As you may know we run a community page and we had an opportunity to -- a community resource page. We've had an opportunity to really witness some of the struggles that our members, our community members, are really having this time during covid over the past [3:16:38 PM] two years and I'm here to speak in support as well of the community investment budget. As we know homelessness is a huge issue and it's only increasing in our city. Right now this proposed budget does not have enough funds for emergency rental assistance, eviction legal protection, not to mention sheltering. We are so lacking in sheltering. Shelter space, as well as permanent supportive housing. In our community group which has over 7,000 members we witness almost on a daily basis community members needing support for rental assistance. And those funds have been long gone. And right now in the proposed budget we do not feel there is enough funding allocated to prevent even more people being forced out of their homes. So we really -- I really want to encourage a long [3:17:40 PM] hard look at the current budget proposal. One of the things that really concerns me is the amount going towards neighborhood policing. I can tell you that when I shared that with my friends who live on the street, what they experienced neighborhood policing as is basically more space, more attempts to shove them out when we know that there is no place for them to go. There is no place for the thousands that we have on the street to go. So I really am concerned at the amount of money being increased and set aside for policing when we know at this point that the police are policing themselves and that there is no strong accountability there. So one of my other concerns is that the city of Austin -- and I don't really understand policy, I'm still learning. I have been an advocate for [3:18:40 PM] our community for nearly 20 years, but the city of Austin has a balancing act, right, where we could put our ininput. I'm really concerned that nobody really listens to that. From my understanding that this fee were going to be reviewed, but it's still open. So I don't understand how the intake could have been reviewed at this point in time. And that people's voices are actually being heard. So I would really like to request that the city allocate the full 75 million as we are one of the 30 community communications that has asked for this amount to be allocated. [Buzzer]. Towards the community investment budget. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. Clerks Brodie Mankin. >> Hi, I'm Brodie and I'm a resident of district 9. [3:19:42 PM] Austin prides itself on its [indiscernible] And progressivism and it tries to draw fresh thinkers from across the country and fights unjust or grassroots state law such as the grace act. But I'm also calling because of the proposed budget considered today which I don't consider to be boldly inventive or boldly Progressive when it comes to critical issues such as housing and public safety. I also am a supporter of the community investment budget. I'm with Austin dsa. And while the community budget hasn't seen any budgets to get corporate funding, many of the core Progressives ask in the community investment budget advocated by over 30 coalition groups such as a [3:20:43 PM] 22 an hour living wage, ems workers, more funding, rental assistance for eviction and inclement weather sheltering, all this funding has been deemed inaccurate or completely missing from this budget. Therefore I fully support the funding of the full 75-million-dollar community investment budget. In order to truly make Austin bold and visit in how we as a city address so many of the issues that face us. And we've seen over the past years how a slack in community investment, especially on issues of housing safety is readily taken up by police who are not adequately trained or hold a role effective for addressing housing issues or certain safety issues. It's been tried time and time again, and it has not [3:21:46 PM] proved to be worthwhile. And this community investment budget is about six percent of the total revenue budget, and therefore I think it's fully worth investing for a bold future for Austin. Thank you for your time. >> >> Clerk: Melody Valek. Melody, please unmute. >> Oh. I didn't -- did it mute me again? >> Clerk: We can hear you. >> Hello? All right. I think I did the opposite. Hello,. >> Mayor Adler:, pro tem. >> Alter:er and city councilmembers. My name is melody and I'm a resident of district 9. I'm speaking to you to advocate that you adopt the entirety of the 75 million [3:22:46 PM] community investment budget as opposed by 31 local -- proposed by 31 local organizations. Are incalculable. There are concerning gaps regarding other services that support the health and safety of Austin residents. The community investment budget fills these gaps. One of the glaring only misses is to not pay a living wage to paramedics, the lowest paid public safety workers. This has put our safety at risk leading to ems shortages. A resident was forced to wait over 20 minutes for an ambulance. Dangerous wait times will happen by not offering a living wage. All city employees deserve the proposed minimum wage of $22 so that those can afford to live here in a time of historic inflation. I would also like to mention a proposal in this budget to fund abortion access on the [3:23:46 PM] brazen act on bodily autonomy. This is needed for citizens who have no alternative but to travel outside of the state to seek reproductive care. I've only listed a few items, but these are items that Austin needs. These include emergency rental assistance and several initiatives to support homeless citizens, historically black community services and legal services which is important because these groups have been the hardest hit by the pandemic and its subsequent fallout. As a taxpayer and ordinary austinite I demand that city council adopt the entire 75 million community investment budget and do not capitulate to extremists demanding further if funding for our police department who cannot provide the same offenses as the organizations that have been doing the most effective work to keep Austin thriving. It would be shameful to not fully support this coalition who dared everything for the health and support of all austinites. They need you. Thank you to for your time. [3:24:47 PM] >> Clerk: Jordan Middlebrooks. >> Hello, can everyone hear me? >> Clerk: Yes, we can. >> Hello. Thank you for having me speak today. I am Jordan and I live in district 4. I am also part of the arise movement in Austin and I'm asking for you to fully support the entire community investment budget. As we know the increase in policing and increase in police budget cannot be reversed thanks to state legislature that was passed. And we also know that decreases in policing do not keep our community safe. Our community's safety comes through the community itself, so I am asking that we instead invest in services that provide safety like increasing the ems workers who make $22 per hour, so that we can keep these people in the city, in the city in which they need [3:25:47 PM] to live in order to help ourselves and each other. Paramedics are one of the most important and essential workers that we have in the city and are paid the least. And with that we also need to increase the funds going to our housing, especially for the increase in unhoused people that we're seeing year over year. And so I'm asking that you also provide more funding for supporting housing and wraparound services as well as including increases for our parks and just really our city services in terms of mental health, harm reduction, parks and services, recreation. Question drakely underfund every area of what the city needs from health care to education services to recreation and things that we need to have a liveable future. And as we continue to do so we are not going to see resiliency in this city and we are not going to be able to come together as a [3:26:48 PM] community in the ways in which Austin has in the past. So I'm asking for you to adopt the community investment budget and not increase the police budget at all from what it was in the years prior. With that I will wave the rest of my time. >> Clerk: Susan pantell. >> Every year the city manager puts out a budget and it includes a table showing the impact on the average homeowner. But there's no similar table showing the impact on the average renter. And as renters, we're treated like we're not legitimate members of this community. We pay fees and we also pay taxes that are included in [3:27:51 PM] our rent. And commercial property tax rates are not going down, they're going up. We don't have anything subtracted out from our rent, from our fees at the bottom like homeowners do. You need to have two tables and show the impact on renters. I oppose the property tax reduction for homeowners on average homeowners who are absolutely wealthier than renters. And the burden of the budget is increasingly being shifted to renters because year after year you reduce the property tax rate for homeowners. And it's not equitable. And like the other speakers I support the community investment budget of 75 million. I also want to strongly encourage you to increase the budget for emergency weather shelters, especially [3:28:53 PM] in the winter we need shelters with backup generators or energy sources. People need a place to go and two or four for the whole city is not enough. We need more money for that and that should be a priority. I also ask you to prioritize cutting the tree limbs that fall on the power lines. We should have zero preventable deaths from exposure to the elements and these weather events are not going away, they're only getting worse. So putting the money in up front is a good idea. Thank you. >> Erica Slaymaker. >> Hello. My name is Erica and I'm a resident of district 10. I am speaking today in solidarity with the coalition to build the [3:29:54 PM] community investment budget because I believe that we have much work to do to become the family, supported, equitable community we all wish to live in. I know the coalition will stick together to negotiate for everyone's well-being and not fight amongst one another for scraps. Mny of us and our neighbors are struggling to survive in our changing city. No one knows as intimately as the grassroots workers around town working alongside community to weather difficult and in many cases worsening living conditions. The community investment budget is the only major direct budget input from a massive coalition of long-term community connected organizations. Many meetings, many hours, many community members and many brilliant minds crafted this budget. The community investment budget in its entirety is a thoughtfully thought out strategy for Austin families in these trying times and I [3:30:55 PM] believe that committing just six percent of the general revenue is the right size amount to begin addressing issues we face in the coming year. I'm excited to see some pieces of the community investment budget funded but we know that the full package is what will get our community on its way towards a more equitable, just city. Community health, safety and well-being rely on fully funding the strategic investments in the final budget so please revisit the thoughtful pieces of this proposal and amend the budget as proposed to include all 75 million. I'm especially concerned about fully funding housing and emergency response. Because everyday people are bearing the brunt of both inflation and climate change and we need to be committed to helping people stay housed and to also weather climate emergencies. It's now up to you, mayor and council, to act courageously and fully [3:31:56 PM] community the community investment fund. Thank you very much. >> Clerk: Greg bossily. >> Hi, my name is Greg and I would like for you to fully fund the 75 million in the community investment budget. Earlier you directed the city manager to raise the minimum wage to $22 an hour, a living wage for city employees and contractors. And the city manager's draft budget proposes only 18-dollar minimum wage. That's well below a living wage for a single person in Austin. Let alone someone trying to raise a family. We appreciate the support that you've shown already but we suspect that you will stand by your word. The workers you plan, build and care for this city need [3:32:56 PM] the jobs that allow us to stay here in Austin with our families and enjoy the wonderful city that we are building around us. As previous speakers have stated, the [indiscernible] Budget increases to the historically swollen police deparment's share of the general budget, that share can be reallocated in the future because of the reactionary state law, but Austin police department should not be given a priority or an increase in this budget, especially as they're currently allocated more from the budget than our parks, libraries and ems departments combined. We've already heard some great speakers explain why taking care of our paramedics, our parks, our libraries and our city's poor and working class is only way to build a safe and healthy city. [3:33:57 PM] The community investment budget was created by a large coalition of more than 30 organizations that make up Austin's social and economic justice movement. That movement has always fought for the rights of all austinites. Especially the communities that were hit hardest by current and recent crisis that we face, but also that will be most affected by any future cries. So we need you to please find the full $75 million [indiscernible] For those citizens. Thank you. >> Chantal bridgen. Chantal, please unmute. Juli swegg. [3:35:00 PM] >> My name is Juli and I'm one of the co-funders of [indiscernible], a group of jewish women who oppose anti-semitism in Austin. I'm speaking on number five. In the last year white supremists set fire to an Austin synagogue, littered our city with propaganda and repeatedly threatened our community online. This has to stop and we believe that the city must take action now. We need a robust public education campaign to show the committee is committed to ending hate and for people to know how to report it. We need better training for city staff, especially police officers, on hate groups on social media and we need to fix the tracking system for hate incidents. More than 97 people have tried to file a report with 311 and failed because the system isn't working. I personally tried to report a non- emergency incident but I discovered when you call 311 they don't actually take the report, they have an officer call you back from an unknown number. [3:36:00 PM] And if you don't answer they close that case. This isn't just happen to me. It happened to one in five people who tried to report a number emergency incident since October and it has to be fixed. Calls and online reports also need to be flagged as hate incidents so that they can be properly tracked -- so that cases like mine don't fall through the cracks. We need a hate incident dashboard, a place people can go to see what's happening and where. We need a streamlined system, something easy to remember like text report hates of 51212 or something like that. Too many people are turning to social media to report a case because they don't know where else to turn. Let's make it easy for them. We have been meeting with city leaders for months to advocate for change, but the time to act is now. We believe that mayor pro tem alter will have a budget amendment to address the key areas of public education, training and reporting and we hope each of will you support that request. Thank you for your time. [3:37:05 PM] >> Rebecca burnhart. >> Can you hear me. >> Yes, we can. >> My name is Rebecca. I