City Council Budget Meeting Transcript – 7/31/2025 Title: ATXN-1 (24hr) Channel: 1 - ATXN-1 Recorded On: 7/31/2025 6:00:00AM Original Air Date: 7/31/2025 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. [9:00:05 AM] Members, good morning everybody. It's 9:00 and I will call to order on July 31st, 2025, the Austin city council for a budget meeting. As [9:01:07 AM] council for a budget meeting. As I indicated, it's July 31st, 2025. We have a quorum of the Austin city council present, and we are meeting in the city council chambers, located in city hall at 301 west second street in Austin, Texas. Members. We have three items on today's agenda. The first item is a discussion from the office of budget and organizational excellence, which is a presentation that will be made related to the proposed budget. The second item on the agenda relates to the adoption of a proposed a maximum proposed property tax rate. And we'll talk more about that in a few minutes. At the conclusion of that item, we will, as a council vote on the declaration of a proposed maximum tax rate just for the people that are paying attention. I just want to make sure everybody knows what the order is, depending upon where [9:02:07 AM] order is, depending upon where we are, we may recess at that point and come back for a 3:00 time certain which is a public hearing. We will be conducting a public hearing on the proposed city of Austin budget for the fiscal year 2025, 2026, but that that is set for a time certain. What we're going to do first thing is begin with public comment on item number one. And so I will turn to the city, unless there's questions from any member of the council. All right. I think we're cool. So why don't I turn to you and you begin the process of walking us through the people that want to speak? What I'll tell folks that are here in the chambers. What we would like for you to do is when your name is called and she'll call three, 4 or 5 names at a time when she does that. If your name is called, please go ahead and get up and come down and take one of the seats that's available for public comment. If there's not seats available, [9:03:09 AM] there's not seats available, take one of the up close up front seats so that you'll be in a position to let us a know that you're here. Be. It'll work more efficiently, because we do have a number of people that are here to speak. And that way it's it helps those that are behind you that are waiting on the opportunity to speak, that that will move more efficiently. So with that filibuster on speaking, let me turn to you. >> Thank you. Mayor. We'll start with remote speakers. Pat. Vice. >> Thank you. My name is pat and I live in district three, and I am speaking on the animal services budget. First, I want to start by thanking both council member and council member Laine for the questions about animal services that you both have posted on the council q&a. I appreciate that, and I do appreciate that. One of the [9:04:11 AM] appreciate that. One of the questions I think by I'm sure by council member vela had to do with the cuts to the animal services veterinary programs, the one that contracts for orthopedic services and the one that contracts for emergency medical services at the emergency clinic. When a person in the community picks up a lost or found pet. I do not think that the answers that you were given are very good answers on the on the emergency veterinary cut, and I am especially especially disturbed about the fact that it says most cities do this and most cities do that. And I'm sorry, but we are not most cities. Austin has prided itself on being a leader in animal services and saying that other cities do not provide emergency services for injured [9:05:13 AM] emergency services for injured animals that are found by the public in the middle of the night when the shelter is closed. It's just not a good answer. So I hope you will ask a question. A follow up question during this q&a that I think is going to follow the staff briefing, and I hope you'll try to get more details, especially on the impact to low income people who, when they show up at an emergency clinic with an injured animal in the middle of the night, can not afford the fee to even walk in the door. >> Thank you ma'am, we appreciate your testimony. >> Cole weaver. >> Hi, my name is Cole weaver and I am speaking on behalf of united workers of medical care. I'm here today to urge you to move forward with a. This is about the tax Roig election, right? >> This is related to the budget [9:06:14 AM] >> This is related to the budget generally. But yes, you can talk about whatever you want to with regard to the budget. >> Okay. Yeah. Well, with regards to the budget, I'm here to encourage the tax rate election, ideally at the seven cent level and no lower than $0.05. This is not a decision to take lightly, but it's one that we must take boldly if we are serious about meeting the needs of this moment. Austin is facing unprecedented challenges federal funding cuts, emergency housing vouchers and arpa supported shelters are putting immense pressure on our local homeless response program. Without additional local investment, the entire system risk collapse. That means fewer shelter beds reduce outreach and case management, and vulnerable people being pushed back into crisis. Homelessness. The officers laid out the plan for the 526 budget investments in shelter expansion, rapid rehousing and permanent [9:07:15 AM] rehousing and permanent supportive housing. But many of these items are only viable if voters are given the opportunity to approve additional revenue due to tax rate election. Each added $22 million, a 7% increase could ensure we preserve and grow these life saving services instead of watching them erode under the weight of federal retreat. But this isn't just about homelessness. Our parks, our infrastructure, our entire quality of life is at stake. If we want safe, vibrant neighborhoods, if we want to remain compassionate, thriving city we can't claim to be, and we must come together and invest in each other. Austin voters have shown time and time again that they want to care for their neighbors. Let's give them the opportunity to do just that. Lead with courage, and let's build a city where everyone has the foundation they need to live and thrive. Thank you, thank you. >> That's all the speakers we have at this time. So I'll move to in person speakers. And as the mayor mentioned, I'm going to say several names at once. If you please just come down and be sure to state your name into the [9:08:15 AM] sure to state your name into the mic as you begin. Ivana Nery bensouda by Scott Cobb, Sharon Blythe. Eddie Franz. >> Good morning. My name is Ben suddaby. I'm a proud member of afscme 1624 resident of d4. I'm speaking on behalf of myself, not my employer, not any organization that I'm a member of. But I do want to say that this morning, you're going to be presented with the official presentation of the proposed budget. And much like jazz, listen to the notes that aren't there. There's a lot of things in there that I like, some things that I don't. But most of the comments that you're going to hear today from the public are going to be talking about things that are not in this budget. So I'm just saying that [9:09:15 AM] budget. So I'm just saying that to tee up what our caller said before, you also have to consider the options that exist here of putting it before the voters to have a TRE that funds the deeply felt needs that aren't going to be met by federal funding that's being cut. The state has never funded things. Well, we know that now the federal government is getting into that act, and we're going to be faced with some tough decisions on how we keep our community safe, healthy things that actually end up saving us money in the long run. Ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. It's a lot cheaper to prevent illness than it is to heal people after they've been sick. Not to mention the effect that a mass illness or pandemic would have on our tax base. Right? Sick and dead people don't pay taxes. So I'm talking about in this budget, when you see the presentation, yes, pay attention to what's being presented, but also pay attention to what is not included. What things are you willing to sacrifice if we [9:10:17 AM] you willing to sacrifice if we don't fund it properly? I am a little dismayed that we're going to be setting a ceiling before that's more item two. I'll leave it for that one before we hear from the full public. Also weigh that in your considerations. Thank you. >> Do you want to go? >> Please go ahead. >> Go ahead. Hello, my name is Scott Cobb. I'm in district nine and I would like to use this time to speak to the proposal to increase up to doubling the amount of swim lessons that are offered by the city of Austin. I know, just like me. Everyone here reads the news accounts frequently about people drowning in the lake. Recently, we had a child who drowned in his city of Austin public pool. So I believe you should make the goal to [9:11:19 AM] you should make the goal to ensure that every child who leaves eighth grade or maybe fifth grade, I mean, has the ability to swim. You can partner with aisd, can partner with the Y, but you can make it happen that Austin is a swim proof city. We have a river going through the middle. Most of the people drowning that are adults, but we can eliminate drownings in Austin if we double the amount of swim lessons. And the way to do that one thing in order to be teach swim lessons in Austin, lifeguards have to pay a $45 fee to take that course to swim lessons. You can waive that $45 fee. You're going to need more teachers. You could [9:12:20 AM] to need more teachers. You could provide a $500 bonus for anyone who passes the swim certification course. You're going to need more lifeguards because the ones who, if you use more to teach swim lessons, you need more on the stands. So you should increase by $1. The minimum starting salary for lifeguards who should not be the minimum wage. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, Mr. Cobb. Yes, ma'am. >> My name is Sharon Blythe. I'm a resident of district six. Have been since 1987 when we moved here in 1987. This place was a Mecca to us. City budget was under control. The traffic was under control. But since that time, since actually since ten one council configuration has come into being, this this city has become a wreck, a complete [9:13:21 AM] has become a wreck, a complete wreck. You are trying to make it everybody equal. I believe in my heart of hearts that you're trying to make this city into a communist city. Because of that, you all are not listening to the widows and people that try to make a living in this city. You're not listening to anybody but the activists. I come down here probably putting my self at risk for saying this. But when you put those paths, they put the ordinance to put the all the homeless on the streets. A few years ago, I had to go down and buy a weapon to protect myself at my own home. Because of that, I'm afraid when you put cutting the police budget, the ems, the fire, you're putting me at risk and everybody else at risk in [9:14:22 AM] and everybody else at risk in this city. And shame on you. Every one of you. All of you are communists. And you shouldn't be. You should be looking out for people. The widows, the people who can't afford all your tax increases by the time all the other tax entities get get raising their rates will probably be 3 or $4000 out more money every year. I can't afford that. So shame on you for even putting this on the agenda before you even discuss the budget. Thank you. >> Yes, sir. >> Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Eddie Franz. I'm co-founder of atx peace, along with Sherwin Patton, who is in the room with us. I just wanted to come and say, give a little bit of heads up about what atx peace has been doing the last two and a half years. I have an impact report I would love to share with you all after [9:15:22 AM] love to share with you all after I get done speaking, if that's allowed. But we have had amazing, amazing growth in those last two and a half years. A lot of times people ask me, how do we know that violence is being stopped through this community violence intervention program that atx peace is running? We have. De-escalation numbers. And let me explain what a de-escalation is. When two people in a community are about to fight each other, both of which are high risk individuals of gun violence, that is going to be a shooting, whether it results in a homicide or not. When we de-escalate one of those situations, it is stopping a shooting and a potential homicide. We have the numbers to back up what that looks like in our areas. When we were hired on two, two and a half years ago, we were given two very small geographic locations, Georgian acres and pleasant valley. Since then, we've had to expand out all the way around all of these areas in order to address a lot [9:16:22 AM] areas in order to address a lot of the shootings that are going on. We still have the same exact budget, and actually it's $200,000 less than it was when we started. So as we expand out and we have 17 trusted messengers and violence interrupters, we have 15 youth ambassadors in schools. And we're doing so much more with less money. We need the ability to expand and really, truly plant a flag in these communities where we can be there every day, boots on the ground, interrupting the violence. And so I'm asking the, the, the city council to increase the budget of CVI for this fiscal year and ultimately moving forward into the future. We are doing amazing work, and we are literally we have superheroes in our community fighting violence every single day. >> Thank you sir. >> Is there any way I could hand. >> This out? If you'll take it over, if you'll walk back around and go over to the clerk's table, they'll make sure we get a copy. Thank you sir. Thank you for doing that. >> Continuing on with item one, Sharon Patton, Jeffrey Bowen, [9:17:23 AM] Sharon Patton, Jeffrey Bowen, Adam cartwright. Susan Spataro, Esther Dodson. >> Mr. Bowen, why don't you start and we'll go that direction, okay? >> Thank you sir, I made it just in time. I actually want to because it's the first item I really want to thank Mr. Broadnax and the budget team for actually providing some useful information this year. At the beginning of this entire budget in the past years, it's almost been like trying to find where's Waldo. We've at least been receiving different, or at least information to at least go, okay, where else do I need to look? And I want to thank him for actually putting this more transparency in this. It has provided me a chance to go, okay, I now have more questions [9:18:24 AM] okay, I now have more questions and other areas to start looking, but I want to commend at least we have information so that more people are now involved. And also being able to start really looking into the details. So thank you sir. Thank you miss Lang and the rest of the budget people, for at least doing this and providing more information at these town halls. So that's it, sir. Thanks. >> Thank you, Mr. Bowen. Yes, miss Susan. >> District eight. As we're looking at the budget, I think that it should absolutely not exceed what the manager has proposed. I think the issues of affordability, public safety and homelessness are the key issues that need to be focused on. Those are needs, not wants. Public safety impacts everything you want. People want more walking, more sidewalks, more bikes. That's not reliable if you're not safe to do that. I was a meeting in south Austin a [9:19:24 AM] was a meeting in south Austin a year ago with a bunch of people, probably average 60 years old. The men won't let their wives go to the grocery store anymore because they're not safe in the parking lot. We should not be that way in Austin, Texas. What can you do? I'm going to speak at three on the police budget, which is very important to me. But when we talk about impacts in the general budget, we talk about the average homeowner. We don't talk about the renters. And mayor. You brought that up. That's an excellent point. And that is renters end up paying property taxes. Business renters and residential businesses that are small businesses are leaving Austin. And we're seeing that because of safety and the cost of living. The sad statistic I saw yesterday is that vacancy, commercial vacancy rates in the first two quarters of this year were very negative, but the worst one is downtown. Vacancy rates are among the highest in the metro, checking in at 31.8%. [9:20:24 AM] the metro, checking in at 31.8%. That's not good for anyone. The other thing I would do is, is you're losing some federal grants. I would look at county or the city's organization and see, are you doing anything that would put you in a negative position for the grants? I think that's worth looking at so that you're not precluded from that. The other thing is, there's too many lawsuits in too many referendums. People are unhappy. People that I've known for years here are leaving. >> Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Thorough. Yes, sir. >> Well, thank you, first of all, mayor and council for having me. My name is Sherwin Patton, and I'm here on behalf of dream together 2030. And we are a coalition of committed people who are here to advocate for just, equitable and a thriving central Texas. So first of all, we want to affirm the direction of the proposed budget. It doesn't just speak about public health and violence prevention, it funds real programs that are already [9:21:25 AM] programs that are already transforming lives. And these aren't just theoretical ideas. They're tangible, healing centered services that prevent harm. And as tx 2030, this coalition is made up of people who are providing these services, such as the harvest trauma recovery center and atx peace, just to name a few. And so we also recognize that the tax rate election is a complex and difficult decision, especially in this volatile economic time that we're in. And affordability matters, but also these community health initiatives like violence prevention, mental health, adolescent care that matters as well. And so we're here to really be clear that public health is a justice issue. And so when investments are delayed or reduced, it deepens longstanding disparities. So we strongly want to support the proposed 9.28 million to stabilize core public health funding and reduce dependency on federal dollars and local control matters. In a situation [9:22:25 AM] control matters. In a situation like this, where we really can't depend upon funding coming from the federal level. So we also support the 6.5 million dedicated to adolescent health, maternal health, mental health and community violence prevention. These services are lifelines for our community. We serve people every day. I was just at a funeral just yesterday where a young man lost his life needlessly. And so we just need for us to stand together. And so I dream together. We believe that public health matters and that we are better if we do this together. And so we're dependent upon this council and this mayor to please be with us on this. And we appreciate you all. And for the hard decisions you have to make. >> Thank you sir. >> Elaine Lofton, Terrence Hopkins, Victoria Salinas, Charles Guidry, ard ardalan, Kelly marimekko. >> If your name's been called, please come forward. Please [9:23:25 AM] please come forward. Please state your name for the record. You may begin. >> Yes. Good morning. My name is Elaine Lofton. I'm with the African American youth harvest foundation. So good morning, mayor, council members and city staff. I'm here today before you with a deep gratitude and a clear call to continue investing in what's working for our communities, I first want to sincerely thank the city of Austin and the office of violence prevention for your past and ongoing support. Your partnership has made it possible for grassroots, community led organizations to truly reach, restore and uplift lives that have been impacted by trauma, poverty, and systemic inequity. I am here today to voice my strongest support for the continued funding and request for with life anew dream, the 2020 and all the other organizations in what Mr. Sherwin Patton had outlined, we are doing the work we're [9:24:27 AM] are doing the work we're providing culturally grounded mental wellness circles, peer led trauma recovery services, wraparound youth programs that prevent violence before it starts. Through the trauma recovery center, we serve youth and families affected by violence, grief and generational trauma with compassion, trust and care that reflects their lived experience and with life anew. We are proud to walk alongside a partner that is leading the way in restorative justice and conflict resolution, helping schools, families and community members repair, harm and rebuild trust. These are not just programs that we're offering as a collection and a cohesive of groups. There are lifelines, and we cannot afford to lose the momentum. Please continue investing in solutions that are built by and for the community. We are not asking for handouts. We are asking for the resources to continue saving [9:25:28 AM] resources to continue saving lives. Thank you for your committed justice, healing and prevention. >> How's it going guys? I just want to say I'm really grateful to be here today. My name is Sam Winston Hopkins with the African-American youth foundation, an organization that focuses on youth development and their families as well. Within our building, we have over 30 different nonprofit organizations all come to Canada just to meet the needs of the people. And each organization is like a puzzle piece. You put those pieces together, makes up the big picture. Most people say, man, what am I looking at when I look at this big picture? It's simple people helping people and alongside with their life anew. We're here to just make a great change within our community, within our cities, to letting people know that they can be the best version of themselves and have every opportunity to succeed on purpose. We at seven different schools educating young minds, teaching them about their social and emotional learning, teaching them about the 60s of education, communication, collaboration, censorship, creativity, critical [9:26:29 AM] censorship, creativity, critical thinking and character on a whole goal is just to let the students know that they're going to have unexpected hits and certain challenges that can stop them from moving forward. But to continue to keep on moving forward, knowing and understanding that and that the things that they're doing, they're going to make a change for the better. We're also here just to bring encouragement to our our people within our communities. Let them know that we have our trauma recovery center, which is also helping those people who have been facing different types of trauma when it comes to PTSD or many different others. But our whole purpose and our whole goal is just to meet the needs of the people and letting people know that they can be the best version of themselves. Thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you, thank you. Yes, ma'am. >> Hi, my name is Kelly and I'm a resident of district eight down in southwest Austin. And I know you all have many difficult decisions ahead of you. Thank you for all your work on the budget. I would just say that I hope that the decisions you make will be made with a focus on protecting our most vulnerable [9:27:31 AM] protecting our most vulnerable austinites. I would love to see a budget that prioritizes public health services, services to help prevent first time homelessness. I'm very concerned about increase in people experiencing first time homelessness, concerned about families with children facing housing insecurity. What can we do to fund the programs that keep people sheltered? Housed access to health services? And also, I wanted to add increase in funds for our parks maintenance. I would love to see our city prioritize access to well-maintained parks and parks facilities, pools that that families all around Austin can enjoy. I hope that those those funds can be utilized equitably across the city, and I I'll yield the rest of my time. Thank [9:28:33 AM] yield the rest of my time. Thank you. >> Thank you very much. Thank all of you for being here. >> We have one more remote speaker that just joined. So let me call that speaker Franck nature. >> Howdy, y'all. My name is Franck nature. I'm a calling in from district one. I'm calling actually to speak about item two. So I think I should probably wait. >> If you want to go ahead. And since you're on the phone, go ahead and speak on item two. But we will not call you again on item two. >> Sure. Okay. So item two is the tax rate election coming up in November 2025. I would like to speak in support of that. We've had a lot of federal funding get pulled from us from various agencies and shakeups in [9:29:36 AM] various agencies and shakeups in the federal government. And of course, I can certainly sympathize with people that don't feel safe. But to be honest, it has not been my experience. And as we increase the APD budget that is taking away more and more of our general budget that we cannot get back due to state laws. So it is actively making our city more expensive. So what we need to do the tax rate election, make sure that we can make up that federal budget shortfall and the and the budget that has been going into APD for things like robot cars and spy cameras, and instead make it so that we can have affordable housing, living wage and high paying jobs with shade and trees and public transportation and libraries and parks. Thank you so much for your time and attention. That's all I got for you. >> Thank you mayor. >> All speakers have been called for item one. >> All right. Thank you. Members. All the speakers have [9:30:37 AM] Members. All the speakers have been called on item number one. We have an issue in that this morning we got word that Williamson, the Williamson county final rules were in. But there were some adjustments being made by Williamson county. Those final rules. So our professional financial staff is doing what you would want them to do, which is crunch numbers with those final rules. And so to allow them the appropriate time that they need to make the presentation that we need. What I would suggest we do and without objection, we will go to item number two. And we will call the speakers on item number two so that we can hear from those speakers. And that will allow the staff to be fully prepared when they come back in. So with that objection, let's just do that. All right. We'll go to the speakers on item number two. >> Thank you mayor. We'll start with the remote speakers. >> Thank you. Mayor, mayor pro tem and council members for [9:31:37 AM] tem and council members for again providing an opportunity for me to speak. My name is pat and I live in district three, and I support you increasing or discussing and increasing your flexibility to raise taxes to allow you to more thoroughly analyze the base budget and what I also want to advocate for is that you put the veterinary services for animal services that have been cut, both the orthopedic services and the emergency clinic services for people who find lost pets into the base budget. And then when you discuss the increased taxes that you want to increase it to, whether it's one penny or whether it's four pennies or eight pennies, that you then discuss increasing it to a level that will allow you to add the two administrative positions [9:32:38 AM] two administrative positions that animal services is requesting. As I said before, I do not think that animal services has provided you with enough good information to analyze the budget, cut to emergency medical services and orthopedic services at the shelter. Nor has it provided you with good information to make the decision about whether to administrative positions are needed. Therefore, if you have a budget amendment that puts the base budget amount, puts the veterinary services into the base budget, and then discuss the increases for administrative positions as part of the tax increase and have it go into. I assume that the one penny increase will more than cover two administrative positions, high paid though they may be, because, you know, that's a very small amount in your budget. So I support you increasing your flexibility to the to the maximum allowable. Not [9:33:39 AM] maximum allowable. Not necessarily. >> Thank you. Your time has expired. Jordan Middlebrook. >> Hello, council members. My name is Jordan Middlebrook. I'm a member of dsa and I also live in district four in the highland area. And I'm calling to in support of a tax rate election. And I strongly am urging you council. I, I very much agree that we need to find creative ways to get more tax revenue so that we can have a more supportive budget. And I'm constantly seeing the need to reallocate funding that's we cannot take back from the police budget to go towards other services that you've heard. Public safety mentioned a lot, public safety in its truest form. If we go to the root, it comes from being able to meet people's needs. And so I am supportive of exploring ways to do that. And I'm really urging council to think about how do we [9:34:40 AM] council to think about how do we put more equity into a tax rate increase. You've heard people talk about it. Affordability and challenges to live in the city. And I don't think that we should just do a blanket tax across property, like property taxes are already pushing people out of the city, displacing people and increasing this unaffordability. And so how can we get creative and have higher tax rates based on corporations, based on folks who have higher incomes? Or where are there opportunities to really think about equity through the lens of what privileges either individuals? Or I would strongly encourage us to look at corporations. There are multibillion dollar corporations in Austin, in downtown Austin. Some of them are even funding the genocide that's happening in palestine. And so I would really encourage us to find creative opportunities, work with [9:35:41 AM] opportunities, work with lawyers, work with consultants, work with communities directly to really understand how can we have a more equitable tax rate increase instead of displacing people? >> Your time has. >> Expired. >> John Murray. Mr. Murray, are you there? Can you please unmute? >> Okay. Sorry. Yeah, sorry. >> We'll have him back in a second. Abbot. Taco. Abby. Tatko. Abby, are you there? >> I would just texting city. >> John Murray. >> Yes, my name is John Murray. I'm a constituent of district [9:36:42 AM] I'm a constituent of district six. I'm here to talk a little bit about the big budget deficit. But the point to make is that the city is already in debt over $111 billion. So maybe we don't have to increase debt in taxes if we can determine the most efficacious way to spend tax dollars and eliminate bad future investments. So is the budget department using the basic analysis tools like zero based budgeting, cost benefit analysis, and forced rank budgeting on every budget item? And do the voters have access to the research and subsequent analysis so we can make an informed decision? For example, have we looked at our commitment to build a new convention center? The market forces are saying that there's an era of large in-person gatherings over. The technology now is allowing remote virtual ones. Historically, less than 2% of Austin visitors have come here [9:37:43 AM] Austin visitors have come here for conventions with even without a final design, environmental study and subsequent firm contractor bid your office saying the new convention center is going to cost around 1.6 billion. But your office is downplaying the more than 5.6 billion taxpayer commitment that has questionable returns over the next 30 years. Maybe this money could be better spent elsewhere. So is it law or just common sense that of this expenditure, this magnitude, to build a new convention center that cannot move forward without voters first offering oversight and putting this voter on the November election? That's what mayor Watson did the first time we talked. And I think that's a healthy thing to do. Let's do what mayor Watson did in the first time, put it on the November election, whether we should have a convention center rebuilt or not. Thank you. >> Don Jackson. >> Good morning. I'm calling and I'm speaking as a member of