live in district 10 and I serve as chair of the Austin public safety commission. I'd like to speak briefly to budget overand then speak on agenda item five. I would like to see the Austin city council adopt the entire 75 million community investment budget and pay ems a living, equitable wage of at least $22 an hour. Both of these items have been recommended by the entire public safety commission in recommendations to city council. Regarding agenda 5 in particular, which has not been addressed by the public safety commission yet, I would hope that Austin city council would not authorize funding for license plate readers. In support, license plate [3:38:08 PM] readers technology which collect people's information by automatically scanning their license plate regardless of what restrictions, are placed on the use and storage of the data collected, can and will most likely be misused by peace officers. It can easily be misused to assist in the deportation of immigrants and state law prevents the city and specifically APD management from stopping individual officers from sharing data for this purpose. It can be misused to track women trying to access abortion services and it can be used to track targets of police infiltration. Please, I surge the city council not to provide money to the budget for license plate readers. Thank you very much. [3:39:12 PM] >> Clerk: Sam Kerr,. >> I'm Sam and a resident of district 5. The city has proclaimed making homelessness their number one priority but there is so much more to be done and council needs to actually follow through on that. The city shelters are one catastrophe after the next. I was present at last Thursday's city council meeting and I can empathize with the difficult situation council members were in when the immediate decision has been made, but shelters are a partial stopgap at best. If you've ever asked anyone who is actually unhoused by shelters you will know why people often avoid them. There are risks to one's own body and personal belongings. Additionally emergency centers should not have to be necessary, but they are right now. Capmetro should also make rides free for the month of August to unhoused people can get access to air conditioning and avoid heatstroke. But it should make you wake up to realize that the measures will never solve [3:40:15 PM] homelessness. Only human rights and following through on building housing for every single person will. The other approach is the cost of living crisis. On Thursday the city council honored [indiscernible]. Ryan spoke of how it is a critical mistake to take the moderate approach. He spoke that we need to fight for the things that people Shea you should not touch. Please do not let his departing recommendations, but let them be a through line for this year's budget. The city must significantly increase funds for emergency rental assistance, for eviction legal protections, weather sheltering, permanent supportive housing and more. Let's significantly rise the city worker's minimum wage to $22 and hour and give even higher increases to paramedics who are vastly overworked and understaffed. Please fund the full $75 million in the community investment budget. Thank you very much. [3:41:19 PM] >> Mary Ann L. >> Hi, can you hear me? >> Yes, it's very soft, though. >> Is this better? >> Yes, we can hear you. >> Is this better? Thank you. Thank you for the chance to speak. My name is Mary Ann and I work for the city of Austin and I'm here to discuss the budget, specifically the across the board percentage raises for cost of living. I would like to ask that we reconsider across the board raises a percentage increase that inequitiable favors those at the top of the income scale. I would like to highlight how at the place an emphasis on leadership and talent and maintaining their quality of life and this is a disservice to the frontline workers. Staff continues to struggle to pay rent, gets further someplaced to the outskirts and the results are clear we are struggling to hire and retain quality staff. We are actively disinvesting [3:42:20 PM] in our city and workers, many more of our staff fall through the gaps, neither qualifying for services nor being paid a living wage in order to afford their rent. Inequitable policies are a choice. I believe there are other models that exist and I leave that issue to the experts to address how to best address this issue. But it also brings me to a second point. The issue of merit pay and how the lack of upward mobility impacts retention and drives up our turnover rate. We lose productivity, we lose institutional knowledge and we have additional costs in recruiting and interviewing and onboarding new individuals, individuals like me who are dedicated to their position, but would like to see an increase in my salary and my mobility, but I have no opportunity to do so continuing at my same work, there's no opportunity to improve my condition. I I think also for our [3:43:21 PM] budget to mirror what others have said, I would like to see more transparent and accountability of how the budget is distributed by department, how the budget is used, what the equity assessment of that budget cost is and how it will impact our community. Thank you very much. >> Clerk: Fran T. >> Good afternoon. I'm a resident of hays county and an Austin city volunteer. I'm calling in to request that you approve the full 75 million of the community investment budget as a bare minimum. As someone who does outreach on the streets I can tell you there are more and more people falling through the cracks everyday. In one of our friends and family could be one emergency away. Therefore we definitely need more funds for rental [3:44:21 PM] assistance and eviction assistance. Last winter it was a group of volunteers that pulled ourselves together, raised funds and put probably a very good handful of people in housing ourselves in hotels, which simply is not sustainable. I had heard from the office of homelessness strategy that there was zero funding during the winter for warming centers. So I would highly recommend that you approve the baseline remaining need for shelters. I understand that 1.2 million has been requested as a base. Further, there was just an unhoused man who was found on I-35 and 15th believed to have died from heat exhaustion. So definitely there needs to be continued cooling centers offered for our unhoused members to avoid these kind of strategies. So thank you very much for [3:45:22 PM] the time. I ask that you approve all the items in community investment budget and please refrain from adding anything more to the police budget at this time. APD does not have a good reputation and I don't know why we would reward that at this time. We need to preserve our funds for the community. Thank you so much. >> Clerk: Mariette, Hummel. >> Hi, I live in district 7. I am one of the co-founders of atx kind, a group of jewish women who came together to find anti-semitism and hate in Austin and I am here to speak on item number five and ask for robust and urgent action against anti-semitism in our city. The jewish community incidents of hate, including neo naziism and antisemitic, hateful [indiscernible] In people's driveways and arson [3:46:23 PM] in a local synagogue that caused significant damage to the building. This troubling trend needs to be stopped and we believe the city must stop it right now. Last year there was a resolution by mayor pro tem alter committed to fighting anti-semitism in our city. We want to ensure the city follows through on this resolution with funding and clear access. We want to be a whole some public education campaign -- I'm sorry, my daughter is talking too. Against anti-semitism to show everyone, residents and visitors, that this city [indiscernible] And to educate the community on how to recognize it and how to fight it. Putting up billboards, robust media [indiscernible]. We would estimate at least 250k for this. We have also found -- [baby crying]. We have also found that the reporting system in the city is lacking. There should be an easy to [3:47:25 PM] use system to report hate incidents such as report hate by texting this number. Right now the reporting methods are scattered and not known to most residents. In addition we are asking for hate incident dashboard for the city as is seen seen in other places as Chicago so everyone can track hate incidents. Neo Nazi groups' approach has evolved and so should our city's strategies and preparation. This includes updated and specific training for all city staff to create an understanding of anti-semitism, how to avoid it and how to address it. The local anti-defamation league is a readily available resource for this type of training. We have been asking for action for many months and we cannot wait any longer. Action against hate does not only benefit our jewish communities, but it helps all marginalized groups in our city. We all deserve to feel safe in the city. We believe mayor pro tem alter will be offering a budget amendment for this ask and we hope that each of you will work toward that [3:48:26 PM] request. Thank you. >> Harper-madison: Mayor, harper-madison here. I don't know if the caller is still on the line. There were a couple of things I wanted to say, but most importantly I wanted to point out for the caller that they could go back to the archives and grab that frontage from 3h46 on the second second of August where their baby made a strong stance against anti-semitism in the city of Austin. I don't know if folks know that, but you can go and grab that clip. I encourage that. And thank you for participating even when it's sometimes difficult to do so. I think all the parents on the dais appreciate your participation today. [Applause]. >> Claudia Munoz. >> Hi, my name is Claudia. I work at graduate leadership but today I'm only calling as a community member and on behalf of my undocumented community [3:49:26 PM] members in district four and seven and those who have been displaced by gentrification and overpolicing. I was heavily surveilled as an activist in the trump administration. Unfortunately most of the technologies used then remain today which is a license plate reader, which is sold to us as a safety measure, but which report something that shows is quite ineffective. [Indiscernible]. Such as the juneteenth celebration. This technology could also be used to track people seeking abortions. To be clear I am also against the current proposed budget because it does not fully fund the community investment budget at the request of 74 million that included harm reduction measures and was crafted by over 30 organizations. I know there's been change in the city council a lot and a lot of it has sent us back in time, but I request those of you who have been in interaction with the community for years to stand [3:50:27 PM] strong. We have told you year after year and through the reimagining public safety task force report what our needs are. You know this very well. Those of you who actually interact in the community. So please focus on fully funding those instead of backtracking on the programs that we have been collectively in the past few years because a lot of that progress rests on the shoulders of those most impacted like my family and myself. Thank you so much. >> Clerk: Chantal bridge. >> Hi, my name is Chantal and I'm a lifelong austinite, graduate leadership. I am calling in regards to item five. I believe that the community investment fund is worth funding, 74 million. I don't understand why we have only such a small percentage. We are taxpayers and there are other measures of [3:51:28 PM] prevention and harm reduction services, jobs and housing that can be funded through the community investment fund. I don't know why the city council can't do that. And I understand that the license plate readers is back on, more buy as, more policing, more profiling. So I'm asking that that not be renewed as well, that contract. Thank you. >> Clerk: Frank nedster. Frank, please unmute. >> Hi, sorry, I was muted. I'm frank, a member of the employees union as well as a member of Austin dsa. I'm calling again to reecho everything I've been hearing today which is that we don't need to put more funding into policing. I'll echo my friend Chris [3:52:29 PM] Harris when I say that people are not kept safer by policing, they're safer who we have health care, homes and jobs. Is that could be reflected by our community investment budget, $22 an hour is what you requested. It is what your employees deserve, and it is what we all need. I would like to further elaborate that we keep losing power in my neighborhood. It sucks. And rate changes that are going to be affecting the most low income individuals is really unfortunate, especially when you're giving that money that could be fixing our infrastructure, rebuilding our schools and making sure that there are climate safe Zones for people like me who lose power frequently who I have somewhere to go to. That would be fantastic if we could have that money for them rather than for people that further incarcerate [3:53:30 PM] people and throw kids into our rapidly decaying juvenile delinquent system, our juvenile detention centers. I would also like to add that last week I called in about my mother who had been put into the er and forced to sleep in a hallway all night because the rooms were full. Public health huge issue that we could be investing money into but rather have said we want to put money into license plate readers. Because I'll tell you when I went to the hospital there were a bunch of cop cars parked right outside watching everybody go in and out. It's obvious where the implications are for abortion then. Thank you very much for your time and attention. I hope you adapt the community investment budget rather than city manager cronk's unfortunate proposal. Thank you, good-bye. >> Mayor? >> Mayor Adler: Yes, go ahead. >> Vela: Just a quick comment. I know there was a reference [3:54:30 PM] to it. I know the caller was was talking about the juvenile justice system in Texas right now. And just for everyone's information, they're having a very serious staffing shortages and various juvenile detention center, juvenile prisons where kids are essentially being kept in their cell the whole time, there's a lack of services, a lack of security, a lack of oversight. So he was just referring that there's been a number of articles about that recently and I just wanted to give the public a head's up that that's going on right now. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Mayor, that concludes all the remote speakers we have in the queue so I'll switch over to in-person. >> Mayor Adler: Okay. >> Clerk: First up is Shayla Williams, followed by Yvonne Weldon. >> Good afternoon, mayor, [3:55:31 PM] mayor pro tem and the council members. I want to let you know that I am in support of the community investment budget and particularly to have some of those funds allocated to the carver museum. I want to speak to you just how important the carver museum is to the community. I grew up in east Austin so it was the carver library when I was growing up before it was turned into a museum. You have to see it more as just a museum. The carver museum tells stories about the history of east Austin, which is now called central Austin. It is there, it gives our children's programs. There are programs there for our kids in that community that helps them advance, not just in extracurricular activities, but also in education, but it also tells a so story, tells the stories of what was. For example, Anderson, the [3:56:33 PM] original Anderson high school, they were called the yellowjackets and their colors were black and gold. I am proud to say that because that's the school that my mother and my anti-graduated from. There's a yearbook in that museum that they are in and it's certainly to me because of the simple fact I see it as more than just a museum, but it also is a legacy. And this is where I can take my grandchildren and show them the history in which I grew up in, the neighborhoods and the communities that I know. They've changed on the outside, but the carver museum has what was -- what was. And I would like to see some of those funds allocated to the carver museum to keep it going, not just because it's a museum, but because it's a legacy. It's a legacy to those of us who grew up in the [3:57:36 PM] community, it's a legacy to the kids who are currently there, but also it's a legacy for the future of other children that are a part of that community because I would like to see my grandchildren go there and see the exhibit or the history of the school that their great grandmother graduated from and their great- aunt graduated from. So I support the community investment budget and I ask that you donate money to keep the carver museum going. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Yvonne Weldon, followed by Ben suddaby. >> Hi, good afternoon, mayor and on city council. My name is Yvonne Weldon and I am a candidate for Austin city council district 3. I have been going door to door asking folks who is most important to them. [3:58:38 PM] Overwhelmingly it is affordability and public safety, especially the crime plaguing our district. Last Thursday we went into a recession. Folks are struggling with paying bisque bills like their rent and food and utility bills and even essentials. This is not the time to be increasing the tax rates that will affect renters and others and other residents. The city of Austin can effectively reduce the tax rate and still receive more revenue over last year. The ridiculous 350-million-dollar bond obligating about $350 on every man, woman and child, is a slap in the face to the residents of Austin. We need a full external audit on how you are spending our money and then move forward on toward a proactive approach to public safety. As far as the license plate readers, Mackenzie Kelly has given compelling data to support it. These readers can save lives. Quit playing games and wasting time and money and pass it already. Recently there have having to wait almost 30 minutes for an ambulance as well as [3:59:39 PM] police officers that are so understaffed they are unable to respond to ensure public safety. I suggest nonessential city employees should be rerouted to the 911 APD, AFD, and ems departments to provide support to those essential services until the staffing crisis that you, the city council, have created, is back under control. We need to fully fund and support the demands of the Austin police department as well as the Austin Travis county ems to fully ensure the public safety of austinites. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Council member harper-madison, you had your hand raised earlier and I missed it. Did you want to say something? >> Harper-madison: Thank you, mayor. I appreciate it. I can't see the chambers, and so I'm not certain if that speaker that asked about -- is still in the room. I want to make sure that they're aware of some upcoming repairs, renovations, and the manifestation of some bond dollars that are in -- that are coming up for the carver. [4:00:39 PM] So, not only is there definitely a distinct commitment to investment in the carver in the future, but we are actively seeing some of the investments in the carver manifest right now. So, feel free to reach out to the district 1 office and I can happily elaborate. >> Mayor Adler: She's here and gave you a thumbs up. Next speaker. >> Clerk: Ben sudape, and then Alicia torres. >> Hello, mayor, mayor pro tem, city council members, both in-person and online, my name is Ben. I'm a member of both ask me 1624, Austin dsa, and proud to be a recent move from d1 over to d4. Sorry to my online former council member. I want to start off by saying that -- acknowledge the work that y'all do. Local government is constrained in Texas. You know, our good friends at the capitol, you know, that pink building up on congress, have seen fit to tie your hands as [4:01:41 PM] far as trying to do good when it comes to budget processes in many different ways. For item 1, I do invite you to approve letting people know that there's not going to be -- at least this year, there's not going to be a vote to have a higher rate than what the maximum is. We're not triggering that this year. But consider it for future years, if, you know, if there's good to be done with that money. I want to thank you for allowing people to speak. Adopting that same policy throughout the entire budget process is a very good thing. Allowing community members to come and have their voices heard. I am troubled, though, by the process that allows for a council to thankfully give direction on June 16th, unanimously, instructing the city manager to develop a budget that gave a $22 an hour raise -- or minimum at the city, and then he returned with one that falls [4:02:45 PM] quite short from that. I would like to see more pressure put on hired people to follow the instructions of city council when they're developing those budgets. The community investment that everyone here is speaking about, please fund that. It is a way that you do have power in our community to show that, you know, even though you are constrained by the state in some ways, do good where you can, and that is one place where you can do good. For the changes of rates at the Austin energy, I'm troubled by a change -- I understand there's rising costs and they need to account for that, but from going to five huge residential down to three where the poorest are seeing an increase in their energy costs and those heavy users, residentially, are seeing a discount, they're going to have -- to actually be paying less, that needs to be revisited [4:03:46 PM] and retooled, so that is not the case. Those with the least shouldn't be bearing the brunt. When it comes to our budgets as far as, you know, license plate readers, I ask you to please do not fund that. There's a concept of not creating data. If data is not collected and created, then it can't be taken by the state to be misused. It can't be leaked. Look at this wired article from just a month ago about the dangers of license plate readers in a post-roe world. I encourage you to not do that. And then finally, once again, I urge you, please, the community investment that everyone has addressed today, and will continue to do so, this is key. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Alicia torres, and then Amelia Casas. [4:04:46 PM] >> Hello. Can everybody hear me? >> Mayor Adler: Yes. >> Hello, my name is Alicia torres. Part of the grass roots leadership team. As well as a community member of district 3. I am here today to ask council members to not accept the current proposed budget on part of the city manager. We need a budget that is community-centered and that addresses the disparities our community faces at the root cause, and not just band-aid approaches. What we need and demand is that city council members, remember that you represent us, the people. And put forth a city budget that completely funds the community investment budget at 75 million and not the mere 21 million that is currently being proposed. To start, we need 1.5 million to create culturally specific services for black austinites, who form about 40% of the unhoused community in our city. [4:05:47 PM] To start, we need 3 million for harm reduction services, permanent housing, inclement weather shelters, instead of increased funds, like the ones that happened today. To start, we need to support our students and parents by allocating money for our aid parent support specialist. We need a short -- we need to fund all the items that received no funding in the community investment budget. How do we do this? We start that by not allowing the contract renewal of the automated license plate readers to happen. This would increase funding to APD for an ineffective and -- sorry. This would increase the funding to Austin police department for an ineffective and harmful technology that our community already said does not make us feel safe back in 2020, and takes close to 114,000 away from possible investment into our collective community priorities [4:06:53 PM] and safety. Furthermore, some of the issues in the document I just handed out, location data cube shared with I.C.E. For civil immigration enforcement, leading to separation of families due to detention and deportation. Automated license plate readers may be used by police, anti-abortion groups who seek so surveil, prosecute, and arrest women seeking abortion services across state lines. Currently, Texas does not have an alpr statute to ensure privacy and security and to honor the work of search data. Alprs disproportionately surveil communities that are low-income and communities of color. No to the renewal of the automated license plate reader contract and fund the budget at the full 75 million. We as austinites deserve more and demand more. Thank Casas, followed by Anna Gonzalez. [4:07:57 PM] >> Good afternoon. My name is Amelia Casas, and I'm a resident of district 6. Today, I stand here to urge you all to fully fund the community investment budget. However, as you've heard, some items are still underfunded or not included at all, including higher wages for ems workers, critical workforce development programs, harm reduction services, and violence interrupter program. In the development of the community investment budget, we named the 75 million in the recommendations as a minimum starting point for what the community needs and has been calling for. This is a tiny fraction of the city's overall 1.3 billion general fund and should receive full investment. One piece I'd like to uplift is our ask for half a million dlardz in funding towards a violence interrupter program. These have shown incredible outcomes in preventing community and gun violence, by advancing [4:08:58 PM] community healing and addressing the root causes of harm and violence. There is no better time than now to add this essential value to our city. I will say it is incredibly disappointing to see the city invest so heavily in harmful approaches to homelessness by allocating $4.8 million in encampment sweeps. In the name of harm reduction and violence prevention, you must reallocate these funds to real and life-saving services for unhoused neighbors. Lastly, I want to voice my support for the proposed creation of an independent forensics department outside of the police department. This has been a critical investment that was pushed by the re-imagining public safety task force for years, and so I applaud our city leaders for taking this step. However, historically, Austin spends more on police per capita than any major jurisdiction in Texas, and looking at this budget, it looks no different. With that said, I ask that you do everything in your power to oppose any increases in additional funds to the police department, including a re-authorization of automated license plate readers. Instead, I hope you have the [4:09:58 PM] courage to stand up for what austinites deserve and fully invest in the community investment budget. Fund community, not cops. Thank you. >> Clerk: Anna Gonzalez, followed by Scott Cobb. >> Good afternoon. Thank you for having me. I also want to speak in support of the community investment that everybody has so openly talked about. I work for the city and I want to take issue with one of the proposals in the budget. The 4% rate increase, grateful as I am that there are efforts, and people leaving because they cannot afford to live here [4:10:58 PM] anymore. The reason why I take issue with this is because it is a percent increase across the board. The ones that make the most are going to get more money, the most money on their paychecks and the ones that need it the most are going to see the least on their paychecks. And I don't know if you have had the luxury and the opportunity to receive the undoing racism and equity trainings that we've had, and it comes to mind that image of the apple trees with boxes of different sizes, so people can reach to achieve and get the apple. And this is the total opposite of that, the ones that already have a big box are getting an even bigger size. And the ones that are struggling to reach, the ones that are struggling to stay in Austin, to pay childcare, are the ones who are receiving the least. It is an insult. It's not equitable. And I keep thinking, this is like going back to pre-k and [4:12:04 PM] hearing, "It's not fair." It's that basic. We should not be increasing the inequalities and the inequities that exist within the city of Austin workforce. So, that same amount of money could be distributed in a more equitable way, and I beg you, that you please request that city manager comes back with an equitable proposal, with that same amount of revenue, what can you do to make that money go farther in supporting equity. I also want to speak strongly in support to ems staff. They are the ones that are saving lives out there, responding to all these emergencies. There's people dying because of heatstroke. They are the ones knocking on doors when there's flooding. We call them essential. Let's treat them as such. Just big applauses and kudos and declarations don't do much when they're struggling to stay in Austin or keep their jobs, [4:13:05 PM] because they can't afford to live in Austin. I really hope you do something about making this budget more equitable. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Scott Cobb, followed by David west. >> Good afternoon. My name is Scott Cobb. I work as a lifeguard at department springs pool. I want to thank mayor Adler. We had a good meeting. Took us a whole hour to go over our entire proposal and I think it was very productive, and I appreciate that time that you gave us. So, thank you. I'm actually in a very good mood today, because I woke up today, and I read the newspaper, and I see that -- I saw that ACC raised their minimum wage to $20 an hour. They had -- they were in a similar position as us a couple weeks ago, their budget writers [4:14:06 PM] had drafted a proposal for only $18 an housework but their board of trustees decided their people are worth more than $18 an hour, and what they arrived at was 20. So that gives me hope that people in our community, whether they work for city of Austin or any other job, and the elected officials, they value the work of the city employees, and there is a pathway to $22 an hour. I know you can find that pathway. And lifeguards have a lot of requests that we talked about yesterday with mayor Adler's staff. One of those was full-time status for up to 20 guards. But in order to get the $22 an hour, we're willing to not have that happen this year. Four of those guards would cost 258,000. 