acme [9:38:44 AM] I'm speaking as a member of acme 1624. I'm also a resident resident of district two, but I want to encourage city council to approve a TRE level that supports our union goals for a Progressive Creola, avoiding staff layoffs and restoring essential community services that have been existentially threatened by federal budget cuts. That means at least a seven cent increase and possibly eight or more depending, especially depending on current state bills that were filed yesterday. We have to do this to maintain essential services and staffing for the city, especially in the face of artificial austerity forced by the state and wild, reckless cuts from the far right federal government. Right now, if city council support the TRE adequate to shore up the city against these attacks on the public sector, I can promise that I and many of my union brothers and sisters will canvass and do outreach to help get it passed by the voters. Thank you very much and have a good day. >> Caleb white. [9:39:45 AM] >> Caleb white. >> Hello, my name is kiba white. I'm speaking on behalf of public citizens Texas office. Thank you very much for the opportunity. We are also supportive of a tax rate election, although it is a difficult choice to make to raise taxes on property owners, it is clear from the budget information that has been shared so far that this is absolutely necessary in order to maintain the level of services and kind of keep Austin moving in the direction that the majority of austinites do expect. And one area that I have noticed that is, you know, I think lacking in this year's budget proposal as it currently has been in the past, is investment in climate action. Efforts to actually reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in line with the city's established goal to get to net zero by 2040. And I understand that it is difficult to add staff at a time like this when there is really very little [9:40:47 AM] there is really very little money to go around, and that is part of why we are supporting a tax rate election and do encourage you to be bold in, you know, when setting that maximum rate and trust that voters will understand that it is a matter of getting what we pay for. And yes, more does need to be done to help those who maybe do not have as much ability to pay. And the state has obviously put a lot of restrictions on cities, including Austin, and how that can be done. But part of that is about providing services that are equitable. And there is a lot of that in the Austin climate equity plan that we could be doing more on to help those with less resources access different programs in a more equitable way. So I do encourage you to be bold and to think about the commitments that have been made over the past years when it comes to a whole bunch [9:41:47 AM] when it comes to a whole bunch of issues, but including climate action when you are setting that. >> Thank you, miss white. >> Thank you very much, Abby. >> Abby, are you there? Okay, I'm going to switch over to in-person speakers now. And as before, I'm going to call several names at the time. At one time, please come on down. If your name is called, sit by the podium and just state your name into the record. When you begin Jennifer Robichaud. Jay Popham, Brayden brydan Summers, Ben suddaby, Carol Guthrie, Scott Cobb. >> Good morning. My name is Jen [9:42:48 AM] >> Good morning. My name is Jen Robichaud. I attended my town hall last night. The mayor pro tem was asked what you're doing to make sure property taxes aren't raised. And she replied, there's nothing we can do. Excuse me. That's unacceptable. The mayor pro tem claims that affordability is a government that works. This council acknowledges the city's needs, public safety, homeless solutions, green spaces, electricity and water. But residents see failed policies year after year. If you're truly committed to making Austin affordable, you must abandon the tax rate. Election. Raising property taxes is a shortsighted response to the city's financial challenges, and it ignores the economic pressures residents face. Austinites already experienced the highest non-mortgage debt of any major city in this country. Rents here are higher than anywhere else in Texas, yet this council proposes more taxes. This isn't leadership. It's a betrayal of the people you serve. The city's [9:43:50 AM] the people you serve. The city's declining sales tax revenue is unique to Austin. It's not inflation, not tariffs. Our economy is stalling. Texans are spending, just not in Austin. Instead of looking to boost consumer spending and kindle local businesses, this council lays blame and opts for the easy way out. Tax residents more, burden austinites with the city manager's irresponsible budget proposal. This council's claim that a maximum tax rate is just a ceiling inspires no confidence. A seven cent increase is more than $20 a month. What are we supposed to cut in our budgets to afford that? That's a dozen eggs a week. It's a prescription. We can't afford $20 a day for lunch, and we can't afford $20 a month for non- essential services. Austin deserves better than tax rate increases. Focus on real solutions, cut spending and nurture economic growth. Thank you. [9:44:50 AM] Thank you. >> Good morning, mayor and council. My name is brydan Summers. I'm the president of afscme local 1624. We represent employees of the city of Austin and Travis county. I know that this vote today is kind of been talked about as procedural, but I don't really see it that way because we're going to signal today that we're looking to do a tax rate election, one that we know is necessary to protect city services and the city's workforce. Afscme is coming at this issue with eyes wide open. We do not think it's a matter of will there be layoffs? It's going to be a matter of when if we do not pass the tax rate election, we wonder, what if this is a balanced budget this year, when it's on the backs of a reduction in force and vacancies throughout the city? What does a balanced budget look like in 2027 or 2028? But we're ready to do this. We know it's the path forward. We're going to fight for it. I want you to hear this. That's the sound that Austin voters are going to hear on their doors. When our members are going around talking to them about the importance of parks, libraries and the services that they count on. But we need [9:45:52 AM] they count on. But we need commitments from you. If we're going to do this work, we need to know that this TRE is going to take care of city staff. It's going to take care of unsworn staff. We need a Progressive cola this year, Progressive cost of living. But more importantly, we need the TRE to ensure they're going to be no layoffs for any city staff. We need to make sure the TRE is going to fund all city services, including those affected by federal funding cuts. We need to ensure there's going to be Colas for future years. 0% Colas next year is not acceptable. And lastly, we want you to take a look at the city's real estate portfolio. How can it be used to affect these budget decisions? Where can we find savings? Where can we find money? So send the message today that a TRE is coming. Go for the max rate. If this is procedural, give yourselves the room to work with that. You know, set it at 8% the 0.6 rate. And let's begin the work together for a big TRE this year. Thank you. >> Hi y'all. My name is Jay Popham. I'm from district two. I'm stepping away from work for a moment to speak on this important issue. This is an important issue because the [9:46:53 AM] important issue because the budget is a moral document that reflects the priorities of our city. We made it through the first trump administration without sacrificing our neighbors and investments in the public good. And we know we can do it again. Without a robust tax rate election, the city will be set up for a fiscal cliff in 2027, will be forced to turn to increases in utility fees and other regressive forms of taxation. With every decision we make, we must ask how much inclusion is made possible by what we do, how much exclusion do we create? Are we a place where neighbors can come together as equals? Are we creating a community of care? The current proposed budget would see cuts to affordable housing, multiple public health contracts, ems services meaning increased response times, parks and pools, animal services funding, and an overall decrease in quality of life in throughout Austin. We know that stability is public safety, and amidst the chaos of the trump administration and the continued hostility of state government, only we can keep us safe. We have the ability to do this and keep our city going for the next four years. A strong TRE would allow for us to correct the structural deficit imposed on us [9:47:54 AM] structural deficit imposed on us by the state's 2019 budget law, fund the deeply felt needs of our community and provide true public stability, public health and safety. It would allow us to continue to make vital investments in deeply affordable housing, family stabilization grants, food pantries, parent support specialists and homelessness services. It would help ensure that everyone who works for the city of Austin can afford to live in the city of Austin. We can't trade these priorities against each other if we're going to make it through. I encourage you to authorize a strong TRE covering a maximum eight cent increase. Thank you so much for your time. >> Hello, I'm Ben sotheby, resident of district four, proud member of afscme 1624. I'm going to echo a lot of what has just been said. I think that the members of the union that I'm proud to be a part of will be out there talking to their communities, as we already are, [9:48:54 AM] communities, as we already are, about the priorities that our community feels need to be addressed. In this item we're setting, you're setting a maximum that will be considered. I will note that last year in, you know, this version in last year's budget, that item was taken up together with the public hearing. You're going to be setting it now in the morning before we get to the 3:00 item where we hear from many, many other people. So I'm going to ask that you set a very high ceiling on this to allow for that decision to zero in whether it's seven $0.08. Somewhere in between, I heard concerns about, you know, where's that going to come from? I'll be honest. I'm going to be knocking in favor of people voting for this. This is my this is my pee Terry's order, my regular order. And it is, you know, 20, 24, 46. Right? Right there in between 7 and $0.08, I will forego my monthly pee. Terry's daily pee. Terry's I will I will forego this to pay for your library, to pay for your health care. That's that sidewalk that gets your kids to [9:49:57 AM] sidewalk that gets your kids to school safely out of traffic. This is important. This is vital. Our community will come together. I am confident we will come together and counter the state and the federal government trying to defund us. We can't afford to have cuts of civil servants. That's not allowable. We can't survive if we start cutting things that keep us healthy and keep Austin a beautiful place to, to, to live in. So I urge you, set a very high ceiling so that you can so you can really pinpoint it. Don't don't tie your hands before you hear from the public. This is something that, you know, I'm hearing from many other people. >> Shall I go? >> Yes, please go ahead. >> I'm sorry. Carol Guthrie with afscme local 1624. I will keep it brief. We need a TRE. We need to be responsible and fund the [9:51:01 AM] to be responsible and fund the services that the citizens of Austin expect. I just heard on my way over here that the ledge is considering lowering the cap to 2.5. I don't know if we planned for that, but I think we definitely need to plan for that. So I hope that you will set the maximum allowed here today, and then we have some room to work things out, but we do need the TRE now. Thank you. >> Hello, my name is Scott Cobb and I support a tax rate election at the highest rate. I think it is absurd that the extreme right wing extremists in the Texas legislature have imposed restrictions on how we can govern ourselves at the local level. I am also concerned about the fascist in the white [9:52:04 AM] about the fascist in the white house, particularly the billionaire who likes to make Nazi salutes, leading cuts in programs that benefit people at the local level. That cut protections of our environment, cut access to food banks. These are the things that we have to address at a local level. This is how we oppose what is going on and being imposed upon us by Washington and by the right wing extremists in the legislature. So I support a high level of. Increased taxes at the rate of $0.07 to $0.10 in order to [9:53:05 AM] $0.07 to $0.10 in order to protect the people of Austin from outside forces that are trying to prevent us from living the lives that we know that we all deserve. And so I ask you to support the highest level increase and put it to the people of Texas, the people of Austin, because I know the people of Austin will support you and will support each other, and we will stand up to what we are being faced from the white house and from the Texas legislature. Thank you. >> Continuing on with item two, Sharon Blythe, Kathleen Mitchell, Ashley Krauss. Marc, Fili, Andrew Hairston. >> If your name's been called, please come forward and take a seat. Why don't we start with miss [9:54:13 AM] Why don't we start with miss Blythe? Go ahead. >> Sharon Blythe, resident of district six. I had put in a request to ask the city council, several city council members. What dollar amount is involved with the 4% for city employees, 4% never could get that answer. Ask again and again and again. Finally got it. The dollar amount. And I want the public to hear this. It's $44 million just for that one item. There's no attachment to that raise as far as performance. Whether we get better city services for these people, just give it to them every year. And it's been going on for years and years and years, 4% every year. That's [9:55:16 AM] years, 4% every year. That's that's where you can pick up your $33 million budget deficit. Don't give them a 4% every year. Cut it back 1%, 2% or nothing. Because if they're not performing, they don't believe they don't deserve a raise. And y'all just do it Willy nilly. Cut the budget, scream you have a budget deficit. Want a tiara for everybody else to fund that? That is ludicrous. And you all need to think about not doing the TRE. Thank you. >> Good morning. I'm Ashley Krauss. I'm a licensed master social worker and the recording secretary for afscme. 1624 I'm an employee of Austin public health, but I'm speaking to you today as an elected representative of my colleagues here at the city. I'm going to go off script and say that I perform every day, and we have not received 4% raises every year. I wish acme 1624 supports [9:56:18 AM] year. I wish acme 1624 supports item two because the maximum property tax rate increase begins. This conversation that allows the city to continue to provide not only the services most enjoyed by austinites, but the much needed services provided by departments like housing, homeless strategies, public health, the library and parks. I know that tax increases are unpopular, but I also know that something special about Austin is that the average citizen is generous and wants a fair and equitable city for our neighbors. The reason an affirmative vote on this item is so important is because at a time where rank and file workers are continually being asked to do more with less, we need the support. I want people to understand that just because there won't be money for the work doesn't mean that the work stops. It just gets harder. And public health, for example, the department through federal grants, provides medication that quite literally saves lives. [9:57:19 AM] quite literally saves lives. Without their medication, our neighbors will die. I don't have anyone in my life who wouldn't give a few more pennies to save a life. And finally, this item further supports the workers, particularly non-contracted civilian employees who deserve to be able to expect a wage increase year over year. I have heard from city leadership that the problem with the Progressive wage increase is compression, and I implore you to consider that we can eventually solve compression, but we must first confront the oppression and indignity in which so many of us cannot afford to live in the city we proudly serve. Thank you to my union siblings on the dais today, and thank you for your work. >> All right. Hi. Good morning. My name is Marc Finley. I'm a resident of district eight in the far northwest. I come to you as myself and not speaking on any employer or organization I'm a member of. So with tax increase and all the stuff, [9:58:20 AM] increase and all the stuff, you'd be surprised someone living in Westlake would actually want more taxes. But yes. So my story to tell is six years ago I finalized my divorce. Very difficult. Single dad of three kids and I had not planned out summer. I was so busy trying to make the family work and my job and finish up a very, very difficult divorce. And I didn't have a summer plan. And I was told by other parents, oh, you should do these awesome things that the zilker botanical garden and the I can't remember the name of it, but the other the science slash like nature place there, it was not available and I had a really difficult time finding someplace for my three kids to go for summer, where I wasn't spending seven hours a day driving. And so I had only one option that summer on the very far east of town. It was great. It was the boys and girls club of America like it worked out, but it was really difficult because like all of the good programs from like the city stuff that I could [9:59:21 AM] like the city stuff that I could that they wanted to go to, like just there wasn't an opening in may when I was like, I got to do something. So these programs like this are really important to me as like as a parent. And while my kids have aged out of a lot of those, I have a lot of coworkers who've got little kids now and they're asking me, what do I do? I'm like, well, there's the swimming things and the and the nature park. And like, there's all these things that the city does have and they're like, oh, this is great. I'm like, well, so I hope that those are there for the busy and growing city that we have in Austin. So thank you all very much. >> Thank you. >> Good morning. >> My name is Andrew Harrison. I am a local civil rights lawyer, a resident of district one, and I speak in support of the tax rate election in November 2025. I want to highlight a quote from councilman Siegel in July 18th, 2025, Austin chronicle article in which he said that we need to dig a little deeper to maintain our quality of life, and the residents of Austin would be pushed to do that after we see [10:00:22 AM] pushed to do that after we see the budget. Indeed, council, we need to dig deeper. We recognize the critical things like the housing trust fund are in jeopardy in this current budget. We need this for our unhoused neighbors, our rent burdened neighbors, folks who are struggling to make ends meet and facing evictions quite often. We need it for our young people who are dealing with the unaddressed impact of the pandemic and trying to heal from it, who might be absent from school, who are showing up in justice courts and dealing with severe consequences. And then we need it for our folks who might be dealing with the criminalization of poverty. There is a long legacy of the United States and of this state to make sure that they have what they need when they are facing the arms of the state, bearing down upon them and charging them with small claims and misdemeanors, we can dig deep. We can make sure that our folks are taking care of the most vulnerable among us. And I [10:01:23 AM] most vulnerable among us. And I urge you, as we consider this tax rey election moving forward to the November ballot, to really consider those in our community who are the most vulnerable and who need our support. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Continuing on with item two, Reece Armstrong, Jeffrey Bowen, Paulette Soltani, Sarah Campbell, Peter hunt. >> Mr. Bowen, why don't you go ahead and begin? >> Thank you, sir Jeffrey Bowen I live in district eight. I've lived here for 35 years. I have no doubt that there will not be a TRE on the on the ballot in November. The amount that's still to be determined. But we have to go back and look at the long term that we've all been here. At what point will the councils have past and the [10:02:25 AM] councils have past and the present start taking responsibility for the spending habits that they actually have or have had? We have a tendency to always blame somebody else. Yes. You want to blame the legislature because they, you know, they they put a cap on that because of the demands of the taxpayers to say some of this is out of control. We've listened to this for six years. At what point will you start taking responsibility for your own spending habits and your own issues that you want to produce and prove? And we have many of them that we have no idea what the actual outcomes have been over. Some of the money that has been spent, the lack of responsibility is astounding to me. We've had long term neglect. We talk about our parks, how much money we need to get our parks back up to standard. But most of that's been all long term neglect. And why is that? [10:03:25 AM] term neglect. And why is that? It's because of the lack of responsibility. Many of us in the city have to live within our means, but yet the city can't seem to live within its means again. Who's responsible for that? I hear I hear these people going, yes, we should be maxing out the taxes. But what about those that cannot afford the taxes that they're currently paying now? Are we going to have a program for tax assistance? We have it for rental assistance, so why not for tax assistance? The point of this whole thing is, is that it needs to be fair and equitable. I totally agree. Thank you. >> Good morning, mayor and council, and thank you for having me. I'm Paulette Soltani, the co-director of vocal Texas and a resident of district nine. I'm here to support the seven, a seven cent tax rate election. Last week, I shared how Austin has made important progress around the issue of [10:04:26 AM] around the issue of homelessness, improving shelter quality, opening new beds and housing some of our longtime leaders. But most austinites still have no chance to get housing. They wait in line for hours at a time. Our case management and housing programs are totally overwhelmed, and our federal funds are drying up or being cut. Yesterday was the was the 60th anniversary of medicaid and medicare, two safety net programs that lifted millions out of poverty. These programs are being slashed. Hud is being slashed. These are not normal times, and neither can your leadership be. We support this tax rate because it will be a lifeline to the most marginalized people in our city, and because it supports the other needs that we have in our city. It replenishes the housing trust fund that funds our vital dsh vouchers, and it helps build a winning coalition that supports our parks, pools, roads, emergency services and gets the revenue that they need to. Everyone in Austin benefits from this. If we're truly concerned about affordability, as some of you have said, it's time to take a serious look at [10:05:28 AM] time to take a serious look at how revenue is raised and spent in Austin, which corporations, businesses and developers pay to do business here and who doesn't? Who? We can't keep blaming the state. We have to get creative about our revenue. We also must confront our own city's policies that drive the lack of affordability. Our own housing department has been unchecked, failing to build the affordable housing that people need, failing to manage road properties that ignore the policies that are meant to protect people from evictions, from excessive fees and discrimination. The TRE should be one part of a broader strategy, and we need this strategy to be rooted in equity, accountability and real commitment to making sure everybody can live in this city. Thank you. >> Good morning council. >> My name is Peter hunt, born and raised in district ten. I'm a member of the Austin justice coalition. I want to speak a little bit about some of the TRE options that were presented to you and how they've been framed in structured, the manager has given council a set of TRE options in $0.01 increments as requested. But I want to [10:06:29 AM] requested. But I want to highlight that the placement of these on a particular tier of the TRE options does not mean that they need to be prioritized in that order. There are several things that I personally consider priorities and are very valuable, such as fully funding social service contracts and fully restoring the housing trust fund that are currently listed around the 7 or 8 cent TRE level. However, it's up to council to decide what the budget that they want to then approve is going to be, and those do not need to be restricted to a TRE level at 7 or $0.08. So that means either if a you all do not agree on a TRE at that level, or if a TRE is brought to the voters and then fails, council still has the capacity and I would still encourage you all to support these social service priorities. It is really up to the city at this point to decide what matters. And this does not mean that just because something is listed at 7 or $0.08 on these TRE options, that it needs to be pushed off in favor of other things, and that might be treated as a baseline budget. [10:07:30 AM] treated as a baseline budget. But given council is going to be voting on and establishing one budget, which will then be presented potentially along with the TRE to the voters, what gets actually put in there is council's priorities and should reflect the priorities of the voters. So again, I want to emphasize just because something is listed at 7 or $0.08 doesn't mean that's where it needs to stay. And you don't necessarily need to approve a 7 or 8 cent TRE to consider those as top priorities. That should be in the budget no matter what. And again, some of those, in addition to social service contracts, housing trust fund or immigration legal services, excuse me, and library materials to decrease wait times. These are all things that are really important to ensure that they're funded, and I encourage you to consider them as priorities. Thank you. >> I'm going to call a remote speaker one more time. Abby. Taco. >> Yes. >> Good morning, mayor and council. My name is Abby taco. I'm the chair of the Austin housing coalition. And apologies. Y'all had to call me [10:08:31 AM] apologies. Y'all had to call me a couple times. Last week, the housing coalition submitted a letter in collaboration with the homeless service providers consortium in support of a tax rate election. We're encouraged to see the proposed tax rate scenarios for $0.05 and higher. That includes substantial support for the homeless strategy office plan, and replacement of the loss of millions of federal dollars that may never return to our community. Austin housing coalition is very concerned about the general fund's proposal to utilize the remaining funds from the housing trust fund for shelter services, as opposed to permanent housing, or as it has recently been used for the local housing voucher program and emergency rental assistance that's kept thousands of folks out of homelessness over the last two years. If that plan to drain these funds proceeds as discussed, we must see that TRE, at any rate, including dollars for the restoration and growth of the housing trust fund. Austin housing coalition recognizes that a tax rate election translates to an increase in property taxes for existing [10:09:31 AM] property taxes for existing homeowners, at a time when the cost of living is at an all time high. But our community must recognize that a tax rate election that provides for social services to replace permanent gaps in federal funding for these services will benefit these homeowners as well. We need to think long term, as many of the impacts of the recent federal decisions will not be felt for a few years, at which time it will be too late to fill these gaps. This is a moment to think locally, and to recognize the power that we have to fund our own basic needs. Last year, our community heeded this call and passed a child care tax rate, election funds from which will support the expansion of low cost pre-k in our community as early as this summer. Please put a tax rate election on the ballot to do the same for the homeless response system, the housing trust fund and other basic needs. Thank you very much and thank you for making this decision. >> Moving on in person, Amanda Marzullo, Brian Mcgovern. Jesus, Lara, Daniella silva, Victoria [10:10:34 AM] Lara, Daniella silva, Victoria Salinas. >> Your name has been called. Please come forward. Please go ahead. >> Good morning. My name is Brian mcgiverin. I'm an attorney. I run the Austin community law center, and I want to tell you a story. Last summer, I began working with a family living off of montopolis, a mother about my age, with three kids 11, five, and four. She was eking by at her job. Just barely. Father wasn't helping. She had recently gotten a protective order against him. He was out of the picture when I met her. She was expecting another child who was born at the beginning of this year. When her child was born, she didn't have maternity leave and so she couldn't go to work, and she immediately fell behind on her rent. Now, at that time, there was a small team of social workers working to help her from Casey family, trying to help her [10:11:35 AM] Casey family, trying to help her find a place to land. They couldn't do it. They couldn't do it. She did not have a place to go. When the eviction became final, she and her entire family, including her newborn. We can't afford austerity. We just can't. We have to push back on what the state is trying to do. Our neighbors can't afford it. There are too many people who are in that position. I represent too many clients who, if evicted, have nowhere to go. Now, there aren't perfect solutions, but we do need to do everything we can. And that's why I support a tax rate at the seven cent level. Thank you. >> All right. Hi. Hello. It's always so scary to be up here. My name is Jesus Lara. I am from district one and I'm normally very sunny in disposition, but right now I am so, so angry. I'm angry at the onslaught to our nation by authoritarians at a federal level, our civil liberties and bodily autonomy [10:12:36 AM] liberties and bodily autonomy here at the state level. And now I'm here to ask you all that we as a city can come together and show some political and moral courage to take a stand for our communities. I'm here to ask that you support a high TRE that prevents the cut of essential services that everyday austinites use, a high TRE that programs that so that programs that help uplift our unhoused and marginalized folks so they are not thrown aside and forgotten. A high TRE that strengthens our social social safety nets that keep everyone afloat, whether they use those services or not. So I'm asking you all now, after hearing all of these stories, after hearing people talk about what is important to them and how it has helped helped them stay afloat, to not go back to austerity, because now is not the time for austerity. Austerity is what got us, trump, Ellen Abbott and all of these people who no longer believe that public governance is there for them. So I ask you all to support a high TRE, a baseline $0.07, because our [10:13:37 AM] baseline $0.07, because our communities cannot take any more. We are at a precipice where we can decide whether people will believe in what we do as a local governance, and whether they allow cynicism to fill their hearts. Thank you all so much. >> Thank you. Before we go to the next speaker, members, you have been provided a or are being provided information regarding the changes that were made this morning as a result of the Williamson county appraisal districts posting and the work that the staff was doing for the public, the revised presentation. And that's what I'm talking about, that the council is being handed. But the revised presentation reflecting the updates from the Williamson county appraisal district, has been posted as late backup to agenda