20 would cost a million. But it is more important to us for everybody in the city of Austin to get that $22 an hour [4:15:09 PM] than it is for 20 of us to be regular employees with full-time benefits at the end of this year. So, I know there's a pathway that you can find to get to the 22, and I hope that you look for ways to find other sources in the budget that can be used for that $22. One thing that maybe you should not cut, and this is something we pushed for, and it's been answered by pard through the q&a portal, paid training for lifeguards when they first signed up for a course on day one, they are on the payroll. We asked that, we pushed for that, council member Fuentes submitted that as a q&a in the response from pard. Therefore, in 2022, 2023, pard plans to hire course parliamen -- courts participants. That is a major change, and will [4:16:10 PM] definitely help the staffing and the operating of full -- all the pools open if you do this one thing. Plus the wage increase would -- those two things. But paid training is something that never has been tried, and it's something that I hear often, that they don't want to go to that course because it's not paid, and it takes 40 hours and it costs them $700. So, if it gets paid, you're going to have a full open pull next summer. Thank you very much. >> Ellis: Mr. Cobb, I just really appreciate your continued advocacy for the lifeguards in our community. I know that there's at least a number of colleagues, if not all of us, trying to make sure our lifeguards are taken care of. And I've definitely heard the calls to make sure that more pools are open and that more pools can be open longer, because we all know it's been 100 degrees. As long as we can see behind us and as long as we can see in front of us. And so we know that's a really valued community service, and we [4:17:12 PM] appreciate you and especially the yearround lifeguards, but definitely the summer lifeguards as well. >> Well, thank you. If I can respond. The issue of pools open longer, there was money saved this year because 13 never opened all summer, and only 600 lifeguards were hired. So that money is already in the budget for this fiscal year. And if it doesn't get spent by the end of the year, it goes back to wherever. Not the pard. But pard could spend that money and keep the pools open another two, three, four weeks if they wanted to. So, it is hot, and you could keep the pools open longer if pard wants to. >> Ellis: I appreciate that. Thank you for your comments. >> Clerk: David west followed by Emily siccini. >> Good afternoon. My name is David west. I'm the associate director of integrated systems of care with [4:18:13 PM] integral care. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. Having begun my career with integral care on an act team, which provided community-based behavioral health treatment, I was able to see firsthand the impact that homelessness has on a person's quality of life. A couple of years into that work, the city funded our housing first act team, and this represented a profound step forward as a primary focus of that team is to help people experiencing homelessness access housing. This is just one of so many examples of progress. Through my career, I've been excited to see a significant number of expansion of our community's homelessness support services. We're getting better at engaging people experiencing homelessness in spite of the clear challenges. The mayor and council have played leadership roles in helping our community to develop a plan to effectively end homelessness. Integral care is proud to be a part of the Austin strategic housing blueprint. We appreciate your leadership in [4:19:14 PM] bringing together community stakeholders and working collaboratively to develop a community plan to make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring. We also appreciate our continued partnership with the downtown Austin community court to reach out to our neighbors experiencing homelessness and to help them find ways to live and expand their health and well-being. We're excited to have a contract with the city of Austin for the coming year that has 120 neighbors experiencing chronic homelessness at Seabrook square and the psh north housing communities. We know through analysis of the residents of the terrace at oak springs that permanent supportive housing works. When we examined residents' utilization of hospital and emergency services 12 months before, moving into terrace oak springs, and then again 12 months after having moved in, we found a sharp reduction in ems encounters, emergency department visits, medicaid inpatient, and arrest. And this highlights only a few [4:20:15 PM] of the ways that integral care operates with the city of Austin to provide the right care in the right time and the right place. We appreciate your confidence and support and we look forward to working with your collaboratively over the coming years. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. Council member Renteria. >> Renteria: Can you tell me what the average stay of a person that's experiencing chronic homeless -- what's the average stay in your facility? >> Well, you know, integral care has a number of residential facilities and programs, and so there's a wide range. And I think that speaks to, you know, this notion of the right care at the right time and in the right place, and recognizing that there's such a range of the ways that housing issues and homelessness can impact individuals. And so it's important for us to have a continuum of care, so to speak. >> Renteria: Yeah. I know, and the facility that I went to on oak springs, a real beautiful facility. >> Oh, yes. [4:21:15 PM] >> Renteria: But I know that there's a lot bigger need than just that area there. >> You know, I appreciate that question all the more. Permanent supportive housing, our housing at oak springs, is permanent supportive housing. And so there is no end to the stay there. >> Renteria: Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Emily siccini followed by Carla pereto. >> Hello, mayor Adler and council members, I'm so happy to see you here today. My name is Emily ciccini, and I am the executive director of book spring, a 50-year-old organization here in town that does early childhood literacy, and I'm happy to report that we've distributed over -- almost up to about half a million books since the beginning of covid to young children under the age of 12 here in the Austin area. And the way we did that was through a network of healthcare [4:22:15 PM] providers, of education providers, and childcare centers, and other organizations in the community. And I am here today to speak against the budget as it's written right now on behalf of one voice central Texas. I am the public policy chair of this organization. And it is a coalition of executive leadership, of more than 100 health and human service non-profit organizations, working to make sure that everyone can reach their full potential and contribute to our community. We represent the community's integrated network of human services that connects everyone of all ages and circumstances to the social resources opportunities and supports they need to survive. The city manager has released his proposed budget, and while we appreciate additional funds allocated for affordable housing, for a new trauma center, one-time funding for rental assistance and language access, there's a less than 1% [4:23:16 PM] increase in the social service contracts which support important services that address community needs. We are requesting an overall increase in the city's investment and commitment to Austin public health, which is currently primarily supported through grants, rather than a city investment from the general fund. The kind of work that we do as health and human service agencies needs to be sustained, and it is needed now more than ever. A 9.1 cost of living increase which would equate to $4.56 million in the funding available for social service contracts would make a huge difference to our organizations right now. Why should you do this? One, we produce results. All of the city contracted agencies in our network provide regular updates on program-specific services and examples of outcomes. You know what work we do. We are good partners to you, and have been for a long time. [4:24:19 PM] We've been your partners throughout covid. Local non-profit organizations served as a foundation for the community and worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to ensure that the individuals most impacted continued to receive the services and supports they needed. The social service contracts are now dealing with the aftermath, increased needs for mental health, substance abuse services, supporting victims of crime, addressing the lack of connection between people, and reducing the loss of learning in youth. Our members are -- we respectfully request you increase the health and human service contracts. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Carla pereto, followed by Laura Elmore. >> Hello. My name is Carla pereto. She/her pronouns. I'm a resident of district 1. I am speaking in solidarity with [4:25:19 PM] the coalition behind the community investment budget because I believe in investing in the community, not policing. I'd also like to state my opposition to funding automatic license plate readers. I'm a former employee of the city's office of police oversight where I monitored investigations of police misconduct and engage with city residents to learn of their experiences with Austin police officers. One of the greatest realizations I walked away with is that police ultimately respond to crime. They don't prevent it. And when they do show up on scene, body-worn camera footage and witness testimony reveal the police force that is overwhelmingly incapable of basic interpersonal skills like compassion and de- escalation. As an undocumented immigrant, I have never felt more heard or seen by this council than when you listened to the public's cries to immediately defund and work towards replacing APD with regenerative people-centered solutions. Solutions like those outlined in the all summer port by the rps task force. However, that level of attention to community needs was short-lived. The wealthy and powerful of the [4:26:19 PM] city do not speak for the majority. We might not be able to make it to there building to testify, but know that there are hundreds of thousands of local residents who demand increased funding to community- centered resources and an end to the tried and failed police reforms. We want a real investment in what we know works and is life-affirming, which is public health, robust public transit, clean water, education, well-paying jobs, housing, and enhancing our natural spaces. City government is a place where incredible people-centered work can happen. Yet time and time again, the city budget fails those most in need while upholding an outdated, punitive model of public safety. I am demanding the city allocate the full 75 million asked for by well over 30 community organizations and confident that the city manager and city council can find the funds fleas to make the full demands of the community investment budget a reality. Thank you for your time. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Laura Elmore and then Mary [4:27:24 PM] Dodd. >> Good afternoon, council members and mayor Adler. My name is Laura Elmore. I'm the executive director at the sobering center, a resident of district 10 and I work in district 9. I'm here with two hats today. The first is as the chair of one voice central Texas, so I am backing up everything Emily said. She's our public policy committee chair. So the two of us are representing over 100 non-profit organizations in Austin, asking for the city budget to reflect an increase that is more aligned with the cost of living increase in Austin, which is closer to 9% than 1%, which is what is reflected in the social services budget. I also want to draw your attention, just in case it's not known to the council, the sobering center contract is lumped into that social services number. I can't see what's allocated to the sobering center because it's all in that one item. [4:28:25 PM] But I'm also representing the sobering center staff and board of directors here in asking that you just pay close attention to that contract because it is separate and it is different than the way the rest of the social service contracts work. The rest of -- the previous non-profit executive positions, they're reimbursement contracts. This -- sobering center's contract is the result of an interlocal agreement between the city and the county, where the city has agreed to pay the operating funds and the county is supplying the building space. So we are pretty dependent on the city for our operating funds for those to be appropriate and timely. We have kind of a unique contract, and I think in my two years at the sobering center, it's taken a while for us to really learn the process. But there was a ten-year forecast put out around 2018 when the sobering center was founded. I think probably everyone could imagine that anything that we guessed at in 2018 was probably [4:29:27 PM] -- is probably no longer. But essentially a ten-year budget. It's a pretty difficult thing to do. So what we've learned since covid, but also just in stabilizing the operations of the center is the actual cost of the center and what we've been able to demonstrate in terms of diversion from what you've heard are overcrowded E.R.S and hospitals and jails has been I think a really significant outcome that the city has invested in. What we were asked to do in 2020 was submit an updated five-year forecast, and that five- year forecast never really got into the system for the city, and I'm not sure exactly why that is. But it's not in there. We go through this process where determining the budget gets a little bit confusing. So, if you were to look at the ten-year forecast, it wouldn't match the five-year forecast. But either way, Austin public health is recommending what is in that ten-year forecast, which is now outdated. So I'm trying to advocate for a different look at the sobering [4:30:27 PM] center budget and for us to be part of the process and conversation in the future, and also just to advocate for a general increase in the social services budget line item as a whole, not just for the sobering center, but for the other 100 non-profits that I'm representing today as chair of one voice. Thank you so much. >> Clerk: Mary Dodd, and then Michael Lawton. >> Good afternoon. My name is Mary Dodd. I'm a senior planner with integral care. And I'm here that I to thank you, council and mayor, for your leadership in helping our community rethink what it looks like when we respond to crisis in this community. Thanks to your leadership in funding the emergency noble crisis outreach team. Austin is one of the only [4:31:27 PM] communities in the nation where when people call 911, they get a fourth option. It's police, fire, emergency medical, or mental health. This makes a huge change in the way that people are responded to. And we really appreciate your leadership. You've brought attention to this method of doing business in our community, and I think that it's something that's not only good government, but it responds to the people who are in crisis with the right services at the right time. So I want to thank you for your leadership in transforming how our community responds to crisis, and there is a response that respects people and make sure that they receive the care that they need. Thanks. >> Mayor Adler: Michael Lawton, and then Monica Guzman. [4:32:53 PM] >> Good afternoon, mayor and council. I am Monica Guzman, policy director at vamos Austin and a district 4 resident. While some people speak about covid in the past tense, we are almost halfway through the third year, and still experiencing disproportionate impacts. An inequitable economy in Austin, experiencing the greatest wealth gap to date, and a rapidly growing cost of living, leading many residents struggling to prioritize basic needs like housing, food, and childcare. Keeping up with the increasing cost is near impossible without intervention. That's your intervention. We urge the city council to ensure the following critical investments are included in the fiscal year 23 municipal budget, ensuring not only mitigating health inequity, but building opportunities for housing an economic stability, by leveraging outside resources to achieve city's goals. Gava urges the city of Austin to [4:33:55 