item number one. So anybody that wants to look at that, it's posted as late back up to agenda item number one. With that I'll turn back to the [10:14:39 AM] With that I'll turn back to the city clerk. >> Charles Guidry. Ard ardalan, Susana Carranza, Kelly Gaar Amico. >> He's been called. Please come forward. Please go ahead. Yes. >> Hi, I'm doctor Susana Carranza. I live in district nine. I represent myself, and I'm here to speak in support of the tax rate increase. And as was mentioned right now, we're talking about the cap for the tax rate. So I urge you to set the cap at the maximum allowed so that it will give you wiggle room to actually set the rate. Once the budget is defined. [10:15:40 AM] Once the budget is defined. Since we don't know the final budget yet. So we need this budget because it is rate, because as everybody mentioned, right, the federal government is really cutting a lot of stuff. The state is not great at doing that. And the city, I don't know why, approved a large increase in the APD budget. I do understand it's difficult to talk about taxes, tax increases, as people always see is the cost and it is a cost. But I do consider my tax as an investment in my community. We're at a time where the federal government not only is wasting money by sending it to detention centers, but is also cutting the taxes of the very wealthy, and the state government is misusing our tax funds to give it to private schools, or wasting in a [10:16:43 AM] schools, or wasting in a redistricting session. That is really going to cut our representation here, which is why it's so important that we use our local taxes to really help our community, which is why, while I support the tax increase, you will hear later that I oppose the budget as current stated, because it really cut a lot of vital community help items. And again. The shortfall was created by the large increase in the APD budget. So thank you. Thank you. >> Why don't we go to you next. >> Good morning, Kelly gromko again representing myself as a resident of district eight in southwest Austin and lifelong resident of central Texas, I, I had a very hard time trying to define mpim for the TRE or not, because truly it only makes moral sense depending on what commitment it's tied to and in [10:17:44 AM] commitment it's tied to and in the current budget. I don't believe that there is the commitment to affordability, community services, and the environment. Really thinking about what is the vision for future austinites that would make a tax rate increase morally justified? So my hope is that any, any increased funding that comes from a tax rate increase is really committed to the communities who are going to need it most because as we know, this is not a Progressive tax. It is going to affect homeowners and tenants alike. I've seen how every every area of the city has become more and more affordable over the decades. Families are being displaced. Who who've lived in areas of Austin for generations. And if they move away, they can't afford to come back. We don't have the commitment to services for our unhoused neighbors, for our unsheltered neighbors, for [10:18:45 AM] unsheltered neighbors, for families that are facing housing instability. We don't have the commitment to our our parks and green spaces that are going to make this a wonderful, livable city for generations to come. So I would just encourage you to think about the tax rate increase on a moral level. What if we're increasing the financial burden on all austinites? What are they getting out of it, and what are the most vulnerable austinites getting out of this? And I believe that's my time. Thank you. >> Yes. >> Art ardalan here, resident of district nine. I'm also a candidate for the district nine seat. We've heard a lot today about the constraints imposed by the federal and state governments on our budgets and the city's budget and specifically. But you know, who else is also being affected by these cuts is regular austinites. Our citizens in this city are also feeling the pain. And I think it's a very difficult thing to go and ask [10:19:46 AM] difficult thing to go and ask them specifically to dip into their pockets and pay even more in taxes than what they are already paying. Property taxes are inherently regressive. They disproportionately affect low income Austin homeowners, and they indirectly affect tenants as well. So if we're going to raise the taxes again, we need to find ways to mitigate the effects this has on low income residents. And we need to make sure that the investments that are being made, that the money that's being raised is actually being used to help the community that's going to pay for it. At the same time, I think we need to get into a pattern of fiscal responsibility. What I'm seeing is if we start getting into dipping into our rainy day fund in response to. To these cuts that are being made by the federal and state governments, a pattern of maybe borrowing more money to build giant construction projects that [10:20:46 AM] construction projects that burden our city's ability to service its debts, and further next year and the year after that, forcing austinites to dip into their pockets again and again to fund for our services. So I would ask that if we do have a TRE, that the language of the TRE specifically enumerate, what is going to be funded with this extra money, is it going to be a renewed commitment to parks and green spaces? Is it actually going to fund healthcare? Is it actually going to fund affordable housing for austinites? And that's my time. Thank you. >> Thank you all. >> Reese Armstrong, Peter Kim. Mok, Torin. So sorry if I did that one wrong. >> Please. >> Hello mayor and council members, my name is Reese Armstrong and I am a proud resident of district seven. I'm here today to advocate for a tax rate election of at least $0.07 per $100 and preferably eight, nine, or $0.10. We must not [10:21:47 AM] nine, or $0.10. We must not succumb to austerity as a result of the state and federal government that we know will hit working class people the hardest, that rely on these critical social services. And to address the previous speaker. It is a rainy day. We are living under a federal government and a state government that is cutting services at every turn, and we need to make sure that we provide those crucial services to austinites. Additionally, the residents of city Austin and city workers must not suffer from the council's awful decision to pass a $300 million permanent police increase that goes into terrorizing our communities when we desperately need social services like housing, healthcare, parks and more. Pass a TRE at a minimum of $0.07. Thank you. >> Please go ahead. >> Hi, my name is and I'm a member of Austin and live in district two. I'm here to ask you to vote on a tax rate election in support of it. Set it to the maximum amount. We can't face the fiscal cliff, and we shouldn't do it at the expense of public goods and services. That would only enable [10:22:47 AM] services. That would only enable the narrative of the far right that is antithetical to government, democracy and human solidarity. There's more to the cost of living than what immediately comes to mind. As a renter, I don't know everything about the house I live in, and landlords can take time to fix issues. For example, leaks. I face expensive bills due to leaks from infrastructure older than my time as a tenant. I'm lucky that the city has assistance for situations like that. It helps with cost of living. Cost of living includes emergencies. It's not what immediately comes to mind. The far right is making tough decisions that harm us. It's time our leaders, like you guys fighting the far right, make tough decisions that protect us and improve our lives. That's what voters want, and we're hearing it over and over. So please listen to the voters. >> Thank you. >> Hello. My name is Peter Kim. I'm a resident of district one, and I'm also here speaking in favor of a tax rate election. I'm a homeowner in Austin, and the reason I'm here speaking on behalf of it is because we're in a crisis right now. I've been [10:23:48 AM] a crisis right now. I've been trying to get caught up with the proposed budget for the 2025, 2026 fiscal year, and I'm still really fuzzy on the details, but what's been really sticking out to me is the note that we're beginning this budget cycle with a $33 million shortfall. So if we don't increase taxes to make up for the shortfall, the only other means of reconciling this hole in the budget will be to cut services. And frankly, I just don't want to do that because the public safety net in Texas is already so small. I mean, face it, the federal government and the state of Texas just really hate regular Texans. If you're a renter, the state bans rent control. If you're a worker, the state has outlawed your right to have a water break even if you work outside in the Texas heat. If you're homeless. The federal government has just issued an executive order criminalizing your very existence, and says that it would be better for you and for everyone else to have you committed an institutionalized against your will. The federal government has recently slashed $50 million in flood mitigation grants, even in the wake of the Kerrville floods and $15 million in funding for public health grants. At a time when our state is becoming the [10:24:50 AM] when our state is becoming the measles capital of the country, the city of Austin isn't perfect. But for those of us living here because of the values that its citizenry espouses, it fills in a lot of the gaps that the state and federal government refuse to provide and are actively cutting away. If we're unable to fund these programs that provide emergency housing, rental assistance, emergency health care, those programs that fund our amazing public library system, our parks, then we're just seeing more and more ground to the oligarchical agenda, which is to hollow out every public good and service and replace them with crappier, privatized versions that you need to pay individualized subscription fees for. So yeah, that's why I'm here in support of a tax rate election. And I urge you to put it to the voters. >> Thank you sir. >> Mayor, all speakers have been called for two members. >> You just heard that all the speakers have been called on item number two. So we've heard the public comment on items one and two. What I would suggest we do is we go back to item number one and we call up our professional staff for them to [10:25:50 AM] professional staff for them to make the presentation. With regard to item number one, anybody has any questions, they can ask questions at that point in time. And then we'll go back to item number two, which is an item that we need to take action on. Again for the members of the public. There were some changes from the Williamson county appraisal district this morning. So our staff's been working on that to make this presentation. If you go to the back up for item number one in today's agenda, you will see the presentation and members of the council have a copy of the presentation in front of you. >> Okay. Yeah. >> Thank you. Mayor and council [10:26:52 AM] >> Thank you. Mayor and council Kerri Lang, director of budget and organizational excellence for the presentation this morning, our deputy director, Eric Nelson, will be providing the information. >> Good morning. Council members, Eric Nelson, deputy director of budget and organizational excellence. Never a dull moment as the mayor, just as the mayor just mentioned, about 840 this morning, we received an update that Williamson county needed to correct its new construction value. As you all know that that's the part that we're held harmless for. So it had a positive impact on our revenue, but we wanted to make sure we reflect that. So we're sorry for the delay, but we did get an extra $250,000. >> We'll wait all day. We'll wait all day for good news. So go ahead. >> So updated based on the latest, greatest and I hope final numbers. Our total certified taxable value for the year is $229.8 billion, which is a 2.7% decrease versus the prior year. But it's not as sizable as [10:27:54 AM] year. But it's not as sizable as a decrease as we originally projecting. And even better news, the total new improvement value was 3.5 billion. That's partially because of this Williamson county change, but it's mostly because cat identified an additional $1.1 billion in new value between the time they sent out their notices in April and the time that we received the certification. So, again, that is good news in terms of revenue generation for the city, the final voter approval rate will be 0.524017, which is a little bit lower than the 0.5276 we were projecting. And that's a function of the value being a bit higher. The typical homeowner value is a couple points lower than we were projecting due to successful protest by homeowners. So that's coming in a little bit under $500,000. Finally, when we roll [10:28:56 AM] $500,000. Finally, when we roll all these up and apply the new rate to the new value, it results in an additional 5.25 million in property tax revenue for the general fund at that voter approval rate. Translating that new rate and that new typical homeowner value into an impact for our typical homeowner. We've updated this chart, and you can see we originally projecting 7.9% increase for property tax bills for typical homeowner. And now that's down to 5.3%. And our overall basket of rates, fees and taxes for the typical homeowner is now projected to be a 4% increase. To ease comparison with the following slides, we've also included the annual total. And I just want to note if you multiply everything by 12, it won't get you to that bottom line, because that bottom line includes the actual annual property tax bill. And there's some rounding that goes on when [10:29:56 AM] some rounding that goes on when we translate that to a monthly number. As we move on to consideration of a prospective tax rate election. These are the tax impacts associated with various levels of increase above the voter approval rate. And we've compared that both versus the base budget. What just your tax bill increase would be from year to year. And then what that total basket of rates, fees and taxes would be from year to year, depending on how many pennies we chose to go above the voter approval rate. And finally, this shows the actual rates you would want to set as the max tax rate, depending how many pennies you want to consider, and shows you how that compares to that 3.5% level. We often talk about. Roughly speaking, each additional penny is about 2.5 or 2.6 additional percentage points above that. No [10:31:00 AM] percentage points above that. No new revenue, maintenance and operations rate. And you can also see that as a result of certification, we're projecting that each penny would result in $21.9 million for the general fund, as opposed to our initial projection of 21.6. This. We have two remaining work sessions for tomorrow, and I'm sure or excuse me for next week and leading up to budget adoption. And I'm sure we'll work through the plan for those later in this meeting. But for now, that's our update on certification. We're happy to address any questions. >> Council members, this is item number one. And then we'll go to item number two after we complete this. But this is a good opportunity if you have any questions of our financial staff with regard to the new presentation and the update to ask those questions. Anybody got any questions before we go to item number two? Mayor pro tem. >> Just checking item number [10:32:02 AM] >> Just checking item number two. >> Item number two is the vote on the maximum tax rate okay. If you want to be recognized, please let me know. And we now will go to item number two. And. Without council unless you have an objection. Objection. What my suggestion would be is that we get a motion on the table and we do questions and that and questions as part of the discussion if that's okay with everybody. So let us go to item number two. And let me just repeat what I've been saying previously with regard to what we're doing here today with regard to the maximum tax rate, Texas law requires that the governing body pass by a vote, and it's a record vote passed by a vote, a maximum tax rate. In other words, the tax rate that is the highest that the [10:33:04 AM] is the highest that the governing body will consider for the budget process. We are not voting today on what tax rate will be in the budget. We are voting on what would be the highest potential. We will do that when we actually pass the budget. And by the way, that'll be part of what we talk about here in just a second. But as I indicated, the state law requires that we do that by a vote. That declaration by a vote, historically and traditionally, as I've noted, the city has set the maximum tax rate at the voter approval rate, and that is the highest property tax rate that the city can adopt without triggering an election. The proposed the manager's proposed base budget utilizes the, the highest property tax rate that the city may adopt [10:34:04 AM] rate that the city may adopt without triggering an election. It uses the voter approval rate, so any addition in the collection of revenue that the council might decide it wants to do as part of the budget process would trigger what is known. And we've been talking about as a tax rate election or a TRE. I think it's important to note that our, our community and the council has spent a lot of time looking at this and thinking about it. I want to I want to say it because I feel very strongly that the council has been very methodical, taking responsibility, as I've heard today, for looking at the needs of our city, looking at the impacts of outside influences on our finances, because there have been those looking at past spending and other factors. In fact, the council has created a new process that that is utilizing as part of the [10:35:06 AM] utilizing as part of the consideration of something like this. However, the process is not complete. The council is still working on where it wants to get as it listens to public input. We will have a public hearing again later today and we will have additional work sessions with regard to that. But the truth is, we still need even though we're still working, we need to declare a potential a maximum tax rate. And that's what we're trying to do. And we want to avoid being in a situation where we're precluding consideration of where people might want to end up. In other words, we want to take action today that provides flexibility for us to continue to listen to the public and for us to continue to have the discussions we need to agree to. We are not necessarily going to use the rate that gets passed today. It may indeed be less. But all that being said, part of the [10:36:08 AM] being said, part of the transparency and the process that we're trying to do, without objection, members, I would I would suggest that what we do is we put, since we ask for eight alternative scenarios from the manager, we ask that we continue with that process where we have the ability to consider those eight alternative scenarios. And since we're still looking at it, we're still thinking about it. We're still listening to people. The motion that I would suggest we have is one that would allow consideration of all those levels until we get to the actual vote on the budget. And even if we don't, even if we sit here right now, we don't agree with that we would ever be in a position to vote for whatever it is that the maximum tax rate is. We would still do that so that we have the ability to have that thorough discussion. With that being said. I want to walk through the details of that. We [10:37:11 AM] through the details of that. We would take up a resolution to adopt the maximum proposed property tax rate that the council will consider during the fiscal year 2025 2026. Budget and tax rate approval meetings on August 13th, August 14th and August 15th. If. If we need three days and set the. We will also be setting a public hearing on the tax rate on August 13th, as I've indicated, but I want to say it again. For the record, under state law, a vote on the motion to adopt the maximum proposed tax rate that the council will consider requires a roll call vote. The maximum rate that the city can adopt is what you've heard. Our professional staff lay out the maximum rate that the city can adopt without exceeding the voter approval rate set by state law is 52.401 $0.07 per $100 valuation, 52.401 [10:38:12 AM] $0.07 per $100 valuation, 52.401 $0.07 per $100 valuation, which includes an increase of 3.5% for operations and maintenance of the city. If we go above that rate, we must call an election. The motion that I have suggested we have is a motion to approve the resolution setting the proposed maximum property tax rate that the council will consider for fiscal year 2025 and 2026 at 60.401 $0.07 per $100 valuation, including an increase of 23.7% for operations and maintenance for the city, and setting the public hearing for council to receive and consider public comment on the [10:39:14 AM] consider public comment on the fiscal year 2025 2026. Property tax rate at 10 A.M. On August 13th, 2025 at Austin city hall in the council chambers at 301 west second street in Austin, Texas. Again, for the record and clarity, it would be a the resolution setting the proposed maximum property tax rate that council will consider for fiscal year 2025 2026 at 60.401 $0.07 per $100 valuation, including an increase of 23.7% for operations and maintenance for the city, and setting a public hearing on the property tax rate at 10 A.M. On August 13th, 2025, at Austin city hall. City council chambers, 301 west second street, Austin, Texas. Is there a motion? Motion made by council member vela, seconded by council [10:40:17 AM] member vela, seconded by council member harper-madison. With that, we will go to discussion and that includes questions of our professional staff. Councilmember qadri followed by council member Siegel. >> Great. Thank you. Mayor. I don't have any questions for the professional staff. You guys always do such a great job. So I will save you all for many questions before I get into item two. I just want to thank everyone for coming out and speaking today. Whether it's your first time at city hall or you've been here and you're a veteran, we really do appreciate it. And hearing from constituents is the utmost priority for us. And I also want to thank just the city workers who are in this building, many of them who spoke from afscme. You know, you're a valued you are seen. And the folks on the dais, you know, see, see all your hard work. And I also go to Terry's at least once a day. It's really bad. But but it's my it's my thing. So I just want to start off by saying this decision was never going to be easy, but it's the one we have. We have to face head on the 3.5% tax cap set by the state has not fully tied our hands, and we're [10:41:19 AM] fully tied our hands, and we're seeing the fallout. Arpa funds have run dry sales tax. Tax is unpredictable, and the federal government has slashed support for public health and flood infrastructure. As we navigate these limitations. I've been working. I've been looking closely at what our community is telling us through the city's budget polling data for may. And what stood out to me loud and clear is that austinites want us to prioritize housing, homelessness, homelessness and public health. And that's going to be that's going to guide me through these tough decisions. I believe it's our moral obligation to be effective as a diocese, to do right by the most vulnerable in this community. Back in 2022, before I was on the dais and many of my colleagues, when council had to make hard arpa funding choices, they released surveys during critical outreach processes. I think we should do the same once we have an initial council proposed budget. Get another pulse check through speak up Austin. So when we're at the finish line, we're in lockstep with the community, not a step behind. So I want to thank everyone and that's my time. >> Thank you. Councilmember. Councilmember Siegel, followed by mayor pro tem and council member duchen. [10:42:20 AM] member duchen. >> Well. >> First of all, thank you, mayor, for laying this all out so clearly. I really appreciate the structure and of course I support the motion. I do really want to thank everyone who's testified today and throughout this process. It's so meaningful to hear from you about the needs of our community. You know, even just today, you know, the story about being a single father and trying to find a place to send your kids to summer camp that, you know, that really resonated with me. The need to make sure that we're teaching kids how to swim across our community, regardless of their income status, the work to do violence prevention and harm reduction, the work to, frankly, to take care of all of our civilian employees who basically guarantee the quality of life for our entire community, really heard loud and clear why a tax reduction would be really impactful on this community and how we can live up to our values as a community, even if the state government or the federal government doesn't want to support us here in Austin. With that said, I do want to kind of raise a question for staff, and I'll direct my question to the manager, and I'll just kind of maybe pull back the curtain a [10:43:21 AM] maybe pull back the curtain a little bit for the public. On how challenging this budget process is. And I'll just say it's probably harder for some of us who are first term council members, you know, learning the ropes. But this is also the first time the city has had to not just have a budget process in a deficit, which is hard enough by itself, but then to layer in the complexities of building a TRE into this conversation. And in particular, you know, we started this process, you know, council members got the draft budget July 12th. And you can see if you look at the council member budget question page, that's on the city website, we're scrambling for information throughout this process. Right. Because we get the base budget, the proposed balanced budget, and then we have to inquire into all the details of the proposed budget. And then we have the second document, which is the proposed tax rate. Election levels one penny, two penny, all the way up to eight pennies. And these are just flat line items. We don't have the details. And so it's a very challenging process for us as offices to really drill down and have the [10:44:21 AM] really drill down and have the answers that the community expects us to have. And so leading up to my question, Mr. Manager, is, you know, next week we're going to start budget amendments and we have multiple formations on council because of open meeting laws. We can't all meet in private, right? So we have to meet in sub quorums. And so some of us are building different amendments, and those amendments are going to sit in one place. And then we have these proposed TRE levels in another place. And we're not going to have all of the information. Right. And so I guess what I'm asking is once once council establishes the amendments that we would like to see in the final adopted budget is can you explain a little bit how staff is going to try to balance the proposals in the various TRE levels? Say we end up at somewhere five, six, seven pennies, you know, and then we're going to have our amendments over here that are not necessarily connected to the different line items in the TRE proposals. Can you share a little bit about the staff process to kind of incorporate [10:45:23 AM] process to kind of incorporate council's feedback about our desired amendments and still, frankly, keep the voice of the professional staff about the nitty gritty details of what we need. >> Thank you. Council member. Great question. Very complex, particularly given all the moving parts and the differences between either the recommended and balanced proposed budget. The council's typical and normal amendment process. I guess that speaks to that particular proposed budget. And then I think council's consideration, obviously, for any TRE scenarios that we've presented, which I will say right up front, those are presented as professional recommendations, understanding similar to the base budget that I proposed, that council has the freedom and the latitude to change and or adjust and move and mix anything within their, particularly programmatically, [10:46:23 AM] particularly programmatically, that they believe gets to what their residents and constituents that they are responsible and answer to that they believe is important. So as I see the process playing out, at least from my perspective, and how I think our budget staff would want to approach it, as I've said from the beginning, I believe the amendment process that needs to be done in two parts. I would argue one council should look at the original proposed budget that lives within the 3.5% revenue threshold at the highest level, and begin to understand and amend that budget based on desired service levels and or points of initiatives that you would want to have done. Should there not be a TRE just to settle on the 3.5% cap that we have lived under, at least in the recommended budget, and do [10:47:24 AM] the recommended budget, and do your normal budget amendment process to affect that budget? Secondly, and I'll defer to the mayor and the audit and finance committee and their approach to how you'll go through and navigate determining at what level of a tax rate election penny, I guess, so to speak, through the various scenarios, how you'll go about managing that process and where to start. But if I heard the mayor correct a week and a half ago, he suggested that at least on that day, we begin to decide the budget, whether or not we would use the base motion to be the budget that I recommended and build from there. And so staff one, back to the question answers and the availability of information. I know we're working hard in the q&a process to get those answers to you, hopefully in time for you to begin to make whatever amendments that you may want. I would offer our ability to find a way to provide some narrative and clarity on the scenarios and [10:48:26 AM] and clarity on the scenarios and the items within there, to kind of tease those out a little bit and at least provide some glimpse of what we're actually trying to do, and if there are any metrics associated with any of those particular items in that, in those scenarios, I think we can do a better job and try to find a way to get from our departments what we would actually be able to provide and the council and the community would receive, should you approve certain levels of tra TRE related funding in those things, so that you can begin to see that? And so we'll work very hard over the next several days to get all of those things together in preparation for that conversation. But if that's a long answer to, say, break it in parts, deal with the base budget and then begin to figure out what you would like to do over and above that. And that's where you settle in on the amounts and or the items in a TRE. >> And if I might add to that, and the mayor pro tem and I were just talking about this as well. So a couple of things. One is [10:49:27 AM] So a couple of things. One is we're so that everybody will kind of know where every what everybody's talking about in terms of amendments. We've asked that Monday by 6:00, people put out their amendments. You got to have something that you're shooting at as a target for potential amendments. For purposes of where we are right now, the proposed base budget is what we have indicated. That's what you play. You use as a target. And there's two things that pop in my head about that. And trust me, I have I've turned myself into a pretzel trying to figure out how we do this procedurally at the at the actual meeting. And I'm and I'm not sure I've got it completely figured out. So everybody feel free to think through this with me. But that gives us a target. And what that does is number one is it allows everybody to see what amendments somebody might [10:50:30 AM] what amendments somebody might offer because it shows what their priorities would be to try to even in even in a TRE. Right. Is where they might go. The second part of that, though, is it becomes clear to me that some may want to offer as a as a substitute motion, and the substitute motion would be in fact, probably one of the levels of a potential TRE. But it but as we've all discussed and was just pointed out, the levels that we were given one, two through eight, those you may want to change something within those. So if you offer, if you if you're going to offer a substitute motion, you think that that is your amendment right. Your amendment is a substitute motion. Please make it clear. Here's what you're doing even within that [10:51:31 AM] doing even within that alternative. In addition to that, on the fifth, we held that date as a potential date for a work session. But we also have we said maybe we won't do that. The mayor pro tem suggested yesterday in the special audit and finance committee that she would like for, and it's a good suggestion that the audit finance committee had no objection with and I. But we go ahead and have that work session. And what that happens at that work session is that you walk, we walk through with the professional staff walking through what's in one, what's in two, what's in three, and how do you do that? I mean, the other day I was asking Mr. Gray questions about the actualization of the homeless strategy office's plan and the and we see there's a difference in alternative three and alternative five that makes the difference in the actualization of that plan. So we would do that. That will also based upon what we have provided by 6:00 on [10:52:32 AM] what we have provided by 6:00 on Monday, give us the opportunity to ask questions about if I want to make changes to that. This is where I would make those changes. Then on the seventh, we will meet the purpose of that meeting being to discuss what we laid out on Monday by 6:00 of amendments, so that really the timing works out pretty well, because that gives us almost a week before the actual budget vote, the opportunity to discuss each one of those items and how that might play out. One of the things I hope happens, I'm not counting on it, but I'm hoping it happens, is that by the seventh, when we've done all that I've just laid out, we have a better feel for what the main motion might be, and it may not be the base motion, and that will then allow people to go [10:53:33 AM] will then allow people to go back and make potential amendments to something that's more likely the base motion. I don't want to. I pray we don't jump to that conclusion today. We follow our process and by the end of the day, on the seventh, we have a better feel. We have some sort of consensus, even if it's something people don't like on the dais. But we have a consensus of what that ought to look like. And so we get a base motion that then gets amended, as opposed to starting with the target of the base, the proposed base budget, because that's the best we got right now. Now that was again, I just I just think I one in the length of an answer. It's not a competition, but I think I won. Thank you mayor. >> Yeah I just want to provide a little more feedback, I guess, for all of my colleagues here. And I guess my concern is that if we spent a bunch of energy [10:54:35 AM] if we spent a bunch of energy amending the base budget, but we already have a majority of council that's indicated on the message board that we would like to support a TRE at least of five pennies or more that we're spinning our wheels. And so, for example, if we want to restore the housing trust fund at $8 million, we're going to have to find cuts in the base budget that we don't intend to cut, or if we want to make changes to the fire department staffing formula, or if we want to enhance park services, we're going to be trying to find savings in our budget amendments that we don't actually need to find. And so my, my, my suggestion is that maybe we start at a five penny TRE for our amendments so that when we're proposing amendments, we could say we actually don't have to find a cut. This is going to come from new revenue. >> Yeah, there's another way to do that. And that is to not require that the amendment that is offered on Monday be an actual amendment of the base budget, because I hear you and I and I agree that there's [10:55:38 AM] and I agree that there's probably it's probably just a target and that may not. And that way you don't have to ask for where the cuts are, but instead what might could happen is people state what it is that's going to be a priority of theirs, and they're going to want to find that in the TRE aspect. And then by the seventh, we ought to have a clear feel of that. Once we've gone through each step. And instead of having a true amendment be offered on Monday at six, be prepared to offer what it is you're thinking you would want to see in a budget and a TRE, and including whether you think it ought to be level five and do it that way, so that what we do is we give clarity for everybody on where everybody's at and frankly, don't have to draft amendments even to something that may not be what somebody wants to do. In [10:56:38 AM] be what somebody wants to do. In addition to that, what I've played with it in my head and this is just in my head, is the idea that we may have to allow for substitute motions in ways that are not strict parliamentary procedure. And I'm not looking at anybody in particular, but but we might have to do things and y'all allow as, as we work our way through this, the exercise of a different rules of order in order to achieve what you want to achieve. >> Thank you, mayor, and I appreciate that. And I agree with that idea because part of what I was asking the manager is, you know, we can find our desired programmatic goals through our amendment process, but maybe it's city staff that need to kind of normalize everything. >> I think that's right. So because we're coming at and I think that's entirely appropriate, what I think this discussion is entirely appropriate to, because I think we're dealing with a situation that's different than we've [10:57:39 AM] that's different than we've dealt in the past, and we ought to recognize that, and then we ought to figure out how to make it work. And it's not going to be as clean as as it has been in the past. But that's okay, because we are trying to responsibly, responsibly address these things. So here's the suggestion, and I'll play with the language of this and try to put something on the message board because I'm I'm riffing right now. But what I'll try to do is put something on the message board to describe what the amendments actually would look like. But to your point, I don't want people to have to dig if there's not, if there's going to be a substitute motion for a TRE level, you shouldn't have to say, I want X. And now I got to find where I cut in in the base budget. That's not that's just a waste of time. And it well and it doesn't mean anything. Right. So we don't want to take a meaningless act. So what we'll do is, at least for now, the way to think about this. And you all [10:58:40 AM] to think about this. And you all help me if you, if you, if you have additions or amendments to this, the amendment process that we're asking for, that we would ask for by Monday at six would be a clear statement of what it is you want to see in the budget. And if you are offering a proposed amendment, it would be a, B, C, that sort of thing. If you. I think that answers it or gets close. Yes, mayor pro tem. >> So then in that case it would be one amendment that we're offering with all of the different programs and services that we would like to see included in the TRE. Right, okay. >> And that way we will at least know where everybody is and if and let's just say you're in love with, to use your example. Five you know, you're in love with five. And I'm not saying you are, but love is in the eye of the beholder. It's but you're [10:59:41 AM] of the beholder. It's but you're in love with five. Just say I'm in love with five. But here are the 3 or 4 changes I would make to five, right? So that people see that as well. That may give us, once we walk through this process, that may give us an idea that there's a base motion in there somewhere that's different than just the base proposal. Does that make sense? Good. You got more. Okay. Go. >> So without tripping over your wonderful ability to try to figure out how we're going to get through this, I think to council member Siegel's point and yours to try to harmonize that. One of the things that might be helpful. And again, I think the only reason I stated working through and defining and [11:00:42 AM] working through and defining and determining a base budget is that should a TRE not pass, which I think y'all have heard me say before, there needs to be some realization from staff and obviously the public of what you will ultimately then have to live without based on what you did not feel was necessary as it relates to providing more resources to do all the other things over and above the state limit. And so that would be one the only challenge that I would say would come about as it relates to not settling on a 3.5% increase budget. So I'll just say that for the record, one of the things that I think, as you offer for presentation and or understanding and clarity for staff and the public around a proposed amendments that would ultimately be someone's desire to have happen in any budget that was ultimately put together. One of the things that I will offer, I don't know how the council would feel about it, is similar to last year. Should we receive all of that information, and it's [11:01:43 AM] information, and it's articulated to the public, we would go back as the team and kind of understand what those amendments would do and the amounts, and then find a way to find some harmony again between all the things that we might have heard and then come back with a revised proposed budget based on the feedback, obviously, how we ultimately end up anyway, is hearing from council and your priorities to make sure that then, at least from a professional lens, we kind of harmonize what we believe the body could support, and that ultimately might end up at some other level that comprises any one of those scenarios. And we would provide that in a settled form for at least for you to see, to say, hey, of all the things you've asked for and our ability, whether some of them change things that were originally in the proposed budget, that you came back and fixed those things through your proposals, we would come back and settle on and provide you with a revised look at it based on what we thought we heard. And then maybe you can [11:02:43 AM] we heard. And then maybe you can begin to move and do other amendments in that regard. If that's simpler. >> I, I'm not sure it's simpler, but I think it, it corresponds with at least the way I'm trying to think about this and the way I think the council is. And that is if I, if I understand what you're suggesting, is that we get we get through here's Monday, we submit here's what I think the perfect would look like for me. And if I had a chance to amend it, this is the way it would look if I had a chance for a substitute motion. This is the way it would look as a in a general sense. Tuesday we sit down with our professional staff and they walk through the different alternatives, and we then are able to hear what how ours might correspond with that and ask questions about that. Thursday. I'm right on my dates. I think somebody can make sure I'm I don't have a calendar. [11:03:43 AM] I'm I don't have a calendar. Thursday. We then come together and have that discussion that puts you in a position and your staff in a position to maybe bring us something back that looks like if there is some basis for consensus, and that could be the what then turns out to be close to a base motion. The concern I have about that, of course, is the speed with which you need that in order to be able to make amendments. Before the 13th. But I think we're saying the same thing. We and we're at least generally moving all in the same direction. Do you agree? >> Yes I. >> Do. Okay. >> Mayor, and I'll pass it back in a second. And just to address one concern by the manager, which I think is 100% fair and important, is that the manager and staff need direction from council on what to do if a TRE, god forbid, does not pass. And I would just suggest that we can do that instead of amending the [11:04:45 AM] do that instead of amending the base budget separately. By the time we adopt a budget, we could have some sort of concurrent ifc or something that gives that direction fair. >> Okay. Councilmember. Councilmember Siegel, have you finished? >> I yield thank you. >> Mayor. Okay. Councilmember duchen. Councilmember Laine. Councilmember Ellis. >> Thank you, mayor. First, like others, want to thank the folks in the budget team for their work on this. I had two questions for y'all. One is, can you help for us and others help clarify the thought process for the eight scenario that the scenarios that go from 1 to 8 that you've shared with us over the last two weeks, and as part of the motion today, and why it was not $0.05 or $0.10 or $0.25, can you help expand on that? >> I'll try, I think, when as we were having preliminary [11:05:45 AM] were having preliminary conversations, the number of sent to consider, I think the highest range that we were initially told was potentially $0.09. And then finally it was some direction to look at 1 to $0.08. And so that's how we built out the scenarios. We recognize that we can go as high as we would like, but we were trying to make sure one, we responded to the direction and address the dollars that would be available with those with those cents. >> Thank you. And by the way, that was not a request for a $0.25 scenario. The second thing is for could you clarify, could I reasonably compare the motion that we've got today before us as essentially a financial option where we have the right, but not obligation to vote on the base voter approval rate up until $0.08 or eight pennies. Beyond that. Is that a fair analogy? [11:06:48 AM] analogy? >> I think. >> So, okay. >> Thank you very much. >> Thank you. Councilmember. Councilmember. Laine. Councilmember. Ellis. Councilmember alter. >> Thank you. I also want to extend my deepest gratitude to all the speakers today and during our budget town halls. We do live in a world that makes it hard to find the time to come down here and make your voice heard, but engaging in local government, no matter how you do it or what you believe, is such an essential component of our American democracy. And I thank those of you who have made your voice heard with us, and also at other levels of government, that so significantly impact the options that are available to our city. I also want to state how hard I see our city staff working in all different areas, from resource recovery on up to the budget team in our city manager's office. Our staff performs at a high level, and so many of them struggle to afford the cost of living within Austin's boundaries, or even within a reasonable commuting distance of the city. Supporting Austin's workers begins with our [11:07:48 AM] Austin's workers begins with our city's own employees, and our cost of living. Adjustment for Austin staff simply should not be sacrificed. And with that, I'll affirm that I do believe that Austin needs a tax rate election. My staff and I have pored over the proposed budget for this year, next year, and the proposed TRE scenarios. I'm very grateful for all of this work, often late into the night and for the advocacy of our residents, and I am prepared to support a tax rate election in the five cent to seven cent range unless things change. So, as usual, I make my position known and continue to learn as we go. I do have a couple of questions. First, I know we made some changes based on the Williamson county tax data, which appeared to be significant enough to note. I'm curious, and I could take the answers now. Or I can submit as a question if it's better. What percentage of our tax revenue comes from Williamson county residents? [11:08:49 AM] Williamson county residents? >> In terms of value? It's in the 12% range, but I can get you exact numbers through a ccbc. >> That'd be great. Yes I will, I'd be interested in both property tax and sales tax if it's available, and I am likely to request seeing that over a couple of years. As I know, our Williamson county part of Austin has been a high growth area, and I also know the importance of generating new property tax revenue that isn't subject to some of the constraints, and there continue to be opportunities available in that area. So just understanding the extent of the impact we could have through those efforts, but we'll submit a cpq. Thank you. I also, I know we've lost a lot of federal grants this year in a hypothetical world where we did not add any services. Do you have a feel for what level of TRE it would take just to recover the lost funding from other levels of government? [11:09:49 AM] other levels of government? >> So I believe when we look at our federal grants and the impact public health has been, the department that's largest has had the largest impact. And most of that has been pauses and then restarts. And so right now our understanding is that we aren't sure of which which grants will not be renewed after the grant period ends. Okay. So this is where we're kind of in this, this moment. And I believe it's about I'm going to I'm not going to make up a number. I think it's about over $6 million of, of grants. But let me make sure I get that number correct and get it to you. And we'll have to look at how many cents that would be. And I know it's in part of the TRE scenarios. Looking at our core functions through public health as well as [11:10:51 AM] through public health as well as our community based grants. And so there are two different pies or two different pieces of that that I'll have to make sure I get you the exact number for. >> And I know there are also some really large, large dollars at play in transportation infrastructure grants and flooding and these sorts of areas as well. But yes, it would be helpful to have a feel for that. >> So I was just told it's 9.2 million that would be impacted. And so we'll have to get the dollar. The sentiment that goes with that okay. >> Thank you. So from what I've heard from staff about how a TRE could lead to greater investment towards homelessness, I'm wondering I don't know if he's here and available, but I'm wondering if we could be walked through, how the community would see the impact of the homeless spending, whether the dollars would go towards doing more of what we have been doing versus expanding our reach into parts of the city who maybe have had less access to being connected to these services. >> Good morning. Good morning. [11:11:53 AM] >> Good morning. Good morning. Councilmember David gray, director for Austin homeless strategies and operations. Thank you for the question. When we look at the proposal that zo submitted in response to the council resolution from January, and you look at the funding items that are laid out for the city, not the ones that we've identified for other funding partners. About a third of that would go towards sustaining current investments, things like the marshaling yard, the H street women's shelter, case management that's offered by our colleagues at the community court for people in rapid rehousing programs. The other two thirds would add new infrastructure to our homeless response system. And what that looks like specifically is 550 new shelter beds by 2029. And of that, 50 beds specifically for families, which I know is a priority for you and others on the dais, additional mental health, substance use and rapid rehousing services for 100 clients annually. The opening of 350 additional rapid rehousing [11:12:54 AM] 350 additional rapid rehousing units on top of that 100 that I just mentioned, and then also support for 133 units of permanent supportive housing that are currently being built by our colleagues in the housing department. We just need to bring some supportive service funding to those units. >> Okay. >> Thank you very much. That's really helpful. And I'll just note that as as so many have been pushed farther and farther out from the central city by the cost of living, so has a lot of our homeless population moved farther out. And so it's so important to expand that reach. And I really appreciate you being able to provide those specifics. >> Thank you. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Thank you. >> One last question. Yes. So I noticed the budget involves critical capital expenses. I'm wondering if you could comment on the risk that if we don't fund the capital investment, that deferred infrastructure maintenance costs will drive up our maintenance costs? You know, [11:13:54 AM] our maintenance costs? You know, in a way that's that's not helpful. Would you be able to comment to that? And I would be okay also with if there were, for example, an example that could illustrate it, we heard a public commenter mention long term neglect of some of our park facilities, for example. But. >> I'm sure Ed Benigno chief financial officer we don't have our department directors here today. It's a question I'd really like to get our. Facilities management director to respond to, so we can do that through a council budget question. >> That sounds great. We'll submit it. Okay. Appreciate that. >> Thank you. Councilmember. Councilmember, councilmember colter. >> Thank you. Mayor. I just wanted to flag where I was at with this conversation. I feel like there could be an opportunity for 11 different budgets that we all might, you know, decide to balance our own priorities and needs in different ways. I don't think we're going to get there, hopefully, because we've been very collaborative among this [11:14:54 AM] very collaborative among this dais. But I just wanted to flag that, you know, the comments that I hear about displacement and when family budgets are pinched to the point that they really do have an impact on, you know, someone being able to fly to meet a new family member. You know, I think about what does 421 more dollars mean for a family budget over, over the months that those will be paid. And so I want to make sure that we land on a budget, that we can be proud of all of the services that are going to be offered. Obviously, if we had unlimited dollars and resources, we would fund everything that people are asking us for. But I'm really trying to understand and narrow down. What does it mean for the folks that are on limited budgets? What are these increases mean, and how do we balance the services that might be provided back to those very same people? And so I'm trying to figure out where where the sweet spot is. I'm much more comfortable today around 4 or 5 pennies. But I really want to see where we come out as a dais and where we decide to [11:15:55 AM] and where we decide to prioritize these resources. If we're going to go above that rate. It seems like there might be some folks that are perfectly happy with five, and there might be some folks that are saying they're happy with 7 or 8 at this point. And so I just want to make sure we're appropriately providing resources for the dollars that we are charging people through their taxes. We've got to make sure that we're hitting those needs, and we've got to make sure that we are actually delivering those services instead of saying that things are coming. And then we hit a snag down the road where costs escalate and we're not able to deliver those services. So that's what I'll be looking for. And the conversations that I really want to have with my constituents over, over the next few days, over the next week or two. >> Thank you. Councilmember. Councilmember alter. >> Thank you very much. I have just two questions. I was wondering, Carrie or Eric, could you send us updated numbers on what the general fund revenues would be for each penny scenario? Because we have it without these updated roll. [11:16:55 AM] without these updated roll. >> We're working on updating the scenarios and we'll get those out. >> Great. Thank you so much. The other question I wanted to ask is around the impact for individuals who are 65 or older or disabled who take that exemption. I know we heard from a couple individuals. I see Susan and Barbara who testified, and I don't think they're 65 or older, but for any of their friends, that might be. They there's a different impact, right? Because they're not going to see because of that homestead exemption increase that we had, they won't see that full increase year to year that we see on that third column of this chart that has the total typical tax bill increase, right. They would have a lesser increase since we increase the homestead [11:17:56 AM] since we increase the homestead exemption. >> That's correct. And I'll preface this by saying we'll get you a full breakdown. I think that would be the cleanest and most accurate way. But in terms of what I can reference right now, right now, with the updated numbers, we'd be projecting at the base budget, at the voter approval rate, that seniors would be saving $88.38. 88 yes, $88.38 year over year. So as you start to stack the pennies, it would take a off the top of my head two and a half or so before they were actually experiencing an increase. Now their median value is a little bit higher. So it's going to be a little bit more per penny, but still in the same ballpark as the typical homeowner. But we can run a new table for the seniors and get you all that. >> That'd be very helpful. >> Thank you. Thank. >> Thank you. Councilmember. All right, members, the motion's been made and seconded to approve a resolution adopting a maximum property tax rate of 60.401 $0.07 per $100 valuation [11:18:56 AM] 60.401 $0.07 per $100 valuation for council to consider for fiscal year 2025 2026, and setting a public hearing for the property tax rate for the fiscal year 2025 2026 at 10:00 am on August 13th, 2024, in the city council chambers at Austin city hall, 301 west second street in Austin, Texas. Will the city clerk please call the roll as required by state law so that each council members vote is recorded? >> Mayor Watson. >> Yes. >> Mayor pro tem Fuentes. >> Yes. >> Council member harper-madison off the dais. Council member. Velasquez. >> Yes. >> Council member vela. >> Yes. >> Council member. Alter. >> Yes. >> Council member. Laine. >> Yes. >> Council member. Siegel. >> Yes. >> Council member. Ellis. >> Yes. >> Council member. Qadri. >> Yes. >> And council member. Duchen. [11:19:57 AM] >> And council member. Duchen. >> Yes. >> Members. The motion was to approve the resolution adopting a maximum property tax rate of 60.401 $0.07 per $100 valuation for council to consider for fiscal year 2025 2026, and setting a public hearing for the property tax rate for the fiscal year 2025 2026 at 10:00 am on August. Are you prepared to vote? >> I am. >> How are you voting? Would you please call council member harper-madison name again? >> Councilmember harper-madison. >> Yes. >> Thank you. Councilmember. The motion to approve the resolution adopting a maximum property tax rate of 60.401 $0.07 per $100 valuation for council to consider for fiscal year 2025 2026, and setting a public hearing for the property tax rate for the fiscal year 2025 2026 at 10:00 am on August 13th, 2024, in the city council [11:20:58 AM] 2024, in the city council chambers at Austin city hall, 301 west second street and Austin, Texas, passes on a vote of 11 to 0 members. If there is no objection, we will now recess the meeting of the Austin city council until 3:00 pm. For our time. Certain public hearing. Without objection, we are in recess until 3:00 pm for our public hearing. It is 11:21 A.M. At 3:00. Before we do that. [3:00:35 PM] At 3:00. Before we do that. However, the reason I indicated 2025 is because the motion that was made to set the maximum tax rate was appropriately and properly called out where I said the date 2025 when. So the motion and the second was accurate. We voted on that motion. And second, but before when I said to the clerk to call the roll, ask the clerk to call the roll, apparently I said 2024. And then when I called the result of the vote as the 11 zero vote, I'm told I said 2024. And the truth is, I did because I wanted to see if you all would catch it. And I just want to point out that everybody in the room screwed up because nobody caught. >> It correct in front of everybody. >> Yeah, I appreciate you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness. The truth of the matter is, I [3:01:36 PM] The truth of the matter is, I must be dreaming of those years when there was money and. And it was not as difficult to budget. The bottom line to it is that I said 2024. Now, nobody. Nobody. I can't imagine anybody that would think we had actually set a public hearing for August 13th, 2024. But just in case there is somebody. Let me be very clear. The motion that was made set a public hearing on the property tax rate for the fiscal year 2025, 2026 at 10 A.M. On August 13th, 2025, at Austin city hall. And that passed on a vote of 11 to 0. August 13th, 2025. And I just want to point out that I I'm going to point it out. I got to point it out. I just looked down at my notes and [3:02:38 PM] just looked down at my notes and my notes that were provided to me say August 13th, 2024. So if we want to get to the bottom of how I screwed up or y'all screwed up, that's that's the way it was. Alright, bottom line is the motion was properly made. It was seconded, the vote was complete. And. And I'm looking at the, at the language of the motion I read and it does say 2025. So I just want to make sure everybody understands. August 13th, 2025 at 10 A.M. Is what the when the hearing will be. That was longer than I intended, but I just make so few mistakes. It's important to point it out. All right, with that being said. And see, that got no objection either. Right. So we can go along with that. We are here for a public hearing. Members. Without objection, we will open the public hearing. The public hearing is now open. And. I will turn to the city [3:03:38 PM] And. I will turn to the city clerk to start the process. And thanks, everybody for being here. >> Thank you. Mayor. We're going to start with remote speakers. And those that are have requested Spanish interpretation services. Sue learn Garcia. >> Sue Ellen, buenas tardes. Yo soy interpret. Escucha. Okay. Recuerdo oraciones. Por favor. Para. Interpretar correcto. >> Okay. >> Cuando usted Esta? >> Muchas gracias. Muchas gracias por la invitacion a Yo. Experiencia sobre cuando Yo. Ayuda. >> I have a very hard time understanding where she's. Her voice is distorted. Interpreters can't really. [3:04:41 PM] can't really. >> No microphone. >> Okay. Ay, Yo. Kahn together. Okay. Lo mas dificil de cuando Yo diseno. Ellos con ayuda psicologica Y también con con ayuda efectivo. >> Yo puedo interpretar, por favor. No tengo tiempo. Interpreter. I am very grateful to be here, and I'm very grateful for those that have helped me. I was diagnosed at some point with cancer and I have been supported psychologically and financially, continuing. >> To. Work. Economicamente muchas personas también lo [3:05:44 PM] muchas personas también lo necesitan. >> Okay. And I would really like for that aid or that support to not end because just the way I was supported, there are many other people that still need that kind of support. >> Continue to see. A de alguna Manera seria como para pudieran algun tipo de personas. Obviamente habla espanol para entender de mejor Manera, pues con interprete es, Pero es mucho mejor obviamente alguien se directamente en espanol. >> And I would like for you all to help us even more. Ideally, having people that speak Spanish is it is okay. It is good to have an interpreter, but it would be even more helpful to have actual staff that speak Spanish. Continue. >> Me siento muy agradecida porque ellos también Esta muy [3:06:47 PM] porque ellos también Esta muy pendiente de me de mis hijos también también a la verdad Y también cuando Yo la decia necesito ayuda para pagar ciertas cosas ellos. Obviamente con la verdad no podia trabajar. Todo el dinero. Pero si por lo menos me ayudaron mucho en ese proceso de los del cancer okay. >> And I'm so very grateful as well of all the support, the financial support that, that you, that that was given to me sometimes with my kids as well, sometimes there were bills that I couldn't pay fully and the financial aid came. Of course, they didn't pay all of it, but with the given proof that I was not able to pay, I was awarded the enough enough amount, enough amount of money to be able to pay for it. And they were able to help me. Algo mas. No solamente muchisimas. Gracias. >> No. That's all. Thank you [3:07:49 PM] >> No. That's all. Thank you very much. Do I need to wait here online? No. Muchas gracias. Stostad. Terminado. Senora. >> Okay. Muchas gracias. Interpreter by. >> Gracias. >> Maria de Los Angeles. >> Maria de Los Angeles. Escucha. Hola. Maria de los Angeles. Escucha. >> Mayor. I'm going to switch to in-person speakers who requested Spanish interpretation. Angelica sole and Luz Tapia. Angelica sole Luz Tapia. Okay, I'll continue with the rest of the. Speakers. Back to remote for item three. Kanika Moore. >> Hello? Can you hear me? [3:08:59 PM] >> Hello? Can you hear me? >> Yes. >> Hi. Hello. City council and mayor. My name is kanika Moore. I am a previous recipient of the family stabilization grant, and I just wanted to speak on what a difference this grant has made to me the past year. I am currently employed with a nonprofit organization that most people probably know of. Meals on wheels, central Texas, and we all know that working for nonprofit organizations, you're not working for the money. You're working for the mission and for the cause. So I also own my own small business. And with this grant, the money just tremendously helped me to make me make the ends meet. Is has been a struggle for a lot of us during these times. And for people who actually do have [3:10:00 PM] people who actually do have income coming in, it's hard to receive any type of assistance, even though you're working and you do have income. This program, this grant has tremendously helped me and helped others, and I would hope for it to be a longer program where we can be there for 3 to 5 years to get, you know, more assistance. But for just the one year, I'm so grateful and I will be even more grateful if we can keep this around for other people, just like myself. Who needs this? And yes, that's all I have. >> Brittany Watson. >> Yes, ma'am. I'm thankful for the funding because it allowed me to be ahead in my bills. It also was able to help me in my [3:11:01 PM] also was able to help me in my transition from living in another city to moving here in the Austin area. It was able to allow me to just to have a little bit more leverage with bills. When my hours were cut short. So I'm very thankful for the funding. I hope the funding can help many other people. >> That's life. >> Is that all, Brittany? >> Yes, ma'am. >> Thank you, thank you. >> Taniqua Brewster. >> Good afternoon, city council and mayor miss taniqua Brewster again. And just like the ladies before me, I just want to speak on behalf of the being a recipient of the family stabilization grant. It made a positive impact in my life. I spoke on it so many times and continue to speak on it. I [3:12:02 PM] spoke on it so many times and continue to speak on it. I it was an investment into me and my family, and it did so much for me. I'm now working full time. I was underemployed, I needed to go back to school. I did not have time to go back to school. I was dealing with far enough. I was facing eviction and today I'm full time employed. I have three certifications that are helping me in my employment. I have full coverage insurance benefits. I have my own transportation now and so that that money helped me and I'm sure that it can help other families. As miss Tamika said earlier, if we if it lasted a little longer, it could help more. But just that year, that time, it made a big difference in my life. And I'm sure there's more families that could use that. And I just want to make sure that it's staying as a part of our budget. And city of Austin continues to invest in [3:13:02 PM] Austin continues to invest in people and in families. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Tonya Vasquez. >> Before you start my time, there's a picture to pull up. Okay. I'm Tonya Vasquez of climate navigator and Garza leader. I live east of onion creek metropolitan park, where there are limited or no emergency resources. The next time there's a climate stressor event, neighbors will be relying on and supporting each other. I'm one of 22 climate navigators trained for disaster preparedness with community members. This work ensures rapid mobilization to high need areas and strengthens our networks by linking affected residents with city and community resources. Austin public health. Acf has an as needed community health [3:14:05 PM] as needed community health workers strike team who, when needed in an emergency response, are activated due to federal funding cuts. Acf has lost about 95 positions. Since there is a risk of losing the. There's a need for a dedicated strike team. A dedicated strike team plays an important role in climate resilience and disaster preparedness. During good weather, they would conduct community outreach, share disaster preparedness information, conduct disaster preparedness training and during climate stressor or disaster events would be activated to assist and in an emergency response. Investment is critical to fulfill the city's commitments to better prepare for disasters, enhance equitable emergency response, and leverage trusted relationships between us and communities to ensure public [3:15:06 PM] and communities to ensure public health interventions are accessible and effective in reducing harm and saving lives. This speaks to the critical need for a dedicated C.H.W strike team. Thank you. >> Eboni Mayes. >> Hello. Can you hear me? >> Yes. >> Okay. Hello, my name is Ebony. I just want to start off by saying I'm. I'm glad I was picked for this program because I did. It did help me out a lot. Just being from Austin my whole life, I'm an austinite. I definitely see the change in the economy that, well, the drastic change that happened. So where people are not able to afford rent, you know, not not the, you know, along with the other debt people might have like credit cards or student loans, you know, or just having to take out personal loans just to make ends [3:16:06 PM] personal loans just to make ends meet. But that's kind of still putting yourself back in bed. So just like being, like I said, being from here, everything has gone up. But what hasn't gone up is our wages. It mathematically doesn't make sense to have everything. Rent 1200. Food is at the price that it is, and then you can't get medicaid or food stamps because you're working and they take those benefits, those benefits from you, because you might be making just $20 an hour and that's too much for them. So this program is in place for basically it's a guaranteed income, like like it says. So people are having to meet those ends. So I was able to buy groceries because they take they took my food sandwiches because I had got a dollar raised. I had to go to medical. My kids went from medicaid to chip. So that automatically made me have to start paying for doctor visits. So me getting a raise kind of put me at like, should I? Should [3:17:07 PM] put me at like, should I? Should I get a raise or should I just stay at the minimum, which everybody knows we can't, you can't. Everybody is trying to make some money in any way they can. People are having two jobs. People are doing Uber eats all that. You know, it's it doesn't add up mathematically for everything to be so high. And then our wages is still not up. Like the city of Austin had already promised us that they were going to wait. The minimum wage should have been $20. And people. >> Thank you. >> I'm going to try our Spanish speaker one more time. Maria de Los Angeles, Castillo to Maria. >> Escucha buenas tardes. Maria. Maria. Interpret them. Escucha. >> And also I believe we have Luz. Tapia is here now. >> And I guess stostad. [3:18:17 PM] >> And I guess stostad. >> Was the last time you. >> Buenas tardes. MI nombre es Luz Maria Tapia. Soy. Beneficiary de pilot of the stabilization. Familia ingreso garantizar Esta Vicki de la ciudad de Austin. Esta marcando Una gran diferencia de seguir siendo financiera in el presupuesto del proximo Ano para otras personas con necesidad pueden recibir este beneficio. >> Good afternoon. My name is Luz Maria Tapia, and I'm a beneficiary of a pilot scholarship or grant that stabilizes families with a [3:19:20 PM] stabilizes families with a guaranteed income. This grant or scholarship by the city of Austin is marking a great difference, and it should continue being financed and within the budget for the next year so that other people with need may still receive this benefit. >> Limpieza de Casas para muchos families también en algunas. Ocasiones a cuidado de sus Ninos Y sus mascotas este Ano, MI capacidad de trabajo se reducido contando de muchos Anos fallecio separacion MI trabajo disminuido. >> I have worked for more than 25 years cleaning houses for many families. I also do some some jobs with a care of [3:20:20 PM] some jobs with a care of children or their pets. This year I am turning 60 years old and so my ability to work has been reduced. And taking into consideration also that a client of many years has passed and another one had a separation. Therefore my work has diminished. >> Los seis meses Ella Diez Anos acaba de grauzer Elvira. Para sus objetivos por eso Esta vez en este es Una gran bendicion ayuda en la economia de MI hogar. Muchas gracias por Su atencion. >> I also have a grandson who I have raised since he was six months old. He just turned 18 and he just graduated and he's going to go attend a. And I wish [3:21:20 PM] going to go attend a. And I wish to support him so that he can meet his goals, accomplish his objectives. For this reason, this scholarship at this time is a great blessing that would help in the economy of my home. Thank you very much for your attention. >> Thank you. Gracias. >> I'm going to return to remote speakers Sarah Reyes. Sarah, are you online? Caleb white. >> Hello, my name is kaiba white. I'm speaking on behalf of public citizens Texas office. Thank you for the opportunity. I spoke earlier on the tax rate election issue and mentioned that there is a lack of funding in the budget for climate issues, and I do want to thank [3:22:22 PM] issues, and I do want to thank council member Siegel and his staff for working to get some of that corrected in the TRE scenarios. But one thing that I did notice is that most of the climate funding, for example, for the revolving fund, isn't being isn't showing up on that list until you get to the eight cent increase range. So I wanted to encourage all of you all to support that at whatever level is decided on the TRE and to also support a proposal that I think will be coming to have a staff person and energy manager to actually manage those funds. That is essential for upgrading city buildings and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And I just want to point out that this is a really critical time for investment at the local level. The federal government has entirely turned its back on the whole idea of climate change, let alone climate action. And yet the problem is persisting [3:23:23 PM] yet the problem is persisting and Texans and austinites are suffering. So we have to up our game. We cannot continue with the status quo. It is my understanding that the office of climate action and resilience requested nine new positions and has received zero of those positions in the base budget, and I call upon all of you to rectify that in the budget that you do pass, and to make sure that that funding is put in in a sustainable way, not just in a one time, that is an ongoing need to actually meet the goals of the Austin climate equity plan. And I just, you know, wanted to. >> Thank you. >> Particularly point out that I found it. Okay. >> Thank you. >> Jordan Middlebrooks. >> Hello, Austin city council, my name is Jordan Middlebrooks. I live in the district four area, and I'm a member of dsa as well as never again action. And [3:24:25 PM] well as never again action. And I'm calling on council to make no increases to the police budget. So to revoke the proposed increases for this year, as we're already anticipating a deficit and we cannot reduce our police budget in later years. And I'm also calling on you, council, to adopt the community investment budget demands and invest in the specific demands that are already outlined in the community investment budget, which include investments made in jobs and housing for folks who have been previously incarcerated, immigration, legal services, ems, mental health response teams and public health services, family stabilization grants, climate resiliency and more. As kiba was just mentioning, the federal government and our state are expanding climate denial, xenophobic, racist and unjust policing, jails and militarism across our city with our tax dollars. And I will not stand for my local tax dollars to be used in the same way. So I'm [3:25:26 PM] used in the same way. So I'm calling on you, council, to allocate our budget to meet austinites fundamental needs of housing, of health care, education, workforce programs and income support. These are what actual public safety investments look like, not the police. And they help us stay cared for in the long haul. Empirical studies have shown that state level spending on social services that include health care, housing, education and income support are linked to lower homicide rates, especially in low income areas. These investments strengthen neighborhood stability and reduce violence by addressing root causes and symptoms. When we talk about permanent supportive housing, deeply affordable homes with services that dramatically improves health outcomes while cutting hospital, emergency jail and shelter costs. One program such as. >> Time has expired Bridget Tobin. >> Hello, my name is Bridget [3:26:28 PM] >> Hello, my name is Bridget Tobin. I'm an Austin native and a longtime student worker and resident. I'm an alumni from UT social work administration and policy program. I'd like to recommend a few things about funding effective social programs. Cost effective as usual, our community community resource organizations are pitted against each other in this budget. The cost of living is high, and as the mayor rightfully acknowledged, people are moving out of Austin. It's not just emergency service and city workers who will need raises that align with cost of living. I don't think we can have a productive conversation about expenditures continuing to increase without really grappling with how to take care of our community and truly solve costly social problems in the long term. Clearly, short term band-aid solutions nationwide have widened income inequality. It's not a moral position, it's economic. The best way to prevent growing deficits. The best way to plan for the future is to demand preventative programs that give a high return of investment for our city. Long term workplace navigators can [3:27:28 PM] term workplace navigators can connect people to jobs and housing, allowing them to participate meaningfully in the local economy much sooner and avoid costly recidivism. Programs like those in the office of violence prevention have already helped us lower violent crime and homicides. These are the same types of programs that will make our community safer, through the same types of programs that will get people to spend more time shopping in Austin. I understand the value of finding a solution by increasing our property tax revenue, but we also need to be looking at how to increase our sales tax revenue. Many of the lowest paid and middle class workers have moved out of Austin, but in terms of revenue, they still have a role to play. It said. It has been flat since 2020. People don't want to spend on food, drinks and retail. People don't want to eat, drink and have fun. In Austin, Texas, that's not business as usual. Anyone expecting growth in sales tax revenue to come only from tourists is missing the value of our locals and their potential spending power. The flat revenue may seem normal because of inflation being high. Yes, and people's disposable income is at an all time low. My Austin was a [3:28:28 PM] an all time low. My Austin was a place the working class went out to eat even after a long day. We thank. >> Cole weaver. >> Hi, I already spoke earlier. I don't have anything else to add. Is it possible I could donate my time? >> No. I'm sorry you're not able to do that remotely. >> Okay, well, thank you. >> Thank you. >> Julia. Vaughn. Alexander. >> Hi. My name is Julia Von Alexander, and I'm a resident of district nine. And as many have said, we need a budget that invests in communities and our future. Unfortunately, the budget as proposed isn't really doing that. But there is a solution. The community investment budget has a lot of great ideas in terms of how we could do that. It's been a really hard time as the federal and state government are attacking our values, and we [3:29:30 PM] attacking our values, and we need our city to push back. I worked in public health and have seen devastating impacts of the federal funding cuts, and that's directly impacting services to communities in Austin. Austin should provide funding to ensure every Austin child has access to vaccinations. Even without the federal funding that was used for the mobile vaccine clinic staff. We also need to fully fund Austin public health programs for STD prevention, HIV clinics, disease surveillance and refugee health programs. Finally, funding the health equity division and including undoing racism training are essential pieces for our Austin and our community. They make our community healthier, safer, and support our future. So please invest in the community investment budget and not in the police budget. Thank you. >> I believe that we have Maria [3:30:33 PM] >> I believe that we have Maria on the line, so I'm going to try one more time. Maria de los Angeles Castillo torres. >> Maria. Escucha. Okay. Maria como. Para. Interpreter. Interpreter. Continue. >> Buenas tardes. Maria de los Angeles. Gasca. Torres E pues Yo también me gustaria. A este programa de together porque en realidad a family. Para nosotros. >> Okay. Good afternoon. My name is Maria de Los Angeles torres. And I would really like to tell you to for this program to together program to not end because in truth it was very productive for us continue. >> And. In the, you know, in [3:31:37 PM] >> And. In the, you know, in the. >> He in 2019 one of my. >> Legs. >> And in 2019 one of my legs was amputated. And then in 2021 the other leg was amputated. Continuing. >> A. Para not. La ayuda Pareja in el veintitrés, la selling cajon un Una in Su. >> Okay. We were given support from years 22 to 23, and then in 23, my partner had a staple get on, get on his foot and he also [3:32:39 PM] on, get on his foot and he also had to have his foot amputated. Continue. >> Is the. Viviendo nosotros tenemos aqui. Nosotros dos gracias. Programa estuvimos. Sobre la comida. >> And thanks to that program, we were able to survive. We don't have any family here and thanks to the program, we were able to survive. We were able to pay the rent. We were able to pay for food. Continue. >> Gracias. I Marc ayuda a las personas. >> And so I give thanks to that program that helps the people, the families that are in need, continue. >> Ahorita tenemos la misma de [3:33:41 PM] >> Ahorita tenemos la misma de ingresos Ya no trabajo esposo pues no tiene tampoco trabajo porque no tiene suficiente balance con Su. >> And so currently we don't have the same source of income. I don't work anymore. And my husband doesn't have enough work either because he doesn't have enough or an adequate balance because of his foot. Continue. >> Programa para para la Familia necessities. Pues muchas gracias. >> And so I'm very grateful for that program that you have for all the families in need. Thank you very much. >> Gracias. >> Andrea black. [3:34:42 PM] >> Andrea black. >> Afternoon. I'm Andrea black. I live in district one. I urge you to support the transformative work of Austin's equity office, which is now the equity division in the office of equity inclusion, including restoring the cuts and fully funding the undoing racism trainings by the people's institute for survival and beyond. These trainings have made a significant impact with both city staff and community members, and have helped build relationships of trust for the hard work that we all have ahead of us. I also urge you to fund Austin's family stabilization program and its current budget. As you've heard so movingly from many speakers, this program provides crucial support for community members at moments of great vulnerability. Overall, I have to say I'm very disappointed about the proposed budget. It does not reflect what Austin voters have said is important, and it doesn't reflect the values of the community investment budget, which was drafted together by 32 community based organizations around the city in close consultation with community [3:35:44 PM] consultation with community members across the city. I urge you to support their budget recommendations, including the two that I just mentioned, as well as Austin public health programs, trauma recovery and 24 over seven mental health services and other key requests. Additionally, since by state law the police budget can't be reduced, it's vital not to add any additional funds to the police budget, including the municipal court program. Our community values are being attacked at the federal and state levels, and it's up to us to resist these assaults and defend the advances we've made by funding efforts that bring us real solutions for public safety and community care. I hope you'll take this into consideration. Thank you. >> Pat. Australia's. >> Thank you. Mayor and mayor pro tem and council members for another opportunity to speak. My name is pat and I live in district three. I am requesting [3:36:44 PM] district three. I am requesting that you oppose the reductions in funding for the animal specialty surgeries and for emergency vet services for lost and injured animals. In justifying these cuts, animal services wrote that they reviewed the budget request or the budget, and they cut out the programs that were furthest away from their core missions. I do not think that providing animals veterinary care and providing for lost and injured animals is far away from its core mission. It is indeed what we should be doing and what the strategic planning working group talked about was veterinary services. They also said that they identified that it was beyond the level of care required under state law. State law is very minimal, and just about everything that we do in animal services and just about everything you fund in animal services goes above and beyond [3:37:44 PM] services goes above and beyond the minimal requirements of state law. So I do not believe those are good justifications. The worst thing there is saying that people find a lost and injured animal should assume responsibilities for animal care and their associated costs. That is not right and that is not what Austin does. Whether it's true that most cities require finders to find a lost or injured animal, to assume responsibility for animal care and associated costs, I don't think that's true. But even if it is, I do not think our standard should be to do what other cities do. We are an animal friendly city. We love our animals. We take pride in our leadership on animal care, and we should not lower our standards. And please. >> Thank. >> You for the funding. >> Thank you, Hans maverick. >> Hello, my name is Hans [3:38:47 PM] >> Hello, my name is Hans maverick. I'm with a grassroots leadership and I'm a resident of a city council. District ten. Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you, Mr. Mayor and council members. Grassroots leadership organizes and advocates on behalf of people like me who have either criminal legal system involvement, immigration system involvement, or both. As an organization, we care about durable solutions for the people and for the families of the people who are at risk of incarceration, detention, or deportation. We are aware of the budget challenges the city is facing. Many of those challenges are due to actions that the state and federal level. However, we assert that how a community like Austin treats its least advantaged residents is a reflection of the city's values as a whole. To yield to the state and federal government's extreme, racist, anti-immigrant, anti-poor people and anti lgbtq agenda sends exactly the wrong message. In these difficult times, we are particularly [3:39:48 PM] times, we are particularly concerned about the proposed $6 million increase in the budget for the Austin police department for magistration and council at first appearance services. Because of hb 1900, the so- called back the blue bill from 2021, it is very difficult to remove money from the police budget once it has been added. Therefore, instead, we would ask to see that that money be redirected to the municipal courts for wraparound services that address concerns like homelessness, work readiness and mental health treatment. Thank you. That's all I have. >> Nisha. Abram. >> Hello. My name is Nisha Abraham. Good afternoon, mayor and council members. I've called Austin home for over 20 years and I am a homeowner. I'm here in support of an increase of a 7 to 8 cent tax rate election to make up for the budget fall to protect critical services that our community depends on. Austinites are looking to you, [3:40:49 PM] Austinites are looking to you, mayor and council members, to keep your constituents safe for the duration of the trump administration in Washington and the Texas state legislature, and the politicians who wish to eradicate our community and their needs. City council members have already noted that core services are threatened, including cuts to neighborhood partnering programs, housing trust fund and other vital community initiatives. Unless additional funding is allocated. Austin public health, for example, lost 43% of its federal grant funding this year, eliminating 95 positions and crippling programs like mobile vaccination clinics and disease surveillance. On the other hand, the budget is allocating increases to the police budget, which I urge you all to oppose. I've lived in Austin for over 20 years, and I've seen our city transform while I came here for college. The Austin culture of kindness, acceptance, and caring for each other was a huge reason I stayed. The evidence for this culture could be seen practically in the essential municipal and city services I've used every day of my 20 years here. The increase is needed to safeguard and bolster us from external pressures from state [3:41:50 PM] external pressures from state and federal austerity measures that are only meant to hurt us. I really urge you to support an eight cent property tax increase, ensuring equity, reliability and resilience in city services for all longtime and new residents alike. I thank you for your time. >> Donna Hoffman. >> Hi, this is Donna Hoffman. I live in district two, city of Austin, and I want to thank the folks who've shown up today with a lot of facts and details, the data to speak to, the reason to support the community investment budget. I urge you, council, to pass and allocate budgeting funds for all of the items on the community investment budget. We're talking about three values today that are core to maintaining Austin as a wonderful city that it is to live in. The one first value is making sure that we live in a civil state and not a police state. We don't need more police and state troopers and law [3:42:52 PM] and state troopers and law enforcement in Austin. We already have so much. It's been increased so much. We really don't need that. And a lot of times what's happening is that people are hurt and injured and treated unfairly. And we're talking about the people who do the hardest job the construction work, cleaning the houses, washing the dishes in the hotels. So we don't need to allocate more funds to the police. The other value is democratic or caring for each other, and that's part of the community investment budget. And then the other thing is democratic participation in our city government, so that people are engaged in making the healthy city that it is, that it can remain if we fund these programs. One of the programs that sets for being cut is the neighborhood partnering program. I worked with my neighbors and people at the schools and other institutions in Blackshear, prospect hill in the neighborhood partnering program. [3:43:54 PM] neighborhood partnering program. We created vital natural conservation infrastructure. And then from that sense of engagement, we were able to see when there was a dangerous situation with the natural gas release valves above the ground, and we were able to create a call, an urgent call. >> Thank you. Your time has expired, Sarah Reyes. Sarah, are you there? Okay, that's all the speakers I have in the remote queue right now. So I'm going to start with in-person speakers. I'm going to call several names at once. When you hear your name, please come down and sit at the podium. Just remember to state your name into the microphone before you begin speaking. Regina cyphers, Susan Spataro, and Susan, are you here? You have time donated by John Villarreal. Are you here? And Al mays okay. Thank you [3:44:56 PM] And Al mays okay. Thank you Susan, we'll have six minutes. Juror Gerald or Harold Plunkett. Raymond Montes. Raymond, are you here? You also have time donated by John Trahan. Are you here? John? Okay. Four minutes. >> Where's Mr. Montes? Would you please come forward? If your name is called, please come forward so we know you're here and you'll be ready to give your testimony.- >> Miss, please go ahead. >> Thank you. Susan Spataro, district eight. Today I want to talk primarily. >> Spataro, I hate to interrupt you, but would you put that microphone closer to your mouth? >> Yeah, I want to speak on the police budget, primarily. When you look into the budget and you look at the police budget, the role of the police, it says the Austin police department serves the community through neighborhood based patrols, criminal investigations, traffic enforcement, and response to [3:45:58 PM] enforcement, and response to both emergency and non-emergency calls committed to best practices. Ap focuses on reducing crime and enhancing public safety, managing traffic, and maintaining a highly trained professional workforce. And I absolutely agree with that. It's the most important function that municipal government has. Then we drop down to the key performance indicator. Community engagement time allows patrol officers to practice proactive policing and build stronger relationships with the community they serve. In fy 24, available community engagement time decreased to 10%, primarily due to significant sworn staffing vacancies. So this I think is a very serious problem. The most important function is not being handled very well because of a lack of staffing. If you look at the chart here and I know you all probably have your own budget, it shows that in fy 21, the community engagement time [3:46:59 PM] the community engagement time was 31%. It's dropped down to 10% in 24, 10% in 25. And there isn't an encouragement that it would be more than that in 26. So I think that's an extremely important piece of data to look at in terms of looking at the specific budget. Last year, a collective bargaining contract was signed between Apa and the city. Those that value public safety, as I certainly do, were exceptionally pleased. New contract, new chief, new assistant manager over public safety. I was so hopeful that this would allow APD to undo some of the terrible damage inflicted on this community in the five year experiment of reimagining public safety, lives were lost and the safety that Austin once had disappeared in a year after the extensive work on the police contract, there is no excuse for not fully funding the city's commitment to public safety. I hope that we could [3:48:00 PM] safety. I hope that we could encourage our officers to stay and recruit additional cadets to fill the 349 vacant positions. Since that time, officers have seen council taking away critical tools like license plate readers and the people who really would just as soon abolish police, continue to try to undermine our police and our safety. This budget continues in that vein. Sadly, a couple of specific items, 18.3% of the police budget is in the category of transfers out, debt service and other requirements. This is a pass through category. It's not managed by the chief. This category increased and I'm just round off here from $90 million in 24 to $99 million in the 26 budget. If you compare that back to years ago, it increased $16 million. There needs to be a [3:49:00 PM] million. There needs to be a detailed analysis of what these transfers are and if they belong in the police budget. And in addition, if the methodology of budgeting regarding transfers out is consistent with the method applied to other departments. Two years ago it wasn't. And I think it's fair to have budget. Look at that again and make sure the same standards apply to police in terms of transfers, $9 million is being cut from overtime and overtime hour at a time and a half. Recognizes that there are not enough officers to perform duties, and someone has to work more than 40 hours to get the work done. It seems like the shift from special units to patrol helps mitigate the patrol shortage, but obviously takes officers away from the special units. It also appears to me to be in conflict with the police contract. This $9 million needs to be restored to the budget in my opinion. Although community engagement was listed as the key performance indicator in the neighborhood policing budget, it [3:50:01 PM] neighborhood policing budget, it is strange because the personnel in that division is reduced by $4.2 million, and that seems odd. If we want more community engagement and this has been mentioned by others, and I agree, the $6 million Ila with the county for council at first appearance does not belong in the police budget. This is a very expensive program that the county adopted to provide indigent, immediate legal representation. Upon arrest. 