PM] follow the community coalition and joint recommendations regarding the affordability level of affordable units, strengthen relocation benefits and assess the reinstatement of compatibility requirements. In order to prevent displacement, ensuring communities stay diverse, rich in people and culture, and honor the history of longtime bipoc neighborhoods in our city. The city must invest in contracts for non-profit and community organizations providing emergency relief for tenants and homeowners facing displacement or experiencing homelessness. Workforce and economic development programs to facilitate job and skill building opportunities. Being able to earn more money means being able to stay here a little more longer. Park safety is public health. Support and elevate community gardens in Austin's eastern crescent to -- healthy food and disaster preparedness with multi-lingual community engagement shaped by residents directly impacted by food [4:34:57 PM] insecurity. Invest in park programming for all ages and whole families, especially in Austin's eastern crescent. Invest in mobile early childhood programming available to early childhood providers, especially home-based providers often lacking access to programming and resources. Expand youth programming by supporting pard cities connecting children to nature in equitably activating the children's outdoor bill of rights through a multi-lingual inclusive communications campaign and programming center in Austin's eastern crescent. Alty early childhood services are critical for the Austin workforce, especially for families with essential workers or without stay at home parents. Arpa funds created or increased stability for many home-based family childcare providers and parents, but those funds are coming to an end. The city must establish baseline budget items for ec-related funding in Austin public health, parks and recreation, economic development, and other appropriate departments to ensure culturally responsive programming, compensate in [4:35:57 PM] language accessible workforce development opportunities, and childcare scholarships. Invest in pard community gardens, programming in Austin's eastern crescent, funding literature and signage as well as infrastructural maintenance and repairs, especially for community garden irrigation, ensuring continued access to healthy food. Now, I don't know how many minutes I have left, I could go on and on, it's a very long list. At this point, I'll just switch to being my usual district 4 resident, and I'll make it quick. You want to make sure this is a stable community, invest in the community. As someone has said before, you work for us. Thank you. >> Clerk: Noay eliaz, and then paltet Sammy. >> Good afternoon. I am noay eliaz, resident of [4:37:01 PM] district 3. I'm here to speak on the budget. I believe this budget needs to reflect the needs of the community, and it does not. I believe that a healthy and a thriving community is a safe community, so we must invest in community programs and other anti-poverty measures. We must increase our investments in things like rental assistance, eviction protections. Of course, the $22 wage increase, safety and improvements to our parks, and our services to immigrant families, services for our unhoused neighbors, early childhood education, parent support specialists in our schools, and all the countless things we have already talked about here. The things that we prioritize in this budget reflect our values. So I want to paraphrase when he said, this is not about money, this is about people. We need to think about people and the programs that we're funding. Thank you. [4:38:08 PM] >> Clerk: Paulette Sultani, and then Rebecca Sanchez. >> Good afternoon, mayor, mayor pro tem, and city council members. Thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Paulette Sultani and I'm the director of organizing at the Texas harm reduction alliance. We're a part of the community investment budget coalition, which is calling for $75 million to meet critical needs in our community. Today, we're here to urge you to not accept the current budget proposal. The very survival of people who use drugs and people experiencing homelessness in Austin depends on investments that are not found in the current budget. First, we have to start by denouncing increased funds for sweeps of homeless encampments, which risks the health and safety of residents and make it harder to access life- saving services. Cities across the country that continue to utilize sweeps to address homelessness continue to suffer worsening crises of homelessness, overdose deaths, and more. Nearly $5 million has been allocated to sweeps in the city's proposed budget, while [4:39:10 PM] other needs that would support people experiencing homelessness are underfunded or not funded at all. We're due too reallocate this money and put it towards real solutions, which include harm reduction strategies. After 50 years of trying to arrest and incarcerate our way out of drug use, we are now in the worst overdose crisis our country has ever seen, and Austin is no exception. Harm reduction treats individuals who use drugs with dignity and respect, using a social justice and health equity lens. It is a set of policies and practices that aims to minimize negative health, social, and legal impacts associated with drug use, drug policies, and drug laws. It's not about just getting someone to say no. It's about asking how can we best help keep you safe, healthy, and alive. The community investment budget asks for $2 million to fund harm reduction needs in our community, and currently, there are $0 allocated for harm reduction. In June, we proudly worked with council member Fuentes and council member kitchen to pass a public health crisis declaration around the overdose crisis. [4:40:11 PM] We are eager to see the declaration backed up with funds to ensure that every person who uses drugs and every service provider who serves people who use drugs have overdose reversal medication called naloxone. We need to expand community health workforce to engage people in care and connect people to services, treatment, and more. We need to expand drop-in centers. I can tell you firsthand that my coworkers who run our direct services right now are completely overwhelmed. They are understaffed, and they're doing heroic work every day to ensure people stay alive. But we desperately need more help, we need to expand harm reduction infrastructure across our city if we're going to save lives. Second is inclement weather shelters. Across the country, hundreds of people experiencing homelessness die every year of extreme heat. Heatstroke, overdose deaths, mental health crises, increased or extreme heat. During our recent community organizing meetings, people have shared what they know about our [4:41:11 PM] current cooling centers in Austin. They say, I have no idea where the cooling centers are. We have to rely on libraries and rec centers, but those are not always open on weekends and close at the hottest time of the day. The arch is supposed to be a center, but it turns people away. They're not comfortable in settings, they don't let our pets in, there's no water filling stations. There's no outlets. Please put yourselves in the shoes of people who are living on the streets across our city during the hottest summer in our city's history and imagine what it's like to lack access to consistent safe spaces. We urgently ask the council to provide the full $3 million in funds for inclement weather shelters, and we urge you to support the 75 million package through the community investment budget coalition. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you very much. >> Clerk: Rebecca Sanchez, and then Sharon mane. Sharon? [4:42:22 PM] >> My name is Sharon, I'm a resident of district 8 and I'm one of the co-founders of atx kind. A group formed to rally at the capitol last November in response to spikes of anti-semitism here in Austin. And has been meeting with several city officials and staff since then. Since October of last year, Austin's jewish community has been the target of multiple acts of hate from anti-semitic fliers in parks on porches and in neighborhoods to a synagogue arson that caused more than $150,000 in damage. These understand dents mirror a growing tide of hate, both nationally and across Texas. In December, a gunman held hostages inside a colleyville synagogue. Last month, shebat services were canceled in Austin due to threats. Our community here fears that it is just a matter of time before Austin sees another major incident. Last November, this council passed a resolution to fight [4:43:23 PM] back against hate. As you weigh this year's budget proposal, we urge you to back up those words and pledges with action. We need enhanced training for city staff to deal with the growing tide of hate. We need a public education campaign. This should include visible commitments across the city to extinguishing hate in all its forms against all marginalized communities, billboards, capital metro bus placards, as well as aligned social media assets. This calls for a budget commitment of at least $250,000 and likely more to do it right. We need a streamlined easy-to-use system for residents to report hate incidents. Think something simple like text "Report hate" to 51212, instead of the current fragmented and overloaded system. And the hurdles that exist with Austin energy operators funneling calls and reports over to APD. [4:44:24 PM] This council is likely well aware of the current backlog of 311 reports. How inaccurate is our sense of the spread of hate in Austin as a result of the difficulties in reporting. We know that when we don't address these hate incidents, they don't go away. They grow. They intensify. They get worse. These changes will benefit not just Austin's jewish community, but also all marginalized communities. It's been ten months since our recent surge of incidents began, and we fear that the city is no better prepared to handle another incident than we were in October of 2021. We believe mayor pro tem alter will be offering a budget amendment to offer these concerns and we encourage each of you to support it. Thank you. >> Clerk: Next I have Mary grace Clark, but I think she did not want to speak; is that correct? If you would like, yes. And then following that is Chris [4:45:27 PM] Harris. >> Hello. My name is Mary grace Clark. I live in district 3, but I'm representing a number of multiple districts. I was asked to speak today about my experience with Austin civilian conservation corps, hoping that -- sorry, I'm very nervous -- hoping that as someone who has benefited from this program, I can give you an idea on how much it has helped me, my members, and our community, in hopes that you are able to fund a permanent career and development program. I am Austin civilian conservation corps site supervisor with the city and American youth works. I oversee our conservation crews that are currently in the field, giving them project details, reporting all their project metrics to send for a recording, coordinating with the project partners that work with the city. I've been in the conservation corps field since 2019, starting out as a member, and now I work as a staff member, supporting [4:46:29 PM] accc efforts. It was funded to support residents of Austin that were financially impacted by covid, whether they lost their job or have reduced hours. Our goal is to support residents of Austin with a gateway to get into green jobs that have not been given this opportunity before. Many of the members that come through our program have come through careers or do not have college degrees. They want to work in the conservation field, but many do not know how to get into the field without a degree or any experience, which is required for many green jobs, like a city park ranger. Accc is a program that doesn't require experience and we offer so many trainings and a lot of hands-on experience. We build new trails, reduce wildfire risk, remove invasive species, and much more. I currently have 18 enrolled members split into two crews that go into the field and work in our Austin green spaces, working to rehabilitate neglected areas to create cleaner parks for easier access. One of my crews is dedicated to [4:47:31 PM] the eastern crescent area of Austin, which is known to be neglected and overlooked by the city. Because of this, the parks in the area are overgrown, treated as landfills, dangerous, and avoided entirely. Many of the members that are participating in this program are residents of these areas, so they get to congresswoman in to not only develop more skills, but also they get to directly and positively impact the community they represent. Kendra page, Mabel Davis, are some of the parks that my crews work in. Restoring these parks not only benefits our community, but it also benefits our environments. Our efforts may seem small to others, but over time, we create a large and healthy impact for environment and people. Our crews do good work that we love and often this work goes unnoticed, but we enjoy it. I have some metrics here. I don't know if you'll understand this, but we have [4:48:32 PM] some -- we removed brush -- we worked on 30 acres of land in the whole of Austin, and our project partners have many times congratulated us, and would like to continue working with us and hiring my people. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Great. Thank you very much. >> Clerk: Chris Harris, and then Andrew hornman. >> Hi, everyone. My name is Chris Harris. I'm with Austin justice coalition and equity action, and I live in district 9. Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak with you today. If you don't believe that people are born evil, and you believe that people's actions in life are largely the product of their environment and upbringing and things that they encounter in that situation, then it behooves us to ensure that the environment that we create, that [4:49:32 PM] the society that we build, that the community that we invest in is strong and one that supports people living their best lives and one in touch with and caring for their community and for themselves. And this budget represents probably the greatest opportunity that you all have to help make those types of investments, to build the type of community where people are strong and secure, not only for themselves, but for their families and for their community as a whole. You know, my organization is one of those that is signed on to the community investment budget, and we've helped develop and push and organize for this with this mindset. That ultimately, we have to build the community that we want, and that will produce the environment and the people and the behaviors and the society that we all enjoy and want to live in. Our mayor recently adorned [4:50:36 PM] Angela Davis, who was brought to our city by my organization, with her own official day, much to my delight. I appreciate that. She famously said that being radical simply means grasping things by the root. And the root of the insecurity and crisis that many people have in our city is not because of a lack of punitive responses available to them. It's because they're insecure in their home. They're unable to stay in the city of Austin. They're unable to take care of their children or find childcare for them. They're unable to pay their bills, even if they have a job. Unable to find access to healthy food for them and their families, or access to healthcare that they need. These are the roots of the problems that we face in our community, and you have an opportunity by fully funding the community investment budget to make a real commitment to addressing those root causes. The root causes are the things that are actually at the core of [4:51:38 PM] some of the issues that we continue to see in our community, particularly coming out of -- and continuing to be in now not one, but two pandemics. So, again, I urge you so strongly to fully invest in the community investment budget, to fully fund that, rather. And particularly, to look at those items that have not been touched at all within the context of the current baseline proposal. There was talk about the carver museum. There's talk about services for black folks who are unhoused who represent the vast majority or plurality of unhoused folks. These are the types of things that we continually need to look at. So, again, please look at that community investment budget. Thank you so much for the time. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Andrew hornman, and then Kathy Mitchell. >> Hello, mayor Adler, council, [4:52:38 PM] and pro tem mayor -- uh, sorry. Okay, anyway. I'm here because I'm -- I live in district 4. I'm a member of the S.A. Austin chapter. And there's a lot of concern, but one item that I haven't seen people talk about is monkeypox, and I'm very concerned about that happening, especially in Austin, because there's a lot of people that are traveled here. There is a -- acl's going to happen in October. Like, we -- here in Austin, there's a chance that we could be -- like, that there is a chance to have super spreader events. Just like that. I know right now in the media, this is affecting mostly gay and queer men, but I feel like that's going to change soon, and I don't want it to get worse. [4:53:39 PM] Like, we have the opportunity to really, like, crack down and get vaccines available to people and get the funding and get treatment for people who need it right now. With that said, there's gay pride happening in August. And also, we're in Austin. There seems to be super spreader events happening at least, like, three times a week. Like, there's all these concerts. People are coming down for all these conventions. So, that is a concern that I hope that y'all can make policy and put funding into that. Also, just kind of like some points that have been made by other people. Like giving workers $22 an hour -- city workers $22 an hour. Also ems workers. And on top of that, I'm against automated license plate readers [4:54:39 PM] and any funding for the police. And at the very least, please invest the full $75 million on the community investment. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Kathy Mitchell, and then Chaz Moore. >> Hey, y'all, I really don't have much, because you heard everything from all these amazing people behind me and online. I just wanted -- I guess I just wanted to hear myself speak, because I haven't been in front of you all for a while. And also I thought the mayor was going to wear the shades the whole meeting. That would have been pretty dope. But in all seriousness -- all jokes aside, you know, I've been [4:55:40 PM] reading a lot of feminism books lately. I've read bill hooks feminist theory, and I'm also reading Nicky Kendall's hood feminism. And these books have really helped me as an organizer activist, and just as a man coming to the conclusion that, when we get to society where the people that are most vulnerable, most in need of taking care of, then we can say we truly made it. You know, I've been with you all through some pretty interesting journeys and fights throughout this -- throughout you all's tenure, throughout my tenure at ajc, and one thing I've learned over the years is one that not a lot of people understand how local government works. But, you know, whatever. And also, a lot of these problems come down to, like, a lack of communication. And I say that to bring up this point. And maybe this won't make sense, [4:56:43 PM] but you all have a lot of critics. Maybe rightfully so. I don't really know. But I do believe that each of you ran for your seat on this dais because you care about not only the people that you represent in your district, but this city as a whole. And unfortunately, because of, you know, where you are and your posterity as a council member, although you want to represent and talk to as many people as possible, you just can't. You can't talk to everybody all the time. And another thing that gets tricky is that because you're on the council with ten other people, is that not -- like, not only do you have to worry about your constituents, you have to somehow find a way to forge through and work through very difficult conversations with one another at times to make sure that the greater community, the collective of Austin is good as well. And collectively as a council, a lot of times the only time you get to communicate with the city is when you're on the dais, and [4:57:44 PM] the decisions that you make, right? I could talk about the license plate readers and all that, but I don't want to do that right now. But I will say that this budget is a key instrument, a key way for you to communicate. Whatever your message is going to be once you decide on how you care about this city and how you care about the most vulnerable people in this city, this is probably one of the hottest Summers. I'm only 34, so I haven't seen that many, as many as some of you and some of the folks behind me. But it's so hot that people are dying. A year or two ago, it was so cold that people were dying. I'll wrap up. I know. And we're also living in a time where Beyonce is telling people to quit their jobs because everybody hates working because everybody's overworked and underpaid. So I really hope you all truly consider the community investment budget. I truly hope you consider the fact that when it comes to the police things, like people have said, that won't change because of the governor, some of you all probably voted for. And also, just keep in mind that [4:58:46 PM] this budget, like I've said before, is a document and what you decide reflects how you feel and how you think and how you treat the most vulnerable people in our city. So it's good to see y'all. I'm out. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. Thanks.. >> Clerk: Park Smith and then Katrina Whitehair. >> All right, hello, everyone. Mayor, council members, thank you for this opportunity to speak to you. I'm park Smith, I'm CEO for American youth works. I'm in district 2 and as is American youth works, that's where I live and where I work. I want to thank you for over 30 years of partnership with American youth works where together we've been engaging youth and young adults in service, education and paid jobs training. I've year we're serving over 300 young people given opportunities to make a difference in our community by building housing for the homeless and conserving your public lands and doing disaster relief and wildfire mitigation work. [4:59:46 PM] These young people are making a tremendous difference in our community. And y'all are a big part of being able to do that. I want to also thank you for this Austin civilian conservation corporation. You heard from Mary grace and Alex, another member serving in our parks under the Austin civilian conservation corps, funding program that you guys have put together, which is the only green jobs workforce development program being supported under your climate equity plan. This is an important initiative. It's the fastest growing industry right now this green jobs industry. And we've recently had 33 young adults affected by the pandemic be able to get a living wage job while doing critical work that the city needs. What he want to ask from you is that you see this through. This is a successful program. It's recently won a national award representing Austin [5:00:48 PM] and the innovative services that have been brought by this program for over 250 programs across the country have voted this as one of the top projects for project of the year through the national corps network. And I would love to see you guys make this a permanent part of the budget. The city staff right now supporting it are in interim roles and they're not currently included in budget for permanent full- time positions. Those folks will be able to secure additional grant funding and you've invested a lot already in trying to see that -- to develop this program and you've got staff in place who could move this thing forward and for years to come. It's employing people who need the jobs, who want to shift into careers and conservation and wildfire fuel mitigation. We've done a tremendous amount of work for you guys in the whole region in supplying a future workforce for the area and getting the [5:01:49 PM] critical work done that's needed. So we're asking to see this accc staff funded in the final budget. Currently there's more work needed in the city than the city staff can manage and we have the people ready to do the work, but what's needed is the internal infrastructure that you guys can put in place through the budget process to have the full-time staff roles to help secure these grant funds -- [buzzer] And coordinate projects going forward. Thank you for your time. We hope to see you in the future. >> Katrina whitechair and then chimerone. >> I'm a resident of district 1 and high pressure today to speak as a member of the Austin roller derby community. There are about eight leagues for adults and children in the community and I'm here to speak particularly about Bartholomew roller derby [5:02:50 PM] track. We're asking that the city provide shade over the track at the park. It's a public health and safety concern with the rising temperatures. I've personally experienced heat exhaustion and in the winter months with cold weather trends the city has been experiencing this is in alignment with the city's climate resilience plans. Shade would help prevent heat-related illness. There's a minimum of 20 hours a week of scheduled practices. The entire skate community uses this track daily. It's a very high trafficked park. Roller derby is a skater-funded sport so we at a pathway to play. The funds we raise we use to rent space to hold games and sell tickets and create awareness about the community. The city's funding would really help the local community and it would help support an historically Austin sport. Austin was the berth place of modern day roller derby and it's now worldwide and a space for skaters, [5:03:52 PM] volunteers and fans to come together. It's an empowering sport, provides health and mental strength and community engagement so shade over the track would have a huge impact over our community. So we're asking capital funds for that, please. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you very much. >> Chimerone and then Gus European in a. -- Peña. Alex Luna and then Eric Byrd. >> Mayor, council. Hey, guys. My name is Alex and I'm the group leader for the Austin civilian conservation corps parks group. I'm here representing -- he's no longer here, my Mary grace Clarke. Please forgive my field casual. I actually came from the [5:04:53 PM] onion creek wildlife sanctuary. I was going for business, but I came here straight from the field. And it a pleasure to speak with y'all today. I've been with the Austin civilian conservation corps since its inception in 2020 originally starting as a crew member on the first parks and preserve crew. For myself and my crew mates we are making serious changes in our careers in the face of the global pandemic. Many of them exploring a field without a degree. The field is typically inaccessible and this is an equitable workforce development program. Accc allowed us a foot in the door to do work in a green industry that resonated with us offering valuable experience that went to green jobs and a way forward. As a crew we did expensive work through different parks and preserves in Austin's green system. Going forward in an ideal situation I want to advocate for this program to expand permanently not only for the [5:05:54 PM] organization American youth works but to have sustainability and accessibility in our community. And I want people such as myself who come from all backgrounds, socioeconomic backgrounds and walks of life, to be able to have the opportunity to do the kind of work we do around the city. We've had many returning members if from our 33 participants, myself includes over the last two years. And the reality is we're out in these parks and preserves everyday. And have seen firsthand what kind of work needs to be done in all of our green spaces. And there isn't a shortage of available work but there is a true need for it. It's a question of how do we get our community members into the work so the work can be completed. Beyond that this workforce development program needs to be a pipeline into permanent staffing for the city of Austin. There is a lot of uncertainty in seasonal work and contractual work. I have a lot of gratitude for the opportunity to have experiences this program for last two years and it's allowed me health care and [5:06:55 PM] allowing work culture and consistent scheduling, especially in the face of a global pandemic. I've also been allowed valuable work experience in a field I care about and a city that I love and have been living here for a long time. And as someone who has gone from a crew member to now leadership role and hopefully a staff position in the future, I only want the best going approximate forward for this program. And I believe deeply in it and I want others to experience it. And aside from the ever looming climate change in Austin are more important than ever I'm imploring you guys to think of this an an equitable investment program for the city and its workforce. Thank you for your time. >> Fuentes: Mayor, I wanted to share my gratitude to Alex and Mary grace for all you've done. It's exciting to hear your testimony today and I really appreciate all the work that you have done in southeast Austin. [5:08:02 PM] >> Good evening mayor and council, I'm Eric Byrd, born and raised in district 1. I work for the justice and advocacy division of the Austin urban league and I'm here to support the adoption of the community investment budget, specifically the 300,000 allocated to the carver library and museum. So I don't know if you've been to the carver recently, but there's an amazing display, sort of like a journey through time, journey through black history. If you turn to your left you will see a picture of ll cool J and some entertainers and things. If you turn to right -- I have pictures on my phone I can show you when I get off the dais. You turn to the right and then you see significant black austinites who had an effect on the community, most fighting oppression dating back for many decades. So I encourage you to visit the carver. It encapsulates our history beautifully. In one of the fastest growing cities, the population of black austinites should not be stagnant, should not be [5:09:02 PM] declining. We need to invest in programs and institutions that keep black families in the city. We need to invest in places of belonging where we can teach and return about our history. So in addition to my role with the urban league I'm the president of the black professional alliance, I regularly speak with black professionals who have moved to Austin for job opportunities and they're leaving just as quickly because they can't find community, they can't find spaces where we exist. There's a joke online as well for black people in Austin, it's not a joke to me, but it's used as an illustration of how few of us there are. We can't find each other. A lot of the reason is we don't have community, we don't have spaces where we can come together and meet with people who have shared cultural values and histories and understandings and that's a very significant problem. If you don't understand what I'm saying consider yourself fortunate. Like I said, born and raised in Austin, d1. [5:10:02 PM] Growing up I had dreams of buying a house in Austin. Probably in my neighborhood somewhere around there, maybe with my cousin sins all around. Now none of my cousins rich in austinment my grandmother had 14 children and I have 50 plus cousins on one side and none of them live within the city limits unless they're on affordable housing. I don't know if it gets realer than that. The realization that you can't invest in the community and lay roots in community. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Quincy Dunlap and then Megan king. >> Good evening, honorable mayor Adler, esteemed city council members and distinguished councilmember harper-madison. I'll be brief. I think funding should be allocated to the highest areas of need to evolve and [5:11:02 PM] advance the carver institution, the staff, programs and resources and the like. We should also consider support from multi-facetted institutions like huston-tillotson. It produces some of the highest intellectual capital in the region. I would like to have it considered. I also want us to think through the budget. I have review and analyzed the budget along with my team for the Austin area urban league and we fully support community investment budget allocation. I think it's $75 million. We fully support that and I'd encourage you to reconsidering funding 100%. Also we've looked at some of the budget information [5:12:05 PM] contained there in before we get to a vote on the budget and analyzing it and having a team that analyzes it, some of the information pertaining to the targets that were failed to achieve and how it's interpreted by community is disheartening and discouraging to look at some of the targets that were missed or not achieved by the various entities, division of departments that were funded. And we'd like to partner and support in achieving those goals. Part of what we do in the Austin area urban league is not just an opportunity to piss and moan and complain, but we offer a solution and we come to partner to improve the quality of life for our brothers and centers across this city. So again, we're here and we are here to serve. I thank you for your service on the dais. Much respect to you all. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Megan king. [5:13:10 PM] >> Good evening mayor Adler and council members. My name is Megan king. I am the policy and outreach planner for preservation Austin and a resident of district 9. I'm here today to speak in support of the historic landmark commission's 300,000-dollar budget recommendation to fund an executive strategy -- execution strategy for the equity-based historic preservation plan. This funding is currently not included in the proposed budget put forth by the city manager. As you all likely know, the last year city staff have been collaborating with the Williamson creek of diverse community members including myself to draft recommendations for Austin's first preservation plan in 40 years. The equity-based historic preservation plan seeks to create new tools to preserve our city's heritage and empower the community to define what matters to them as Austin grows. The plan charts a strong community oriented vision for preservation that Austin desperately needs and it could not succeed without your support. It's 109 recommendations address the immense issues our city is facing including [5:14:10 PM] affordability, displacement, sustainability and more. And meets these challenges with innovative tools. This $300,000 for the plan's execution strategy will go towards hiring a community engagement consultant, paying community ambassadors and funding for a full-time staff position to ensure the plan's success. Outreach and engagement for the plan will prioritize groups that have been historically marginalized in the public decision-making process, as well as underrepresented and historic designation. This includes black, lat and lbgtq austinites among others. This will also -- this work will also include development of a timeline, matrix and I am implementation of recommendations. We ask that you support this 300,000-dollar funding request and ensure a strong community oriented future for preservation in Austin. Thank you for your time. >> Mayor Adler: Thank you. >> Clerk: Mayor, that concludes all the speakers that we have. >> Mayor Adler: Okay, thank you. [5:15:26 PM] Is there anybody here who has signed up to speak that we didn't get to? Colleagues, that gets it back up to us at the dais. Items two and three were just to hear the public comment. Is there a motion to close today's public hearing on the item? Vote to set the public hearing? Let's go ahead and take these in order. Excuse me. We'll start with number one. We're now going to take up item 1 related to the maximum proposed property tax rate for council to consider and the date on which the council will adopt the tax rate. We have a resolution to adopt a maximum proposed tax rate that the council will [5:16:27 PM] consider for fiscal year 2022 to 2023 and to set the date that council will adopt fiscal year 2022-2023 property tax rate. Under under state law a motion to adopt the maximum proposed tax rate that the council will consider requires a roll call vote. The maximum that the city can adopt and not exceed the voter approval rate set by state laws 46.27 cents per 100-dollar valuation. If we go above that rate we must call an election. Is there a motion to adopt the resolution setting the proposed maximum property tax rate that the council will consider for fiscal year 2022-2023 at 46.27 [5:17:29 PM] cents per $100 valuation? Councilmember pool makes the motion. Councilmember Renteria seconds that motion. So it is moved and it is seconded. Is there any discussion on this resolution? Will the clerk please call the roll? >> Mayor Adler. >> Yes. >> Mayor pro tem alter. >> Yes. >> Councilmember harper- madison [indiscernible]. >> Council member Fuentes. >> Yes. >> Councilmember Renteria. >> Yes. >> Council member vela? >> Yes. >> Councilmember kitchen. >> Yes. >> Councilmember Kelly. >> No. >> Councilmember pool. >> Yes. >> Councilmember Ellis. >> Yes. >> Councilmember tovo. >> Yes. >> And councilmember harper-madison is off the dais. >> Mayor Adler: Okay. What did you show as your vote tally? [5:18:34 PM] >> Clerk: 9-1 with councilmember Kelly voting no. >> Mayor Adler: Okay. With the vote being nine in favor, one against, council member -- correct. Nine votes, that's what she said. Nine votes in favor, one against, and one member, council member Fuentes -- councilmember harper-madison off the dais, the vote is 9-1-1 and it is approved. The mayor -- the motion to adopt a maximum property tax rate has been adopted. We now turn to the next part of this resolution. We need to include the date that council will adopt the actual fiscal year 2022-2023 property tax rate. The proposed time, date and location is August 17th, 2022, here in city hall, 301 [5:19:34 PM] west second street, Austin, Texas, at 10:00 A.M., with the voting to continue to August 18th, 19th if necessary. As authorized by state law people may participate remotely or in-person. Is there a motion to set the time, date and location as proposed to adopt the fiscal year 2022-2023 property tax rate? >> Mayor? >> Mayor Adler: We'll let councilmember tovo make the motion and councilmember Ellis will second it. >> Tovo: I move we set the date and time as you indicated to approve the budget. >> Mayor Adler: It wasn't -- it was to adopt. Did I read it wrong? >> Tovo: No, I'm just trying to usher in a change of language. >> Mayor Adler: We'll have to talk to council because I think we're following the [5:20:34 PM] statute as prescribed. >> Tovo: Then if that's the motion I move to adopt it. >> Mayor Adler: And so that it's clear, is there a motion to set the time, date, location and proposed to adopt the fiscal year 2022-23 property tax rate? Councilmember tovo makes that motion. Is there a second to that motion? Councilmember Ellis seconds that motion. We'll now take a vote. Those in favor -- does anybody want to discuss that? Those in favor please raise your hand. It just sets the time and date. Those opposed? I'm showing it's unanimous with councilmember harper-madison off the dais, so 10-0-1, that item passes. All right, council, I direct our attention to item number 2 on the agenda. We are to set a public hearing to receive and consider public comment on the proposed rate and fee [5:21:35 PM] changes for the Austin resource recovery as part of the fiscal year 2022-23 proposed budget. The date would be August 17th, 2022 at Austin city hall, 301 west second street, Austin, Texas. Is there someone to make that motion? Mayor pro tem makes that motion. Seconded by councilmember tovo. Any discussion? Those in favor of that item please raise your hand. Those opposed? I have it unanimous on the dais with councilmember harper-madison off, so the vote is 10-0-1. Is there a motion to set the public hearing to receive public comment on the proposed rate and fee changes for Austin energy? As part of the fiscal year 2022-2023 proposed budget? As August 17th, 202022 at [5:22:39 PM] Austin city hall, 301 west second street, Austin, Texas. Councilmember pool makes that motion. Is there a second to that? Councilmember Renteria seconds that. Any discussion? Councilmember tovo. >> Tovo: Yes, mayor, I've asked our finance staff to have this as part of our conversation. I think Cyrus reed raised this in his testimony today and in his email to us this week and it's a question that I know several of us have asked about how the ongoing rate proposal is going to weave its way into this year's budget. I wanted to signal to the public that our vote today is not circumventing that public rate-making process in any way and we're going to have more information about how those two things are going to interact with one another hopefully after our conversation next week. If not today. >> Thank you for that clarification, councilmember tovo. All we're doing now is just setting a date for a public [5:23:41 PM] hearing. Mayor pro tem? >> Alter: Along very similar lines I wanted to ask staff if we could have that discussion. It sounds like councilmember tovo may have already asked for it, but I think it is really important for us to get clarity since we don't know what rate we're going to land on with the rate case and I think we need to have greater clarity on how that plays out. >> Mayor Adler: I'll make sure that's among the list of items that staff will [indiscernible] With us. Okay. Any further discussion? Let's take a vote. Those in favor of this item number three, please raise your hand. Those opposed? I'm seeing it as unanimous on the dais with councilmember harper-madison gone. 10-0-1, it passes. Colleagues, we have just a general discussion about process and procedures. We also have -- we've also [5:24:47 PM] conducted a community input session to receive public comment. We have an executive session with two items. I think the executive session will go really quickly in this regard. We could either just start discussing among ourselves if people had stuff they wanted to discuss or we could break and go into executive session, or we could check first to see if people had items themed to discuss. Do people have anything they want to discuss during this discussion period? Go ahead, councilmember tovo. >> Tovo: Mayor, you know, I have things I could discuss today or I have things I could discuss next week. To me it's not clear sort of how much time our council has allocated for it. So I wonder if we could -- my suggestion would be that maybe we do have the executive session so we see how much time that takes and then come to an agreement [5:25:49 PM] about how much longer we want to spend discussing today. That might help us figure out what we have time to undertake today. >> Mayor Adler: Does that work for people? That way if anybody needed to leave they actually could? I see yeses. Let's do that then. The city council will now go into closed session to take up two items pursuant to 551.071 of the government code the city council will discuss legal issues related to item 6, which is license plate reader program and item 7 that concerns budget matters. I don't think that our legal staff has anything beyond the memo that was sent out to our offices on Thursday, so there's no further presentations, so mostly I think it would be an opportunity for questions since there's no staff presentation. I just highlight you as we get ready to head back approximate but I'm calling it as far as executive session. Mayor pro tem? [5:26:51 PM] >> Alter: Are you referring to the license plate reader or the budget items? >> I saw a discussion from staff today about the license plate readers so I believe they do have a presentation for us, legal does. >> That's the presentation on executive session, not the budget. >> Sorry. Thank you. >> Mayor Adler: Right. It's a presentation for executive session. Let's go in executive session and we'll figure it out when we're all together there. So without objection, let's all go to executive session. Let's do this remotely again as we have some of us that are not physically with us. In five minutes, I'll let people take a rest stop on their way. 10 minutes. 10 minutes we'll convene at 20 till. [Executive session]. [7:45:07 PM] >> Mayor Adler: This is the -- >> Kitchen: Mayor, I thought Kathie was coming down. There she is. >> Mayor Adler: This is the continued city council meeting. It's still August 2nd, 2022. The time is 7:45 and we're out of closed session. In closed session we discussed legal issues related to items 6 and 7. Colleagues, we're down to the discussion items, budget items and procedure, whatever people might want to talk about. Kerri, would you tell us generally the kinds of things you've heard so far from council offices that you intend to discuss at the council briefings? >> Sure. Kerri Lange, budget officer, financial services department. And so far we've had a couple of meetings over the [7:46:10 PM] last several days. To date we've heard parkland dedication, residential fees or fee increases overall, staffing for dsd, development services department, information on parks and recreation and planning for next year as well as cleanup and parks to address the homelessness encampments in parks. More information for 911 call takers. Code related to str enforcement as well as the plan and concrete% information on how they're improving services to the community. Austin resource recovery on their increased fees as well as potential implementation of workforce first support in arr. More funding or full-time [7:47:11 PM] funding for accc. Living wage policy as well as increased pay parental leave. Good night ranch or the fire and ems stations and funding for those stations. The cross departmental funding for encampment cleanups. Insourceing, contract labor for the city. Additional information on ae's rate review process and how it impacts the budget or how approving the budget intertwines with ae's rate process. And more information on park rangers and park resources, and implementation of the mayor and council market study. And public safety, getting more information on what's [7:48:13 PM] in the public safety budgets as well as construction for the fire ems stations. >> Mayor Adler: And public safety negotiations potentially in executive session. Okay. We had code enforcement especially on the strs. Councilmember kitchen, council member Fuentes, councilmember Ellis. >> Kitchen: There were a couple of things, Kerri, that I mentioned, although actually we haven't had our meeting yet. The -- I still haven't seen the senior tax exemptions information coming out. So we may need to talk about that. These are