24 over seven really belongs in the municipal court, not in not in the police budget. The crime has increased and we can't ignore it. Murders from the year 2011 averaged at 32 a year. Since reimagining public safety, we have had murders driven up to. Let me see where I've got my number here. Okay, I'm going to get back to that. It it it [3:51:08 PM] get back to that. It it it increased. Oh it's to 70 a year I'm sorry. So from 32 a year to an average of 70 years that's serious. That's a 218% increase in murders. People are dead because of the lack of policing. Fatalities on traffic are the same thing in 2019, before we defunded police, there were 88 traffic fatalities in the average. Now is 106. >> Thank you, Mr. Da. Appreciate you being here. >> Thank you very much. >> Yes, sir. >> Hello. My name is Raymond. Members of the council and mayor. How are y'all? >> I'm sorry. You need to state your full name. >> I'm sorry. My name is Raymond Montez. Thank you. Mayor and members of the council. Today, I would like to thank you for the time to speak today. I was the recipient of the up together family financial stabilization program, also known as the Austin family stabilization, and lasted one year and was a major help to my family. My daughter, who is five now, was two years [3:52:09 PM] who is five now, was two years old at the time. I was able to get all the necessities needed for her every single month. Rent was paid for, food was on the table, diapers and formula were aplenty. Her birthday was epic and Christmas was amazing. Mind you, I did have a job at this time. The amazing part about this program is that families are able to stabilize their finances and focus on raising a family, with financial burdens somewhat taken care of. It's easier. It's easier to focus on the family and not possessions. When I was a part of the afs program, up together was a key part the entire time. Every three months there during the program, up together would send an with a survey to check up on you. They would incentivize you for your time the third, the sixth, the ninth and the 12th months. They sent a survey to check on you six months after they sent the survey to see how you were doing. After the program, for example, I did not have to worry about rent being paid every month, especially with my job. If there were things that needed to be filled, that extra money helped. And with that, even after the program, it kept me in [3:53:10 PM] after the program, it kept me in good standing with paying the rent, gas and electric. The bills that I had trouble paying before the program became less of an issue because budgeting comes into mind and it does not leave. Lastly, I believe that this program is a success and other families would benefit from this program. This should not be a thought in the mind. The city of Austin wants to curb the poverty problem. Then this is day one. The city of Austin wants to bring financial stabilization. This is your chance to make it a reality for some, if not all. That's all I have. >> Thank you, Mr. Montes. >> Okay, continuing on, queen Benigno Angelica soul. Lily Harris. Pranshu adhikari. Park Smith. Giovanna Balderas. Giovanna, are you here? You have time. Donated by Lauren Ross. [3:54:11 PM] time. Donated by Lauren Ross. Lauren, are you here? Okay. Thank you. >> Please go ahead. >> Okay. Hello, everyone. My name is pranshu adhikari. I'm a resident of Austin district nine, and I'm here to express my opposition to the proposed closing of the recycled reads site that's outlined in the 2025 2026 budget. I have multiple reasons for opposing the proposed closing of recycled reads, and I'd like to talk about three of them. I oppose the closing of recycled reads because, number one, closing the site does not align with the goals of the budget goals that have been expressed by council members and the city manager. Number two, I do not believe that the 107,000 recovered from closing the site will be more valuable than the value recycled reads provides to the community. And number three, recycled reads is an incredibly valuable part of the community already, and taking it away would be an incredible loss. First, I don't think the closing of the site aligns with the goals of the budget that have been outlined by city manager and council members. City manager, you said that there's three critical focus areas for this budget, one [3:55:11 PM] focus areas for this budget, one of which is prioritizing engaging with our people. The recycled reads site holds multiple events week after week to engage with the community. There's fiber arts classes, Tunisian crochet tech, time for people to bring in their devices and learn how to use it. And if that isn't engaging with our people in their community, I don't know what is. I also saw on the city council message board message board that council members Mike Siegel and zo qadri, you talked about the importance of climate resiliency in our city, and this was in the context of supporting the tax rate increase. I think we build climate resiliency through small and big actions. So recycled reads takes donations of hundreds of materials that would otherwise go into landfill that people would throw away. And I believe that closing the site would go directly against those goals that you've outlined. Second, I do not believe that the 107,000 reduction in cost would be better used elsewhere. There's already other branches that have recycled waste sites already. The 107,000 is 0.55% of the 19.3 million in savings that [3:56:13 PM] the 19.3 million in savings that the city has outlined, and I don't think that is worth closing the site. It's incredibly valuable place for the community and I urge you to not close it. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Hi. Good afternoon, city council members and honorable mayor. My name is Giovanna Balderas and I stand before you today with deep gratitude as a recipient of the family stabilization or guaranteed income pilot grant. I'm not just speaking as a recipient. I'm speaking as a mother, a woman who has faced struggle and someone who is finally stepping into stability because of this program. Before this grant, every month felt like a balancing act. Choosing between bills and groceries, between work and time with my son. I work hard, but it always felt like I was falling short. There were days I felt defeated, wondering how I was going to keep going. But when I was chosen for this program, it changed everything. It gave me something I hadn't felt in a very long time relief, dignity and possibility. Because of this [3:57:15 PM] and possibility. Because of this support, I was able to go back to school and become a certified nurse aide, a dream that always felt too far away. And now I can provide for my son. I can look him into the eyes and know I'm giving him a better future. That means everything to me before this program. But this program didn't just help me. It strengthened my family. It gave my son stability, and it gave me the chance to break out of survival mode and build something lasting. This program is not charity, it's empowerment. It recognizes that people like me want to work, want to grow, and want to give back to our community. We just need a little bit of support to get there. This grant reminded me that my city sees me, that the city believes in me and wants to lift people up, not leave them behind. Please, I ask from the bottom of my heart, don't let this program end here. Continue to fund it. Let more families feel what I felt. The joy of catching their breath, the hope of building something better, and the strength to move forward. Thank you for listening to my story, and thank you for [3:58:16 PM] to my story, and thank you for believing in families like mine. >> Thank you. Yes, sir. >> Thank you. My name is park Smith. I'm CEO for American youthworks, an Austin based nonprofit that's been serving this community for over 50 years. Thank you, mayor Watson, mayor pro tem Fuentes, council members, city manager and all the city staff for this opportunity. For over 30 years, we've partnered with the city to provide education, workforce training and hands on service projects that meet critical needs like wildfire mitigation, trail safety, invasive species removal, parkland and watershed improvements, flood mitigation and affordable housing work and disaster relief. In recent years, we proudly supported the Austin civilian conservation corps with our Texas conservation corps program. Continuing this tradition, our young adult trainees help the city tackle backlog maintenance in parks and preserves while preparing for family sustaining careers, and many now work for the city and county, including [3:59:16 PM] the city and county, including about half of the urban forestry chainsaw crews made up of our alumni. To keep this momentum, we need clarity in the budget cycle on funding for our partnership because multiple departments budgets combine under one agreement, a clearly defined amount coordinated through a lead department like economic development department, is critical for recruiting our next cohort on time. We're ready to work with staff and ensure a smooth fy 26 process, delivering essential public projects while building America, building Austin's future workforce. And we really appreciate everything you guys are doing to ensure that young people get access to careers that can lead them to family sustaining lifestyles. Thank you. >> Thank you sir. >> Haydn Baggett haydn are you here? You have time donated by Molly Carr. Molly, are you here? Okay. Four minutes. Jay Popham. >> And I also had a presentation, if you wouldn't mind pulling it up. [4:00:17 PM] mind pulling it up. >> Okay. Dave and barber, Escott cob, Michelle manning. Scott. >> Good afternoon, mayor, council members, thank you for the opportunity to be here. My name is haydn Baggett and I represent the coalition for clean, affordable, reliable energy cares, an organization that represents the energy interests of commercial and industrial utility customers in Austin. Our members include manufacturers, housing providers, tech companies, and other major employers. I'm here today to raise concerns with Austin energy's fy 26 budget proposal to increase base rates 5% annually for the next five years. I'm also here to ask for sensible guardrails on the growth of the general fund transfer. To put this proposal in perspective, we would see a net 27% increase in base rates by 2030. Austin energy, at the same time, is facing a $90 million budget deficit next fiscal year, and attributes this to shortfall and expanding capital program. Sorry to an expanding capital program, [4:01:18 PM] expanding capital program, inflation and slowed load growth. Austin energy also cites outdated rates, despite the utility holding a base rate case as recently as 2022 and increasing base rates every year since then. Before I move on, I do need to flag that Austin energy's advertised $5 bill decrease should be seen as temporary because it's based on the power supply adjustment, which can significantly fluctuate throughout the year. And not only would this be the fourth consecutive year of system wide base rate increases, but the proposal also fails to meet established affordability goals. Specifically, Austin energy is required to keep average rates at or below 2%, compounded annual growth and maintain customer bills within the lower 50% of benchmark cities across Texas. This proposal would violate the spirit of the first goal, if not both. Additionally, extensive, extensive base rate increases should require a formal base rate case with stakeholder involvement. This plan sidesteps that industry standard by incrementally approving what [4:02:20 PM] incrementally approving what amounts to be a major rate hike. This proposal also exceeds Austin energy's past two financial forecasts. Back in may 23rd, Austin energy presented a 2% annual base rate increase plan and received approval for the first of these in the fy 24 budget. Later in 2024, Austin energy again planned 2% base rate increases per year and a 7% increase later in the forecast period. Austin energy described both of these plans as long term financial strategies to meet costs, match inflation and prevent rate shock, but Austin energy has since produced a deeply unbalanced budget, and now I can understand the need to raise rates to meet costs. But this proposal becomes far more problematic when you consider one of Austin energy's largest yet most controllable expenses the general fund transfer. City council increased the general fund transfer by $10 million in fy 25, and is considering another $14 million increase in fiscal year 2026. That's a 21% increase in just over two years. [4:03:21 PM] increase in just over two years. But the pace of general fund transfer growth is only part of the problem. You also have to consider where Austin energy is allocating the majority of the revenue from its rate increases. Last year's general fund transfer took 71% of that new revenue. This year's proposal would have 14 million general fund transfer increase, and that would claim 36% of new revenue. I will also remind you that last year's five year financial forecast committed to capping general fund transfer growth at 2% annually each year. Meanwhile, the proposed fy 26 transfer represents an 11% increase, and there's no sign of this slowing down projections now show the Austin energy general fund transfer hitting 155 million by 2030. In sum, these excessive increases to the general fund are indebting Austin energy ratepayers to the point of forced deficits and increased rates. Applying a reasonable cap to Austin energy general fund transfer growth would keep revenues within the utility and moderate base rate [4:04:23 PM] utility and moderate base rate increases for all customers. Thank you. >> Good afternoon, mayor and city council members. I'm Devaughn barber, president and CEO of the downtown Austin alliance, and I'm here speaking in support of the proposed fy 26 homeless strategies budget. We appreciate the mayor, the council and city manager making homelessness a top priority under challenging fiscal constraints. The downtown alliance represents the interests of more than 150,000 austinites who live and work downtown, as well as the millions of tourists and convention Goers that visit downtown each year. Addressing the needs of our increasing unsheltered homeless population is also the downtown alliance's top priority, as we have seen a 26% increase in the number of people living unsheltered downtown from February to July this year. This issue poses a great risk to the vibrancy and success of downtown, to our visitor and convention industry and the businesses, employees [4:05:24 PM] and the businesses, employees and residents that invest, work and live here. The economic engine that fuels the city budget. But most importantly, this is about preventing people from becoming homeless and quickly assisting those in need. The proposed budget advances a systems approach, funding a broad, broad spectrum of services, from prevention and early interventions to temporary and permanent housing. The downtown alliance also requests your support to improve public order downtown. While it's essential for employees, visitors and residents to perceive that downtown is safe and a healthy environment, it is inhumane to turn our heads to allow people to languish in our streets, maintaining public order and dedicating funding needed for homeless services is in the best interest of people in need. This commitment equally supports the downtown economic engine that funds the very services that are needed. The downtown alliance has long been a partner with the city and other public, private and nonprofit partners to develop and fund solutions to homelessness. We appreciate you making homelessness a top [4:06:25 PM] making homelessness a top priority, and we respectfully request that your full support of the city manager's proposed fy 26 budget to fund homeless services and improve public order downtown. Thank you very much. >> Hi y'all. I'm Jay Popham back here this afternoon to speak a little bit about some budget priorities that I think we really ought to consider as a community. First, we've heard a lot of talk about our assistance programs here. I think that's really tremendous. You know, I try to think about quality of life here in the city as a matter of my neighbor's welfare and well-being. Right. So when me and my wife walk around our neighborhood, you know, we think about our fire station ems right there, our wonderful public pool that we've got right in the neighborhood. I think about Mendez middle school, you know, all these places that are substantially supported, either through parent support specialists in the case of Mendez middle school or directly to the city with regards to pools, parks, libraries, fire and ems, all these things really [4:07:25 PM] and ems, all these things really do matter at the end of the day to our sense of security and well-being. You know, we understand that, you know, should some emergency befall us, we've got maybe a 45 second response time from ems station. I'm really happy about that. You know, we can't, you know, have a budget that sacrifices the various programs that we count on in this city to keep each other safe, to keep each other taken care of. And again, we're looking at four years of the trump administration here. We understand that they are trying to move us off our post, and they're trying to get us to run up the white flag, surrender, agree to an austerity budget and not get in the way. But again, as I was saying earlier this morning, we have been through four years of trump. We can get through another four, but we do have to make these investments now in our community, in keeping our neighbors safe, cared for. So thank you very much for the opportunity to speak. >> Thank you. Please proceed. [4:08:27 PM] >> Thank you. Please proceed. >> Good afternoon council. >> My name is Michelle Escott and I am a resident of district seven. I'm here to say that resisting fascism requires an Austin city budget that centers our humanity. We as voters are willing to invest in our communities. And in Austin's future. I'm part of more than 31 organizations here that have come together to implore the council to support the community investment budget recommendations, and I'm also here to implore the city council to listen to the many voices who are part of these coalitions, and many of whom have gone before me and who are yet to speak. They are truly the voices of this community, the community all of us here belong to. So please do keep this top of mind when you're making these decisions for all of us. I would like to say I also agree to please pass a budget that continues to fund the transformative work of the city of Austin's equity division of [4:09:28 PM] of Austin's equity division of the office of equity and inclusion, and continue to fund fully fund the undoing racism trainings by the people's institute of survival of and beyond. Many people in the city, many of whom are here today, actually including myself and my spouse, have benefited from the undoing racism trainings. And I must say, they've been very transformative in the way I live my life. And I implore anybody who's not taken, partaken of them to hopefully be able to do so in the future and also fully fund the family stabilization stabilization program and all of the other programs that are imperative and important to this city in this very austere administration that we're finding ourselves a part of for the next four years, potentially, possibly longer. Thank you so much. >> Hello. My name is Scott Cobb, and I would like to ask you to write an item from council to address three issues one [4:10:28 PM] address three issues one lifeguard should or temporary employee should have an appeals process. In case we are fired. We can be fired on the spot without anything happening. Any way to appeal? Two women came to you in December and spoke about how they were fired. Had no way to appeal. Since then. Those two women, no one contacted them. We were told there would be an external investigation, and nobody contacted those two women who stood up here and bravely told you their stories. Zero contact I also want you to write a dating policy that prohibits managers and protects 15, 16, 17 year Olds from older managers, grooming them for relationships and waiting around until they turn 18 and then beginning their relationships. I have drafted a policy based on UT's policy, and I have sent it to some of you. We need protection for whistleblowers. I spoke in [4:11:29 PM] whistleblowers. I spoke in December with those two women. January, somebody filed a complaint against me saying Scott speaks to city council and undermines what we are doing, in part, I don't know who did it. It was anonymous. City auditor dismissed it. That's not something that needs to be dealt with. They sent it to part, hr part said, we're going to look into this. And pard hired a law firm that is now trying to get me to come into their law office to interview me, because somebody complained retaliating against me, because I have brought up the issue of sexual harassment and exploitation. So something has to be done about retaliation, about pard itself, not just the person who wrote the anonymous complaint, but parts decision to hire a law firm. Thank you very much. Thank you, Mr. Todd. >> Continuing on, Lamar Webb, [4:12:30 PM] >> Continuing on, Lamar Webb, Sharon Blythe, Savannah. E, Kathleen Mitchell, Liz baker. >> Second chair. >> My name is Sharon Blythe. I'm a resident of district six. Been down at city hall many, many times testifying, trying to get things a little bit better here, but it looks like there's nothing to do except just accept what y'all are going to do. Most of the people here today are on the public payroll through their grants. And they don't work. They don't they don't pay the taxes. We do with who own [4:13:31 PM] taxes. We do with who own property. And you all are just going down the road listening to all these people, and you're going to sink the city. You're going to sink the people that are trying their best to make a living in this city. And on a personal note, I was requested by your guards at the door to throw away my water bottle, and I already had an agreement with the city that I could drink water in here from my water bottle because I have a serious health condition that requires me to do that every day. I lost a kidney from cancer six years ago, and my doctors tell me I need to continue to drink water during the day, or I'm compromising my compromising my remaining kidney. Shame on you all for not letting people come in here and drink water when you all drink all day long, plus your staff. It is very, very rude to sit down there out here [4:14:33 PM] rude to sit down there out here and watch all the drink water out of your little water reservoir and tell other people, citizens, that they cannot bring water into the chamber. That is ridiculous. And I want that policy changed. The other thing I need to say is the fact that Broadnax, you promised me you would not cut the city cemetery budget, but you did, and you need to restore that. Thank you very much. >> Hey y'all. My name is Savannah Lee. I'm here with equity action to ask you to support the community investment budget and to share some of my concerns with the budget as it stands. But I also want to speak more broadly to a budget as a value document that shows the public who we are as a city and why community care makes us better. In your newsletter this week, mayor Watson, you posit that city government can't be all things that we as a city can't pick up all of the expenses, grants and needs that other levels of government cut. [4:15:33 PM] other levels of government cut. I understand the pressure behind those words, but I also believe that when people come to us in moments of crisis, we don't get to look away. These line items were discussing these expenses, these grants. They represent real lives. They are our neighbors, our elders, our children. And when we reduce their needs to figures in a spreadsheet, we are being intentionally blind to protect ourselves from the uncomfortable truth that this is our responsibility. We sit here as people all over the state testify for hours on end to prevent the rise of authoritarianism and the redrawing of congressional maps that make that rise all but inevitable. Now is not the moment that we get to say that city government can't be all things, when it is very well about to be all we have left in a moment like this, when nobody is coming to save us, and we turn around and say we can't fund these services, what we're really saying is not this time, not you, not today. We say no to the mother standing outside of a shelter, just trying to find a safe, cool place to sleep with [4:16:34 PM] safe, cool place to sleep with her baby. We say no to a father asking for legal help, as he faces the fear of being torn from his family. We say no to the neighbor returning from incarceration, reaching for a second chance. This has to be the moment for as many yeses as humanly possible. We can't leave anyone out in the cold, because if we can't say yes now, when will we? And who will we leave behind while we wait? Thank you. >> Yes, sir. >> Good afternoon, council and city members. My name is Leon Webb and I'm a resident of Austin, Texas. I was born here and spent most of my life here. Last year I received a 12 month grant from the family stabilization grant program and the up together program, and my time of hardship. And even though I was not homeless, I feel like it. The program prevented me from being homeless. And I just ask that [4:17:35 PM] homeless. And I just ask that the council continue to finance and support these type, these type of programs so that we can continue to support austinites. Thank you very much. >> Thank you, miss Mitchell. >> Members. Cathy Mitchell I am a homeowner. I do pay these taxes. I have been doing so for a very long time, and I will continue to do so when we pass the tax rate election, because and I want to stop for a moment and thank chito. I was seeing your post about your trip to San Antonio, and I think that that is critically important. What you went there to see, how our constitutional values, how our framework of government that we have taken for granted is falling apart and it's falling [4:18:36 PM] falling apart and it's falling apart with intention by some people, but not us, not here in Austin. We are not that. And so for a little while, because I do believe that America will come back with a raw. We have to make sure that our people are at least as protected as we can make them. So as to the budget point, I really would like to see a few items come out of the eight cent list and into the core conversation, and I know that there's been a lot of talk about the immigration legal services, but on that point, I think 500,000, which is this item, appears for the first time in the eight cent TRE list. I think that's not enough new [4:19:36 PM] think that's not enough new money for the moment that we're in, and it should not be a thing that we get to if we can. It needs to be a thing we prioritize, and that is one of the key priorities that I wanted to highlight today. But there's a couple of others, okay, I'll stop with that. >> Thank you ahead. >> Hello. >> My name is Elizabeth baker. I'm the executive director of the other ones foundation. I've been working in homeless response system for 15 years, and I've seen it evolve through that time. I have seen the human suffering created by the gaps, the dead ends, and the revolving doors of an incomplete homeless response system. It's a grind that overwhelms people with a sense of hopelessness and not just people experiencing homelessness. The care providers that are trying to help them and their loved ones. I'm here to express full support of the plan developed by the homeless [4:20:38 PM] developed by the homeless strategy office, and urge city council to take the necessary actions to fund it. The plan is comprehensive. It maintains maintains critical programing developed through the covid relief dollars and expands shelter and housing options, as well as addressing the inflow of people at risk of entering homelessness. Half measures and partial systems will not create the lasting change I know you all want to see. For lasting impact, we need sustainable funding to continue building building a balanced system. From homelessness prevention to permanent housing subsidies. The zo plan gives our system the full range of services to effectively help people, no matter where they are in their journey. It will preserve our successes and support scaling to meet new growing need. And it has unified the provider community around a shared vision and collaborative energy. Fully funding this plan is about more than helping our unhoused neighbors. It will reduce the visible impacts of homelessness. It will drive down emergency service costs, it will [4:21:39 PM] service costs, it will strengthen public safety, and it will create a healthier, more resilient community that benefits everyone. So please take the necessary steps to operationalize the homeless strategy office plan. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. Jonathan Scott, William bunch, Kayla Reese, Juan Benitez, Scott odero, Tara tucker. >> If your name's been called, please come forward. Go ahead and take a seat, ma'am. Come forward. >> That was the last person. If you want to sit here. No. Go ahead. >> Anyone of you can begin. >> Good afternoon, mayor and council members. My name is Juan Benitez, and I'm with Texas health action, the nonprofit [4:22:39 PM] health action, the nonprofit that operates Ken clinic. We're marking ten years of service this year. And over the last decade, we've become a critical organization for the health care needs of the lgbtqia+ community here in Austin. I'm here to urge your support for including funding in the city's budget for community based HIV and sti testing and treatment. Earlier this month, the big beautiful bill was signed into law, and a major impact is the expiration of affordable care act subsidies in early 2026, which have helped millions afford insurance. As more people lose coverage and insurance becomes more expensive, the responsibility falls on nonprofits like ours and cities like Austin to fill the gap. From January through July of this year, we've already conducted over 4000 sti testing sessions through our walk in testing center. 1 in 6 of those sessions tested positive for at least one sti or HIV, and that's nearly 20% of patients, as we have seen over the last two years. In 2023, city council took bold action with one-time [4:23:39 PM] took bold action with one-time funding to expand these services in partnership with Austin public health. That investment made a real difference, but without sustained funding, we risk losing the trusted, community driven care models that so many lgbtqia+ austinites rely on. By including this funding. In the budget, you help Austin respond to the federal changes and strengthen ongoing partnerships between our local public health departments and community based organizations that are trusted to deliver this care. Thank you for your time and for your continued leadership. >> Thank you. >> Whoever wants to go next. >> Hi, my name is Tara tucker and I am the Texas state director for alliance for safety and justice, which is a policy and advocacy organization that works with survivors of violent crime as well as people living with past convictions. We have over 900 survivors in our network that we work with, and we survey survivors across the city, state and country to see [4:24:39 PM] city, state and country to see what they is that they really want and believe will improve public safety. What we know from communicating with our survivors is that we have an overreliance on police and incarceration, and we actually ask our police to do too many things. Right. And I think that by funding other programs, the programs that are under the office of violence prevention, the trauma recovery center, the crime, the crime, the crime violence intervention programs, that if we funded those and we held that funding in the same regard as we do law enforcement funding, meaning we protected it and we fought for it, and we did it at a decent rate that we would see improvements to our public safety that we're not getting from the current system. I want to thank this body and previous iterations for funding the TRC pilot program, and I ask that you continue to fund it and you [4:25:40 PM] you continue to fund it and you provide ongoing funding for that program. And honestly, at a rate higher than what we funded it for the pilot because they've shown that we have a need and they're doing great work. We also will continue to work to help them find other funding. But I think the city has a continued role in doing that. In addition to that, I would say I also support the community investment budget, which these things are in that budget. And again, just want to reiterate that funding the things in that budget will help us improve public safety. And thank you. >> Thank you. >> Yes, sir. >> Hello. >> My name is Scott odierno and I'm a resident of district eight. I'm with the inside books project, an Austin nonprofit that has sent free books to incarcerated people in Texas prisons since 1998. We send 50,000 books to more than 15,000 [4:26:42 PM] 50,000 books to more than 15,000 individuals every year. Books are a lifeline to people in prison. They help people to educate themselves or learn a trade, work against recidivism, and help people to do their time thoughtfully and productively. Recently, we donated more than 500 books to the town detention center library in Taylor, including books in six languages. Almost all those books came from recycled reads. I'm here today to ask that you continue to fund appeals, used bookstore recycle reads. Although we get many book donations from the public, recycle reads allows us to select more appropriate and specific ones for the people we serve. Because of the affordable prices of their books, we're able to buy many more than if we tried to source them elsewhere at 3 to 4 times the cost. Almost all of our books are Spanish. Books come from recycled reads, and we have donated more than 3000 of those to Texas county jails just in the last two years, because recycle reads receives all of apple's discontinued books and thousands more from the public each month, we are able to buy all of our books we need in one stop for inside books. It wouldn't be [4:27:43 PM] inside books. It wouldn't be possible or practical to drive to multiple smaller libraries bookstores. In order to find the books we need each week. And finally, recycle reads as a community asset. They divert more than 47,000 pounds of books from landfills each month. They host free workshops every week, have a tool library for families and kids, can come to read kids books in multiple languages, and regulars come and shop. The affordability of their books gives working class people and families in Austin the ability to buy books they want and need that they couldn't afford elsewhere without, which encourages literacy. Thank you for your time and please keep recycle reads open. >> Sir. >> Good afternoon, Jonathan Scott. I'm a resident of district seven, a proud immigrant and a former federal government employee. I'm also a member of usa, which is undoing white supremacy. Austin. As my wife, Michelle manning Scott mentioned a few minutes ago, resisting fascism and standing up for our community requires an Austin city budget that centers on our humanity. We as voters [4:28:44 PM] on our humanity. We as voters and as property taxpayers, are willing to invest in our communities and in Austin's future. Now is not the time for an austerity budget, undoing white supremacy Austin joins 31 other organizations that support the community investment budget, and it is even more important today as we are under attack by the federal government and just down the street, Republicans in the state legislature are seeking to disenfranchize hundreds of thousands of austinites and other Texans. Like my wife, Michelle, I was very fortunate to participate in the undoing racism training, and I'm grateful for the support the city has provided for this training in the past. We request that you continue to demonstrate your support for all members of our community by passing a budget that makes it clear and indisputable that the transformative work of what was historically Austin's equity office and now is the equity division in the office of equity and inclusion. Inclusion will continue to be funded, including fully funding the undoing racism [4:29:44 PM] fully funding the undoing racism training. Please also continue fully funding the family stabilization program. Do your part to make up for the federal government's cuts, and to make sure that every Austin child has access to vaccinations. Provide fully, fully full funding to Austin's public health programs, including STD prevention, HIV clinics, disease surveillance, and refugee health services, and fully fund Austin's trauma recovery and 24/7 mental health services. Thank you for your time. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Branch. >> Thank you. Mayor. Council members. Bill branch, district five, save our springs alliance. Certainly in this difficult time with the federal tax cuts and rescissions, it's incumbent upon you to invest even more so in people. But this budget prioritizes concrete debt and interest payments to anonymous [4:30:45 PM] interest payments to anonymous global investors in municipal bonds over the people, the services, the activities, the local small businesses that need your support. You need to cut harmful and needless non- urgent construction projects being foisted on you by lobbyists and big construction firms that are driving our debt. Driving the waste in this budget, and committing us to decades of debt service and especially our younger taxpayers. This is shameful. At the top of that list, you know, is the $5 billion convention center boondoggle that has no support whatsoever in economics or in democracy. We want to point to fascism somewhere else. What about the right to vote on [4:31:47 PM] about the right to vote on something that will be an anchor around the neck of this community that you would not have dreamed of dodging? Voter accountability five, ten, or 15 years ago. Put it on the ballot. If you don't, you will be forced to with our petition. Beyond the debt and the convention center, there's debt for cap and stitch debt for a $1.1 billion wastewater treatment plant expansion that we don't have the water to convert into sewage, and that you can easily postpone. We're at a time of record municipal bond interest rates. You should not be putting money into interest rather than people. >> Thank you. >> Zenobia. Joseph Jeffrey Bowen. >> Would you start start the names again? I don't think people heard you. >> Zenobia, Joseph, Jeffrey Bowen, and then the next group I have, they've requested to speak in order. Steven potter, Kim Mccorkle, will. Hyatt and will, [4:32:48 PM] Mccorkle, will. Hyatt and will, are you here? >> Doesn't appear to. >> Be okay. There was time donated to will, so we can check that if he comes up. >> Welcome, Mr. Bowen. >> Welcome. Thank you. Sir. My name is Jeffrey Bowen. I'm in district eight and I want to read these few words that I recently found and was brought back to mind. And Austin is too unaffordable. There's an inherent tension between collecting the public's money to pay for our needs and adding to our our affordability challenges. We have to be balanced, disciplined and stable in the difficult process. I would also like to add to that the wants. It's not only the needs, it's the wants. And part of that comes back to looking at this is that this affects all of us. This is one of the speakers earlier said something about compassion. Compassion is a two way street. Not only the compassion for those that that [4:33:49 PM] compassion for those that that need the services, but what about those that are funding the services? Are we getting the biggest bang for our dollar out of those services? Where is the quantification and the accountability for those? Are those services being done adequately or not? We have a convention center that's now been torn down. I was reminded by one of my friends that said, what about the carbon credits that we're doing? Are we still going to continue to pay for those when the convention center is not even it's just cleared off lot? It may not be much, but those are the things that we need to be looking at, not just us, but also you looking at this budget with a fine tooth comb. Again, it says unaffordable. We've become too unaffordable. If we can't live here, you will not be getting our tax money. We will not be able to stay here. And I think it's up to you. The [4:34:52 PM] And I think it's up to you. The people that were elected to take the leadership, become responsible, control your spending and actually be accountable. Thank you. >> Please begin. After Steve. >> Hello, my name is Stephen potter. I have both been homeless and served the homeless for many years. In many ways, I am an advocate on homelessness. I am an authority on homelessness. I've come to speak on stronger oversight measures, measures within those third party organizations that serve the homeless. Accountability and transparency is an essential and needs to be a vital component of these contracts. A lack of accountability and transparency is an invitation to corruption and incompetence. And the people [4:35:54 PM] and incompetence. And the people of Austin really deserve better. They deserve to know where those money, where that money is being spent, how it's being spent, and what that effect has been. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> 1945 families with children do not have a home, and only a fraction of them are in shelters. Thank you council members, for this time to speak about our homeless neighbors and the need for family shelters, and the need to get people connected to employment in downtown Austin. My name is Kim Mccorkle. I work with homemade Austin on the outreach and development coordinator, as well as representing hap, the homeless advocacy project. If there's anywhere we should start, we should start with our children. Kids are sleeping in cars since the shelters are full and the wait list goes on forever. Currently, there's $2 [4:36:56 PM] forever. Currently, there's $2 million in the budget for community based shelters. If we could please allocate 250,000 to foundation for the homeless, we could get about 40 families in housing. Secondly, we want to propose a workforce program pilot program in downtown Austin. We have 469 unsheltered people in downtown Austin without any access to employment assistance, unless they're in a shelter already or in a program, they have to go to far Austin, far east Austin to workforce or to goodwill. A workforce program will bring services to where the people are and give them an opportunity to resolve their own homelessness without waiting years for housing program to help them with employment, they can obtain their own housing. If we invest 50 K annually into a pilot program, we can help about 100 people with employment services. Speaking of downtown, let us use the arts to full capacity and give people downtown what they need a full [4:37:56 PM] downtown what they need a full day navigation center that will connect people to resources and resolve their homelessness. The space is underutilized, and for 100 K, we can bring that back for our downtown resources. Thank you again and let our children be the top priority. Thank you. >> Thank you. Yes, sir. Sir. >> Hi. My name is will Hyatt and I'm with house of homeless.org. >> Can you pause just one moment? Thank you. You have time. Donated by Charles Guidry and Victoria Salinas. I just wanted to check if they're here. If you're here. >> Could you please. >> Raise your hand? >> Charles Guidry. >> He was having a. >> Okay, okay. He's not here. >> No. >> And Victoria Salinas. >> She's with him. Okay. He's two minutes diabetic issue of some sort. >> We wish. >> You well. Thanks, brother. All right. So my name is will hide. I'm with house, the homeless org, president of that organization. We're the oldest service organization over 30 years with advocacy for the [4:38:58 PM] years with advocacy for the homeless. We put out these plastic pocket guides with original navigators in that area. And we are really in full support of everything Kim talked about. We feel like the priority for peace lutheran is super strong, and it's a pilot of a church that can then be emulated later here and in other places. So very important to. Back that particular move. And also the central presbyterian church downtown has offered their facilities to have a workforce solution. In the downtown area. There's 500 people in the downtown area. They're going to be there. This is a great pilot opportunity. We hope they will support them. And we're thankful to councilman Ellis for her support on that. And we've talked to every one of y'all and individually and really appreciate your support for these these two programs. Top priorities, get the children off the street. As Kim had shared, we also believe that those churches are the most [4:39:59 PM] churches are the most underutilized facilities throughout the country. So Austin, it's a beacon of light. We have an opportunity to show a program that shows success, then emulate it, and have those programs supported by other churches we work with. I work with all the downtown service and church organizations, or we do. And so there's an army of volunteers ready to go. It's a time for all hands on deck right now. And if we can get the volunteer spirit more involved, they'll not only offer the facility, but they'll staff it too and just need that assistance. So we're really advocating for that very strongly, believing that that's going to happen, and thanking the council for everything they're doing so far to do those two big ones. We also know we need hygiene throughout the city. And so showers north and south would be really helpful. There's a pilot program already. I'm at the two minute Marc already. Okay. Well, lord, we just thank you for this council and our decisions made in this effort. >> Appreciate you being here. Thank you. [4:41:00 PM] Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Alfredo Reyes, junior Carrie Ann Smith, Laura Ann Martinez, Laura Ann, are you here? Yes. You have time. Donated by Andrew Alamo. Is Andrew here? >> Seems to. >> Be okay. Perfect. Barry Jones and then Chris torres. >> Feel free to begin. >> Good evening, council members. My name is Alfredo. I'm an organizer for vocal Texas. I live in district five. I was homeless for seven and a half years. I'm sure you guys know. And I'm currently housed temporary housing program and all. Y'all know the arpa money has run out. I'm at the end of the second year of rapid rehousing, afraid of having to run into the same barriers and barriers that I ran into when I [4:42:00 PM] barriers that I ran into when I was looking for housing before, when my criminal background and the current policy, the art hda, I was fortunate to find part time employment with vocal Texas. The city needs to put funding where it's truly needed harm reduction, permanent supportive housing, mental health and more. 30% mfi properties as property as promised by the city of Austin. Out of the 20,000 promise, only 426 properties were made. What happened? Our city. I mean, we need to prioritize money for the for the for what the community is asking for and calling for. We are so far behind on promises that we have not met yet and have not been kept. I know we can solve the homeless issue. We need to focus on saving people's lives and focus on the big problem here. Housing first does work. Look at me. I've been sober since September 4th, 2023 because I was housed in harm reduction and harm reduction was [4:43:01 PM] reduction and harm reduction was there to assist me the whole through the whole time. They even get through everything I needed was there and they were there to support me. I'm asking the city steps up and keep their promises and ensure people impacted by our punitive legal system have a fair chance, a second chance. Housing and reduce criminalization for people impacted by criminal system and ensure people exiting homelessness. More city funded affordable housing. We can do this by holding the housing department accountable for following our policies. We need city council to help us do that. We also need more funding for. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Please proceed. Yes. >> Hi, my name is Carrie Ann. I'm a leader at Texas vocal. I live in district nine. I'm here today with a heavy heart asking that the city prioritize real funding for housing and [4:44:03 PM] funding for housing and homelessness services. I lost my husband and without him, I lost my home and my stability and my ability to cope. I've been waiting on the waiting list for three years with no real help. I'm fighting through every crack of this broken system. I worked hard to turn my butts. I bought a bus and I worked hard to turn it into a place to live because I had no other choice. The for the city. They planned to have 20,000 deeply affordable units, but they only build 426 units. That's not a plan. That's abandonment. Instead of met with criticism, instead of met with care. I was met with cruelty during the APD sweep with no warning. My husband and my mom ashes was thrown in the trash. The police, they were standing around digging through my stuff like it was theirs, and one of the officers took my bike off the bike rack, riding down the street, joyriding it. That is not. That's so wrong. That's theft and it's trauma. They be actively antagonizing people. [4:45:05 PM] actively antagonizing people. APD should not get a dime put in this system. They need to focus on housing and have way more compassion and stop criticizing me and stop antagonizing people. Thanks. >> My name is Laura Ann Martinez, and. >> I'm. >> A member of district. >> Two and a leader. >> At vocal Texas. Mr. Mayor, Mr. Mayor. Pro tem and city council members as part of bringing housing services and care to low income austinites, we at vocal Texas are requesting an increase in the budget to include coverage for at least 500,000 to the housing department for the road lease addendum and look back period enforcement. An increase in funds for harm reduction for both this cycle and recurring years. 2.4 million and permanent [4:46:05 PM] years. 2.4 million and permanent supportive housing services 8 million for rapid rehousing. Financing for emergency housing vouchers, 4 million for mobile crisis outreach team and reallocating 6 million for the magistration and council. At first appearance from the APD to the magistrate magistrate court, since there is no guarantee that the money will be used for the magistration and cafe if it falls within the APD budget, we need some guarantees that this allocated money will be used by sending it to the magistrate court. Also reallocating 400,000 in support services to fund a police pilot program at the library and reallocate funds for housing services and care. I've been housed by the housing choice voucher program of the housing for the city of Austin for the past two years, but for the five years prior to that, I was either barely housed, unhoused or in a shelter. In [4:47:05 PM] unhoused or in a shelter. In 2021, I got a rapid rehousing and moved into a one bedroom apartment. My rapid rehousing covered the 900 month rent, and I covered the utilities as part of the rapid rehousing contract, I. However, I was asked to save half of my monthly income to put towards future rent payments along with the then current social security check. When the rapid rehousing program ended, there was no way for me to save that much money per month. I also want to wasn't close to any of the services or food lines, which provided free food daily because I couldn't save that much. They said I wasn't cooperating with the program and was terminated from the rapid rehousing program. This program may need some fixing, but we need to ensure that it stays in place for the betterment of our low income austinites. Above all, I don't think that you should ever be taken off the program unless you get permanent supportive housing section eight or something of the like. Out of [4:48:06 PM] or something of the like. Out of the $1.4 billion in the general fund, 36% goes to the APD, while only 0.2% goes to the homeless strategy office and 0.8% for the housing department. Can. How can we expect for the city to combat the housing crisis, when so little funding is set aside to address this crisis? We understand that there are federal cuts and that is out of our control. But as a city, we need to do our best to plug these gaps in the budget. We appreciate the effort and money that has been set aside for shelter, rapid rehousing and services, but still need to increase that money set aside for these things. The city council should eliminate new funding for APD and put that money towards housing services and care for the austinites that are most vulnerable in our community. It is unfair for the years. Austin has overfunded APD while disregarding safety of the community in housing harm [4:49:07 PM] community in housing harm reduction, climate action, mental health services and other life saving resources. The city can't keep saying it's addressing homelessness and overdose crisis and the housing crisis with half hearted attempts. We need a major investment and a long term plan to create permanent housing for unhoused austinites and other low income individuals. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Please feel free to begin. >> Good afternoon. >> Mayor and council members. >> My name is Barry Jones. >> I'm a. >> Leader at vocal Texas. >> I live in district. >> Two. >> And I'd like to say that. I am a joyful taxpayer. >> In Austin. >> So now you've heard. >> Everything in this chamber. I want to talk. >> Today. >> About homeless services and how much they're needed. Currently. A lot of. >> You here. >> Have heard me speak before, so you may know that I've been homeless in Austin for ten [4:50:08 PM] homeless in Austin for ten years. I was on the housing list all that time with the score of 14. I was never contacted for housing during that time, and I want to talk about the need for permanent supportive housing and the services which are so badly needed in our city. According to national polls, 72% of homeless people have a mental health diagnosis that is considered serious. I've been through the situation of being on the streets for a long time and coming into housing, and I can tell you these wraparound services are terribly needed when trying to readjust to living in housing. I thought it would be perfectly easy for me to bounce back, but realistically, it took 6 to 8 months before I really began to feel like I was adjusting psychiatric services. Medical care and other services are needed for folks for in housing and on the streets. Just even [4:51:08 PM] and on the streets. Just even survive. Even things you wouldn't think about, like conflict resolution classes are deeply needed when living on the streets and being successful in housing afterwards. Without access to these services, people are not being set up for success. We understand that the city is trying its best, and that occasionally means putting people in a place that isn't ideal for them just to get them off the street. But that's why I'm asking for more money in this budget cycle for homeless services. Thank you for your time. >> Appreciate you. >> Carolyn Williams, jj Ramirez, Anna Duncan, Victoria cloud. Joe Dubois or Debose? >> How's it going? City council? [4:52:09 PM] >> How's it going? City council? My name is jj Ramirez. I'm an organizer at vocal Texas, and I'm here to amplify these voices that are here next to me and came before me because what I this is what this is the experts. Right. And like we really appreciate a lot of y'all's commitment, if not most of y'all saying that you're committed to ending homelessness, but now's the time to be about it. Saying it is. Now's the time. Right? And so I want to speak on what has been mentioned before, right? We have a housing department that hasn't implemented a 30% mfi units since 2017. 20,000 were promised to be made. Like was said before, only 400 and some odd units have been made. This is deeply affordable. This is safety, right? This gets people off the street. Not everybody needs wraparound services. That's massively important to but and a lot of people just need to be able to afford the rent. And I want to speak on actually part of that has been mentioned before is the road to implementation. Like myself, I've been incarcerated. I can [4:53:09 PM] I've been incarcerated. I can easily be denied renting somewhere just because of my criminal background. Most people we did a survey. Most people that I've talked to in the street has some kind of criminal record, and it prevents people from getting into housing. So if we have a housing department that's supposed to be issuing and mandating these road implementations and not holding housing providers accountable into that, into those, into those policies, we need to really tighten up on that and make sure that people who are trying to get a second chance, trying to get off the street, can get into place and actually can afford it, because not only is having a criminal record prevent you from getting into housing, it prevents you from getting a good enough job to pay for housing. And our last thing I want to add to the safety aspect and not not continuing to fund APD. I spoke with somebody today, a woman, and I'm not going to mention her name, but she had to sleep in front of a bank because the light was on and it was preventing her from being, you know, messed with. And of course, somebody called the cops for her. Right? And she talked she talked to this police officer who was hostile at [4:54:10 PM] officer who was hostile at first. Long story short, he didn't have nowhere for her to go and just made her move down the line with, even though he felt bad for her. >> Thank you sir. >> Please go ahead. >> Good afternoon everyone. >> My name is Anna Duncan and I am a local Texas leader and I live in district two. I'm urging you to fund harm reduction in this budget and this budget cycle and beyond. I am a former drug users and I would like to share why harm reduction is an important and how it helped me in my life. I was five years old when I started drugs. I know it's a very young age to be starting drugs. I use drugs until I was 18 years old and that's when I overdosed and almost died. I'm so grateful for my property manager at the time because I was in my apartment when I overdosed. She found me on the floor and she immediately called ems. Next thing I know, I [4:55:11 PM] called ems. Next thing I know, I woke up in the hospital, didn't know where I was, didn't know what happened. So I immediately asked the doctor and the doctor told me that I overdosed and almost died. Ever since that day, it was on my 18th birthday. Ever since that day I've been sober thanks to drug rehab centers and harm reduction. If it wasn't them, I would have haven't had the access and the chance. The chance to change my life. I believe that everybody who wants to become sober can do that with the chance and the resources to, no matter the cost harm reduction, really do works. I've seen it and I lived it. It really hurts my feelings to see my neighbors overdosing and dying from drugs that can be prevented. So. I'm sorry. >> You're doing fine. [4:56:16 PM] >> You're doing fine. >> So can I. Pleading with you. To keep harm. Harm reduction funded. >> Thank you. >> We appreciate you being here. Thank you. Would you please begin? >> My name is Victoria cloud. Good afternoon. I'm a member of vocal Texas and I live in district two. I'm here to ask that. >> You take harm. >> Reduction funding very seriously. >> And you know what? I reject. >> What was said before about how grant recipients don't. Work and that homeless people don't work. That's a line of bs and everybody knows it. There's an attitude in this city that people aren't contributing, and it's not true. Before April of 2023, I had been homeless since I was 21 years old. I'm now 42. I've seen it all. I'm blessed to [4:57:16 PM] I've seen it all. I'm blessed to have been part of oxford house. Sober living. I believe sober living is a valid and effective way to get people on the right track. At oxford house, we are required to take narcan training. After getting my section eight apartment and getting involved in community activism, I'm noticing that narcan is not actually readily available to the people who need it most our unhoused neighbors. I've seen firsthand a deadly drug overdose on the sidewalk that may have been prevented had anyone on that block been able to access narcan. This could be remedied by placing nice dispensers around town in more places than just sunrise. I'm a former drug user who has been taking naltrexone for about four years, maybe longer. I get it through integral care at very little cost to me, and I'm grateful. I'm someone who has relapsed more than once, and I need access to the medication that makes relapse more manageable and less likely. I want this for every unhoused person in Austin, every person. Period. Funding cuts send us in the opposite direction. Please know the whole city is watching [4:58:18 PM] know the whole city is watching you and hoping that you make the right decision. Please don't become desensitized to the suffering all around you. Do what is right in the eyes of god and your fellows. Make people understand the importance of harm reduction services. Put these dispensers in more places and get people trained on how to administer narcan. I never want to see another dead body on the sidewalk. I want my friends and my community safeguarded against opioid overdose and situations that keep them from accessing help. God bless you and god be with you as you make these difficult decisions. >> And I gotta follow that. >> Yeah. >> Good afternoon everyone. My name is Joe Dubose. I am a vocal Texas leader and I live in district nine. I am here. >> To. >> Ask that you consider putting more money for the homelessness. We are in a housing crisis in Austin and in this country. What has happened in this country that instead of looking out for the health and well-being of people, our officials are funding more programs to oppress [4:59:19 PM] funding more programs to oppress the homeless. People in children are forced to stay outside because of bad luck. People are homeless for a lot of reasons. We get a bad reputation for why a lot of us go to work every day and try to live normal lives, but because we're afraid that when we return, our stuff will be gone. Most of us in this country are one paycheck away from being homeless, and it's no different here in Austin. There are no options or enough affordable housing in our city, and it's adding to having 6000 people on the streets. We need to put serious money into housing and homelessness services to end homelessness in our city. I've been homeless three times in my life once in Vegas, once in Tampa, and lastly here in Austin. For us to be in the best city and state in the country and have to endure. This is so sad. In 2021, I lost my wife to covid and I had memories [5:00:20 PM] wife to covid and I had memories that I carried around with me on the streets in a family bible that we selected together in 15 minutes. 