topics we're talking about to fill the two days that -- not fill, but to discuss during the two days. Okay. [7:49:16 PM] The heal initiative would be another one. I have specific budget amendment related to the heal initiative and I might need to bring that up. It might be a short information but I'm going to need to bring that up. I'm hesitating a little because I have a few other things that I need to bring up, but I'm not certain if they really rise to the level of a long conversation or not. You know, so mayor, one of the things that I think you said we've done before is we've allowed time in these sessions for each of us just to highlight the things that we're bringing. Is that the thinking also? >> Mayor Adler: Yes, it certainly is. >> Kitchen: I'll just say at this point anyway in addition to the things that Kerri already highlighted, which are of interest to me also, then I would need to add to that the senior tax [7:50:16 PM] exemption and heal and then I'll run through the other things when it comes our time to list them. >> Mayor Adler: And no one should feel like today's meeting is their only opportunity to ask Kerri to bring stuff. You can continue to do that, just reach out to her. Yes, Vanessa. >> Fuentes: Quick question. For the conversation around living wage and paid parental leave should we expect to have that on Tuesday or is that a Thursday topic? >> So we haven't set the fatigue either day yet. The hope was to get a clear idea from the council today on what the major topics that you all would want and then we would begin setting the agenda based on the higher priority topics that you all wanted us to discuss over the next two days. >> Fuentes: Thank you. If you do decide let us know so we can be prepared for that session. And I think you did a great job covering the one site when we met and we talked [7:51:17 PM] about, I would just add just a quick update on anti-displacement funding and to the extent that staff can talk us through tenant relocation services and any pathway we have there. >> Yes. >> Thank you. >> Ellis: Thank you for helping us with that yesterday and I think it was informative for the constituents. That was a good list of topics that overlap some of the areas that I'm working on. I care a lot about the discussion around the lifeguard pay and the ability to do any sort of extended hour or days for our [indiscernible] And to look at continuing the bonuses that we were able to do this year for people who sign up to be lifeguards making sure there's an understanding of -- I would like to see us do them again in years to come. I want to make sure we have what the financial impact of those would be. I'm also interested in adding a few more park [7:52:19 PM] rangers as I've done a couple of years through and through. I want to know a little more about the safe storage information program and the free gun locks that we've been doing in the past. I want to make sure that those are something that we continue to fund moving forward. The other ones foundation, know that workforce first program something that I and councilmember pool have worked on together in past so I want to make sure that we're at least maintaining that funding for them or increasing it. And I think this is only going to be direction unless there's a budgetary impact, but knowing that we've championed the abortion logistics and access public line item for the past couple of years, I want to make sure that we right size that for the services needed for folks and make sure that whatever protocol we're following is in line with current state or federal laws as well. So those are some of the things I'm keeping my eye on and we'll get any direction posted by the 12th, which is the deadline we had set. And there may be a couple [7:53:20 PM] more, but I will make sure to reach out to you on the back end if there's anything else. >> Mayor Adler: Okay. Mayor pro tem. >> Alter: Thank you. And I will -- when I'm ready I'll post amendments to the message board, but I had several topics that I feel like we needed broader discussion so we could figure out as a council if we are investing appropriately in the areas. So the first area I think we need as a priority for this council to until vest in our staff and I know there are a lot of things in the budget, but at least that we have the living wage, but I want to understand the compression and how that was handled and how this is playing out. We have particular areas that we identify as problematic areas for hire. We could discuss our CDL [7:54:24 PM] drivers across many different areas, but Austin resource recovery we need to have the trash picked up and we need to understand if these changes for whatever is in the budget. Beyond that is impacting them. Councilmember kitchen mentioned the 911 area. There are some areas that I want to make sure that what we've done actually addresses some areas that we know are problematic and there's this compression question that I think we need to make sure that we've made sufficient investments. And then I think we need an open and honest conversation about the fire houses. We've been presented that the budget is physically sustainable but it takes out two fire houses. It's not clear whether it's taking out the capital, doesn't have the funding for them. And I think we need to have some clarity for what is going on with those because that's a huge shift. [7:55:27 PM] From a public health perspective I think we need to have clarity on our ability to respond to epidemics, both covid and monkey pox. We need to be able to understand what we're doing. Parks it sounds like everyone has questions about parks and obviously parkland dedication would need to do that. I think we also need to talk about the climate equity plan implementation, particularly the section on green jobs, which is the -- one of the key overarching strategies and hard to accomplish a lot of the other pieces over time if you don't do that. I think we need to look at that. And finally, this one I think is important and probably needs to be on the 11th. You guys may recall the sexual assault and comprehensive evaluation on the police forum. I had a briefing I guess it was yesterday with them on that report and a lot of things are processed [7:56:29 PM] oriented and I think it's very constructive, but I think there are piece that will need budget investments to support our sex crimes unit and support our building services unit as they take the next steps to implement the recommendations that we have invested heavily in that will lead us to be the prime example of a functioning department with respect to quality response. But that report is not -- I don't know if the report will even be out officially before budget, so we're going to need to get some sort of information back from staff on those pieces and I will be working on a budget amendment for those pieces. It's not a huge amount of money from what we can gather from this point in time with the scheme of budget, but it does require some resources and we did make commitments as a council to the survivors when we did the settlement and we need to make sure that we live up to those. So those are some of the things in addition to the [7:57:29 PM] rate case which you mentioned as well which I think are sort of somewhat the exemption of the last one are higher level ones that I think we would have to have some broad discussions on and understand better. >> Mayor Adler: I would add to the list, doing something with the adc funding administrative program, which is the administration of that and we're going to need a potential funding source on that. I don't know if it makes sense to do something nominal and to at least get the money for administrative expenses but I think we need to take care of that. I think we need to take a look at colony park, the financing gap. We had folks come in and we directed them to come up [7:58:30 PM] with a plan to take a look at what our investment might be, but I think they've gotten to a place now where last year or two where nothing is happening and we probably lose the benefit of that work and we can't figure out a process or a path and I don't know if we should set a bond or not or something that talks about those funding pathways. Councilmember tovo. >> Tovo: Thank you. So this reflects a few of the areas that I forwarded on. I agree with you about the economic development corporation and we've had a few meetings with some of the folks on that and have a couple of ideas about funding strategies. So I would also like to have a conversation about this particular properties that we might consider getting the atc working on. So that's of high interest [7:59:30 PM] for me. New capture code and some of the other things that I had referenced that I wanted to discuss. I think what might be productive today is to talk about what our process is going to be like for that Tuesday and Thursday. I know we've gone back and forth between presentations from staff and kind of q&a from council. So I don't know, Kerri, if you have in ideas about how we'll structure that time or if you'd like some feedback on that, but I want to make sure we have plenty of time for q&a and really pointed conversations about those topics. I think most of us have identified them because we have particular questions. For example, I picked code because there's a very similar budget request this year that there was last year which is an increase in the clean community fee to fund additional positions and we've really had some challenges I would say in using our staff resources in that department effectively. So that's the reason I put [8:00:31 PM] that on the list. I wonder in addition to picking which dents and subjects if we could provide our staff with as much information as possible about what we're really looking for in receive of those conversations. I don't know if we want to spend a few minutes doing that now about some of these big topics because if we have 15 minute presentations on all of those topics we're soon going to be out of time to really discuss and ask questions and make -- have useful dialogue I think about that. >> I agree with you. We've had discussion in several years [inaudible] And I don't think it's the best use of our time. I think getting the questions is best. I would hope that this list as it has been brought to you is more than just a general question but there's a question behind the subject heading that you put on here so that you can be targeted as much as possible. But I would see that [8:01:31 PM] happening and see them coming in and saying that these are specific questions that we've heard in these areas and trying to run through the departments of these areas so that tuesday/thursday we're really focused on the issues or questions that have been raised by council. >> And I agree. I think if it's the will of the council, we can definitely set it up where it's more of a dialogue and questioned response to the departments instead of a back to back presentations so that we can make sure we're answering the questions you have in the timeline that we have. This is an extensive list that we'll have to kind of look at how we can manage that time appropriately to get as much of this information to you all as possible. So we'll work over the next day or two to figure out what that looks like. Inch we would lean towards more of a question and answer dialogue rather than standard presentation from the departments. It may be just quick [8:02:33 PM] overbrushing for some of those, but for most of it it will be mostly dialogue. >> >> Mayor Adler: Kathie. >> Tovo: That sounds good to me. I would suggest as part of the overview in the beginning it might be help Dolph know what was added, what is proposed to be added and what is to be trimmed from previous budget. >> So really any changes as opposed to -- >> Tovo: That's right. >> Mayor Adler: Instead of a golden book on this department and what it does and how it spends it's money. >> Tovo: Changes that would help us identify whether there is a redoing of priorities that -- in response to something that council has directed and then kind of moving toward -- moving toward the specific issues that council members -- that led to council members pulling it. Are there departments that you know of or items on that list at this point that are lacking that level of specificity in terms of why somebody wants to discuss it, that would be helpful to talk about now. [8:03:39 PM] >> No. I think we can definitely work with those departments and I think there's enough information as far as the significant changes that have happened in those departments, we already have that list inside the budget document but we can go into the detail of that and talk through those changes that have happened in the proposed budget. >> Tovo: I guess I just meant from council. Do you have a sense from the council suggestions why those items are on the list -- maybe you should summarize for me. I'm struggling to -- >> Mayor Adler: Where you have a topic like living wage, someone probably had a question associated with living wage, so rather than 15 minutes on living wage and how it generally applies, just go straight to the question that they had on living wage. >> Right. And I still have a couple of meetings with -- over the rest of the week to kind of finalize and get some of that detailed question, but with the meetings we've already had I think I've captured the questions that go along with those subjects [8:04:39 PM] so we can make sure the departments are prepared to respond to those specific questions. >> Mayor Adler: All right. Anything else, colleagues? Chito. >> Vela: I didn't know if one of the speakers mentioned, but ACC last night voted a 20-dollar minimum wage for their employees and staff and I think that sets the bar for us and I would like to get to a 20-dollar minimum wage. I very appreciate city manager's call for $18, but I would absolutely like to match ACC in their proposal. I just wanted to put that out there and let everybody know my thoughts on this. >> Mayor Adler: So it would be good to be able to have that cost number so I know the community is asking for it. And then as we've gone through budget and the staff and council are doing that, [8:05:40 PM] we ended up with I think over the years is an excel spreadsheet that had everybody's amendments, everybody's budget riders on a single page where it's the best it could be. It was not editorialized. It was everybody's item on a list and information that was on the other sheets, but having somebody on staff that might be thinking through that rather than having it sourced through a council office, I think it might be a good idea to build that into the process. We always seem to end up there. >> Okay. We can work on that. >> Mayor Adler: Okay. Ann. >> Kitchen: I wanted to say on the adc I've been working on that and I look forward to working with you mayor and councilmember tovo on that. I think that that's going to [8:06:41 PM] be really important. So I'll support what you're doing, mayor, on that one and we can look at how we make sure that the adc has sufficient funding. >> Mayor Adler: [Indiscernible]. >> Kitchen: And it also occurs to me that the -- the dollar amounts for our staff is something -- several different aspects to it. I think the mayor pro tem mentioned that and the minimum wage that we talked about and the call takers. So this is -- that whole topic area is going to be important so we can do it all together and it might be useful because there's some overlap because of that. >> Mayor Adler: I agree. I think we telegraphed to [8:07:42 PM] the community that that was the first priority for council going into that. If there's nothing else I'm going to adjourn the meeting here at 8:08. This meeting is adjourned. Thank you.