20 years of memories were gone and I never been able to have access to those memories again because of a careless sweep. And the worst part of that, I never had the opportunity to get my stuff back. Funding departments that implement sweeps on the streets is a waste of money, when we could be making real change for helping people get into homes. >> Thank you sir. >> We have a few speakers that called back into the remote, so I'm going to switch to them really quickly. Franck Natasha, are you there? Franck, are you there? >> Yep. >> I'm here. Yeah. >> I'm here. How are you doing? [5:01:21 PM] >> I'm here. How are you doing? >> Please go ahead. >> I'm. Thanks. >> I'm. >> I'm a. >> Homeowner here in district one. >> I called in this morning. >> About the. >> Tax. >> Rate election. >> And I'm also. >> Calling in now. >> To stand in support, of. >> Course. >> With all my. >> Mental health. >> Responders. >> All my. >> Ems responders. >> All my. Firefighters who have been short shafted over and over again, public defenders. >> Who do not. >> Have fully. >> Staffed agencies. >> And yet. >> We continue to increase APD's budget. So I'm asking for safe housing, safe libraries, safe ems workers pay firefighters because I have a two year old, and things like couls keep us cool. Things like swimming lessons keep us safe. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Sarah Reyes. Sarah, are you there? Okay. That's all I had in [5:02:23 PM] there? Okay. That's all I had in the remote queue. I will go back to in person. Victoria Lumsden, eight track. Eli Cortez, Chris baker, Ashley Copeland. >> Okay. Hello. My name. >> Is Victoria Lowenstein. Barron. I'm a member of vocal Texas. >> Texas and. >> District nine. I'm here to ask you to take housing and services funding seriously for the fy 2526 budget cycle. I have faced chronic homelessness in Portland, Oregon. Seattle, Washington. Tucson, Arizona. And here in Texas. In Austin, while struggling with mental health trying to find housing, I have traveled states following the national low income guide the gap to find affordable, localized stabilization on SSI. During my time, my trauma bond with my previous partner led to a failed domestic intervention, [5:03:24 PM] a failed domestic intervention, causing me to flee Arizona to find a safer location. While in Austin, I was blessed to find a domestic violence mentor, and she housed me while I worked at H-E-B. This is when I found a single room occupancy with a public supportive housing and foundation communities. Public supportive housing has given me safety from trauma with with trauma informed design, alignment of community centered programing, and I found personal healing from dehumanization and disenfranchisement. The permanent supportive housing specialist has helped me navigate services, financial education, technology stability alongside community alignment. Being a person of housing cost burden, suffering from social disconnect and, you know, social arenas, health foundation communities has given me hope to otherwise stabilize and un which would be an otherwise unstable or misunderstood circumstance. So I am here telling you this because I believe it needs to be [5:04:25 PM] because I believe it needs to be a prudent strategic model and policy based program management. We don't need cuts to these services for the vulnerable population. And I understand they're happening from the federal level. So please focus on public supportive development and strategy. 6000 people have to sleep on the streets every night, and 9848 are evicted every year. Keep this balance in mind. >> Thank you. Good afternoon. >> Excuse me. Good afternoon, mayor Watson. Mayor pro tem and city council. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. My name is a-trak and I am a leader with vocal Texas and I live in district four. I'm here to ask that you take homelessness services and the rotor reinforcement rotor enforcement very seriously in this budget. Like jj said, we did a survey and 95% of people who took that survey have some form of [5:05:27 PM] survey have some form of criminal record. This prevents people from getting into housing. I myself am affected by this. If I, as a felon, can get a job with the city of Austin, which is great, why can I not get housing as well? This is completely unfair. I can get a job, but I have no place to go. Austin claims that it's the number one city for affordable housing in the nation, yet over 6000 people sleep outside. That math is not adding up. There is a deep concern for lack of truly affordable housing that needs to be paid attention to. Without deeply affordable housing and units dedicated specifically for people exiting homelessness, this problem will persist. We cannot continue to engage in shortsighted band-aid solutions and warehousing people on the fringes of the city to just come back to it later. These [5:06:27 PM] back to it later. These solutions, although they do get people off the streets and into shelters, there's no plan in place. There's no services connected. There is nothing. We're just literally warehousing people for the sake of warehousing people and, you know, painting over with a coat of paint saying, look how pretty the city is. It doesn't work. Housing first has been proven to work time and time again, and I urge you to consider these these recommendations. Thank you for allowing me to speak today. >> Thank you. >> Good afternoon council. Good afternoon council. My name is Eli Cortez. >> I'm a resident of district three and. >> I'm an organizer. >> At vocal Texas. >> Today we switched up the agenda a little bit. We brought our experts, people who are currently in house, people who see the overdose crisis firsthand to you. So I urge that you see the urgency behind the need for funding for those things, for additional affordable housing in our city, we've been working a campaign to expand access to affordable [5:07:28 PM] expand access to affordable housing for people living on the street and people with backgrounds in Austin. In the last couple of months, and in our research, we've discovered that despite the intent of the addendum making housing more accessible for low income renters to create second chance housing, that there is a huge issue with the collection of data around denials that are being issued for people applying to city funded or subsidized affordable housing projects, as well as enforcement of the police. Addendum. So we're here in front of you, seeking $500,000 to go to the housing department to support the enforcement of road and to and to begin collecting data so that we can start seeing really what are the resources that are prevent people from access to affordable housing in our city? The housing department has been extremely relaxed on accountability to the developers that work with the city to build affordable housing, and we need this to change. And in order to do that, we need your leadership. People are also entitled to be informed of their denial and why and why they were denied, as well as have access to an appeals process. But that [5:08:29 PM] to an appeals process. But that denial data is collected and not shared with the housing department. We're also encouraged to see the maximum tax rates preemptively set to over $0.07. We want to support that. As you all are aware, we continue to see issues in our shelters in the lack of case management in our city and the lack of basic services. You've heard many stories today about the true crises and the lack of resources that people are facing in our street. And we know that as a city, if we band together, if we put the necessary resources to it, that we don't have to continue to see people sleeping outside, just as every overdose that we have is preventable, we know that we have the tools and the resources to ensure that people have housing and housing first works, as you've heard today. So thank you so much for your time and we appreciate your work. >> Thank you. >> Hey Chris baker, I'm a recently unemployed resident of district five representing the homeless service providers consortium. And I'm here to say that there is a tragedy playing out every day in Austin. Last [5:09:30 PM] out every day in Austin. Last year, 168 people died on the streets of our city. And we all recognize a tragedy when it happens all at once. 135 people die in a flood, and we all recognize that to be the human tragedy that it is. But homelessness has been stacking up a bigger body count than that every year for the last 25 years. Unsheltered homelessness is a prolific serial killer. And because of that, I want to give a big shout out to all the heroic warriors in our homeless response system because it is a really, really hard job. You go in every day, you face the horrific realities of homelessness. There's a never ending battle for funding. Somebody is always mad at you, and there's so much need that no matter how much of yourself you give, it never feels like enough and the fight can leave you feeling beaten and broken and hopeless. But in April of this year, David gray and the homeless strategy office presented a bold, data driven plan to the health and finance [5:10:32 PM] plan to the health and finance committees of this council that was like a rose growing through concrete. Tupac. It brought some desperately needed hope to this fight. I feel hopeful for the first time in a long time. We named our shelter Esperanza because Esperanza means hope. And while I have hope, well, I finally have hope. I have neither the intellect nor the audacity to recommend how much you ask the voters to dig in. I only ask that you keep hope alive by including directors. Grays plan in its entirety in whatever budget you do pass, and that you follow that plan with fidelity, with discipline, and with focus. Whatever it takes. Nothing more and nothing less. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Hi. >> Thank you, mayor. >> And council. >> For spending your evening with us tonight and for giving time to the community to speak. I truly. Appreciate it. It's an [5:11:34 PM] I truly. Appreciate it. It's an honor. My name is Ashley Copeland. I am the chief operating officer. For the central Texas public safety commission, and I'm here. >> On their behalf today. >> To say that we stand in full support of public. Safety professionals who dedicate their lives to protecting and serving our communities. The work is not only demanding, but it's often dangerous and absolutely essential to the well-being of every Austin resident. You know, with my time with the commission and sitting having the opportunity to sit with public safety professionals very often, one thing I've noticed and learned is that we often don't see the sacrifices the birthdays missed, the traumas witnessed. We don't see that on a day to day basis yet. What we do well, what we should see is that they continue to show up despite that every single day for us. And with that said, a city's budget, I'm here to say, is more than just numbers. It reflects our values. And if our values are safe neighborhoods, swift emergency responses and strong foundations for the future, we [5:12:36 PM] foundations for the future, we must invest in the people that make that possible, which is our public safety professionals. We urge the council today to fully fund and support public safety in this year's budget. The safety and trust of our community depends on it. Thank you so much. >> Thank you. >> Continuing on, Monica Guzman and she has time donated by robin Schneider. Robin, are you here? >> She is. >> And Sandra Molinari. Okay, six minutes for Monica, then Dylan baker, Marc hilberling, Alicia Castillo Castillo. Sorry. Peter hunt and Yasmin Smith. >> Thank you. >> I say. >> Good afternoon, but I guess it's already close to evening. Mayor and council. I'm Monica Guzman, policy director at Garza. Go, Austin. Vamos, Austin. Yesterday, Garza residents completed their [5:13:36 PM] residents completed their meetings with council member harper-madison staff. So thank you for the time to meet with them. I'm going to play a resident statement. There should be a video waiting to be played up and read to others. So if we can start with the video please. >> Hello, my name. Is Francisco. >> Mejia from. >> District four. >> I think it is good that Garza is advocating for $500,000 for immigrants, support with. >> Mental health services and legal services. >> Who wants to get dragged away from their home or family? No one does. >> But it still. >> Seems to happen. Even hurt and broken families on the path. What people have done nothing wrong and still get taken away. I also support Garza advocating for a community health worker response team to help families, young adults and all ages. It is good that the community has information that can save their lives during weather, emergencies and dangerous situations. >> Francisco is a rising fifth grader. Just to let you know. Second, Jonathan tan, a district [5:14:37 PM] Second, Jonathan tan, a district three resident and member of the burmese community. I have six people in my household, four children under 15. When I was getting the family stabilization grant, I worked and my wife took care of the kids. I had very low income and faced financial hardship in paying for family expenses such as rent, food, health care, transportation and clothing. Getting the grant payments allowed us to move to an area that was safer for my family. It also helped pay for groceries, basic needs and supplies, medical costs, books and activities for our children. One of our kids has asthma and it was very helpful to pay for medical expenses for him to be healthy. Thank you for making it possible. I request that the city council approve the family stabilization grant again so it can help other families like mine, so other people can have a better life for their families. Third, Ivana Nettie, who is here with me, my name is Ivana Nettie. I'm the senior director of partnerships set up together and a resident of district four. I'm here today to urge you to [5:15:37 PM] I'm here today to urge you to maintain your 1.3 million investment in the family stabilization grant program, an initiative you have funded for two consecutive years and one that is delivering real results. Results of together in partnership with the city and local philanthropy, has distributed over 20 million to more than 8100 households in Austin since 2018. These are families earning less than 30,000 a year, most of them housing cost burden. Your investment is helping them stay housed, reduce debt, care for their families and plan for their future. In the most recent cohort, 96% used the cash for basic needs like housing and caregiving. 44% who were behind on rent caught up within six months, and two families bought homes, a life changing outcome. Despite the success, we are now hearing that funding may be cut entirely. That would be a mistake. We fought hard this past legislative session to protect your authority to fund initiatives like this, working with coalition partners to defeat senate bill 2010, which [5:16:39 PM] defeat senate bill 2010, which would have banned cities from investing in initiatives like this one. We defended your local control. Now we're asking you to use it. If we're serious about long term equity and housing stability in Austin, we cannot treat this like a one off experiment. You're already shown leadership by funding it twice. Walking away now would send the wrong message and leave nearly 100 families behind. We also know that demand far exceeds what we can meet. That's why we've long advocated expanding this initiative to 3 million, which could be funded with just a fraction of the potential revenue from tax rate election. If you go to voters this fall, this is exactly what the kind of proven people first investment they would support. Please continue the city's commitment. Keep the family stabilization grant funded at no less than 1.3 million, and help us build toward something stronger. Thank you. Now, can we count on your me as Garza? Can we count on your support for early childhood? The 70,000 continued funding of the building [5:17:40 PM] funding of the building comprehensive network year two of a two year match grant, the family stabilization grant, at minimum 1.3, continued funding and eventually built into the budget. Austin public health 1.23 million continued funding for immigrant, legal and mental health services and other supports and implementation of a climate health resilience and disaster preparedness commitments with a dedicated community health worker emergency response team, we urge you to prioritize basic needs and critical programs and services through the fiscal year 26 budget, not wait for November to hear what voters have to say. Thank you. >> Hi, my name. >> Is Dylan. >> I am a resident of district five and I. >> Am nine years old. >> I live in Austin. I care for the people of this city. My parents are in a homeless. >> Nonprofit. >> So I've grown up getting to meet a lot of people who live in. [5:18:43 PM] in. >> Our shelter. >> I've met a lot of really kind and. >> Interesting people. >> Who just need a little help. Right now, when I see people sleeping outside, it seems really unfair and I would like to help to fix it. I think everybody should have a safe place to live. What is the point of a city if only some people can have a home? I learned that you guys are going to vote to ask people to raise more money to help. I think that's a good idea. Austin is filled with really cool people who just want to help. Some of them probably don't know how we need to take. We need to make sure that food, shelters, and jobs are given to people who need it. I might be a little new to politics, but I know that we're supposed to take care of each other. Please vote thoughtfully so we can help everyone in Austin have a chance. I hope this reminds you that everybody, even kids, want to help. Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Nicely done. Dylan, for the record, it's your last name. Baker? >> Yes. >> I thought so. Good job. >> Evening, council members. My [5:19:49 PM] >> Evening, council members. My name is Peter hunt. >> I'm a. >> Resident of district ten, a member of the Austin justice coalition. I want to start by saying that the police budget should not be increased. The police don't need any more money at this point. The issues with the police department are issues of management, administration and action, not of insufficient funding. Police officers and APD are already some of the highest paid in the state. It is not a matter of giving more money to the police department. Along those lines, I want to highlight an issue that has already been brought up several times this evening, which is the allocation of roughly $6 million to the police department budget to account for the Travis county interlocal agreement. That money really shouldn't be placed in the police department budget. And just as a practical matter, it will be much more complicated to then move that money elsewhere if it's in there. Given the state laws regarding reductions in police budget, I also want to highlight the removal of two positions from the office of police oversight. These are important positions to have. We are unclear exactly where they have been moving or what the impacts are going to be of removing those, but I've been attending meetings of the newly formed community police review [5:20:49 PM] formed community police review commission, which is an important resource for community oversight of police. They receive support from the apo, and we would like to see those positions kept. I also want to highlight, as I mentioned, when I gave testimony earlier today regarding the different thresholds for the tier two more priorities in the community investment budget that were listed at the eight cent threshold, but which I think are significant and valuable enough that they should be considered part of a general budget, even though they were listed as higher up. The first of those is funding for libraries. There is a potential list of several million dollars to reduce wait times for materials, and especially given that there are now increased levels of book banning, city libraries may be one of the last bastions we have for supply of important literary materials for our communities and for people to have access to. So I think it's important for that reason, in addition to general accessibility, that libraries continue to be funded. And finally, I want to say that the food plan should be funded. It was an eight cent level and [5:21:50 PM] It was an eight cent level and that's $150,000. Thank you very much. >> Thank you. >> Yes, ma'am. >> Hi y'all. >> Yasmin Smith, born and raised Austin, vice. >> President of justice. >> And advocacy for the Austin area urban league. I'd like to discuss. >> Two things with you. >> Number one, the prioritization and the lacking. Within the base budget. The following items do not appear until $0.05 or beyond. Increase scenarios. Social service contracts fully restored to prior levels. Housing trust fund fully restored to its prior levels. Increased funding for 911 call takers and dispatchers funding the food plan. Immigration, legal services, library materials and additional funding for trauma. The trauma recovery center for crime survivors. We ask you to better prioritize these community benefits in your deliberations. These are not sprinkles on top of the cake that make Austin. These are foundational necessities for the sanctity of humanity. Further, as an anchor organization within the community investment budget that has held the mantle time and time again for our unhoused neighbors, especially during inclement weather. Disaster response. We asked for an [5:22:51 PM] response. We asked for an additional $4.5 million ongoing in the base budget, regardless of the additional funding that may come to pass. We asked for this increase to inclement weather response to fund essential needs yet to be fully addressed. It is your constituents that do not have water. It is your constituents that are suffering from heat stroke and hyperthermia. It is your constituents who whom are hidden in riverbanks and creeks and forests as floods come and wash away their last worldly possessions and even their lives, those constituents must be highlighted at a larger scale in this conversation. While you continue to seek a balanced budget, know that your unhoused neighbors are a large part of the equation which your scales are subject. And now, since I have a little bit of time, if I may take a personal liberty as one of the initial creators, designers, collaborators of cafa, it was absolutely in no regard ever whatsoever an intent for that money to be put into the Austin police department. [5:23:51 PM] the Austin police department. Thank you. >> Mr. Mayor. >> And council. >> It's my honor to be here today. My name is Marc leblanc. I'm the lead pastor of sunrise community church and executive director of sunrise homeless navigation center and a homeowner in district eight. As the provider community, we're so grateful for the partnership in solving homelessness in our community, and I'm here to speak in favor of whatever tax rate is needed to fund the plan, as currently presented by the homeless strategy office, sunrise works in all parts of Austin and is a main connection point for the majority of people experiencing homelessness. Through our hotline, outreach services work inside shelters, our day resource center, and because of that work, over 2000 people are going to be rehoused this year out of homelessness, and about half of those through sunrise is groundbreaking. Wayfinder quick resolution program. Thanks to this work, we get a front row seat to all the negative and the positive changes to the homeless system. Over the last ten years, homelessness has been one of the biggest community challenges we face over the last decade, and it continues to grow nationwide, including here in Austin. Most recently, the fastest growing [5:24:53 PM] recently, the fastest growing group of these people has actually been families with children sleeping in vehicles. Those of us who provide services across the city are so grateful for the partnership of the city of Austin, and we are at a critical inflection point, both because of the reduction of state and federal funding, but also because for the first time that I can remember, we have the most strategic plan that we've had in a long time. This team that that works for the city and our homeless strategy officer, David gray, have created a plan that fixes our eyes on a singular goal of reducing the amount of people on the streets. We need that north star as a community, so that we can be reducing the amount of people living on the streets, and that we can measure whether we're doing it well. Reducing the amount of people living on the streets is good for liberals, and it's good for conservatives. One of the few things in this entire world that those two groups of people can agree on. This plan moves us towards that shared goal and more than other plans, and it builds on something rare that we have right now momentum. When we get things, when things get tight, it's tempting to flounder, but it doesn't have to be that way. Sometimes it creates strategic clarity. Strategy is important [5:25:54 PM] clarity. Strategy is important when things are tight and we can be strategic even if things are tight. We believe that you can do that and we think you should fully fund the plan. >> Thank you. >> Victoria. Brown, Emily Blair Jesus Laura James Talbot, Kathleen Abbott. I'm going to keep going a little more. Daniella silva, Joe. Catherine Quinn. Okay. >> Good evening. >> Mayor and council members. >> My name. >> Is Emily Blair. >> I'm speaking. >> Today on. >> Behalf. >> Of the Austin apartment. >> Association and our members. >> Our association. Represents all kinds of rental housing. Providers in. >> Austin. >> From individuals and. >> Families. >> Maybe renting out an. >> Adu in their backyard to larger property. >> Management companies. >> Altogether, our. >> Members are responsible for. >> The housing of nearly. >> Half. >> Of the households. >> In our city. [5:26:54 PM] >> In our city. >> So first. >> I want to. >> Start. >> By. >> Applauding the city for the significant steps that. >> You all. >> Have taken. >> In. >> The past years to increase housing supply. We've seen firsthand that when cities prioritize housing, like Austin has renters benefit from more choices and greater affordability. Next, we fully understand the challenge before you and balancing and managing a budget such as this, especially in this time, we must balance fee increases and department decisions while maintaining that positive momentum I spoke of. Additionally, we must minimize both immediate and long term impacts to current and future renters here in Austin. In the short term, proposed fee increases and for example, the development services budget will create a higher cost burden that renters and rental housing providers cannot currently bear. Furthermore, we caution about long term impacts. Looking ahead, ongoing fee increases could potentially hinder future housing investment, which we all know is so vital as a city grows. We have offered several recommendations in a letter that you received, and one is to [5:27:55 PM] you received, and one is to consider reconsider the proposed development services fees and set a cap to those increases to, say, 10% on average. But I will say we stand ready to partner and so that together we can ensure long term sustainability of the rental housing market here in Austin. Thank you so much for your time. >> Thank you. >> Good evening mayor council. My name is. Daniella silva. I'm a resident of district. >> Three and the Austin policy. >> Coordinator at. Workers defense. >> Action fund. >> As arpa funds run out and the federal administration continues to cut off already approved grant funds. Critical services to our most vulnerable are on the chopping block. We expect every available dollar to be applied to community priorities. Many of our neighbors currently live in the very real fear of being kidnaped off the streets and deported. Many more are losing access to health care, all while the cost of living skyrockets. This cannot be the moment we choose to turn our [5:28:57 PM] moment we choose to turn our backs on the progress Austin has made in recent years years. Here we are, pulling dollars we were once told were untouchable from reserves because the city chose to move forward with the fiscally irresponsible police contract that we warned against. That spending, along with the tax by the next ledge, have resulted in a budget that has little wiggle room for community priorities without increasing taxes for austinites, our position is that their decision cannot mean that we must now sacrifice the critical services that form the backbone of public safety and community care in Austin. Keeping that in mind, it is critical to ensure that a binding commitment is made to the voters that no more money will go to APD other than the already signed contract, and APD will buy what it needs from asset forfeiture accounts, or by reassigning the 24 plus month vacancies to request new positions, locking up any additional dollars into departmental budget that can never be decreased as irresponsible and borderline inhumane, given the vast array of existing community needs. Austin has invested in legal services to assist immigrant families in an increased [5:29:57 PM] families in an increased investment in those services is needed now more than ever, as our neighbors are being kidnaped and leaving their families without their loved ones and without a main source of income, parents are left alone, not knowing how they will keep a roof over their kids heads, unsure of how they can provide enough food on the table. Please increase this funding and also no money for ai surveillance tech. No money for apr. Not now, not in December, not ever. Thank you. >> If your name's been called, please go ahead and sit. >> Yeah. Please go ahead and take a seat if you want to speak. >> I'm Joe Katherine Quinn. CEO of caritas of Austin. >> Thank you. >> Mayor Watson. Mayor pro tem Fuentes for. >> Hearing our testimony today. >> Caritas supports. >> The homeless. >> Strategy office's plan. It is. >> Balanced and it sets us on the right course. >> As. >> A homeless response system. >> Since covid, a couple waves [5:30:58 PM] >> Since covid, a couple waves of one. >> Time federal. >> Funds have. >> Fueled significant growth. >> Of our. >> System infrastructure. Upon extending. Expending these funds, we will need additional local revenue to continue our momentum toward a response method, which steadily and effectively reduces homelessness. In other words, this plan, fully funded. Therefore, we support a tax rate election and are prepared to work with. Other stakeholders to educate the public about the need for additional revenue understanding this is uncharted territory. After sb two and 2019, we are closely monitoring the special session of the Texas legislature. Since there are some items on the call that could preempt your efforts. Additionally, we are minding the unpredictable situation at the federal level, such as changing regulations, executive orders, [5:32:00 PM] regulations, executive orders, rulemaking, new contract terms, budget cuts. Et cetera. Et cetera. We desperately need and deeply appreciate a stable and predictable partner in our local government. So we urge you to choose the path most likely to succeed. The higher we go on the TRE, the higher the risk at the ballot box. Given our precarious situation, our position is this we would rather have something than nothing. Thank you so much for your public service, all of you and I look forward to continuing to work together. >> Thank you. Yes, sir. You want to begin? >> My name is James Talbot, and I'm a longtime artist in Austin, and I'm here to. Notice that none of these requests are for anything remotely looking like tearing down a convention center [5:33:01 PM] tearing down a convention center and rebuilding it again. And so whatever flexibility there is with the hotel tax that would otherwise get wrapped up in servicing the debt for that project, which would really help a few already wealthy people. I strongly urge you to put that. Monstrous decision before the voters. We can treat. Austin. As a business, or we can treat Austin as a family. And it's pretty clear to me what has the longer view. Thanks. >> Thank you. Yes, ma'am. [5:34:05 PM] >> Thank you. Yes, ma'am. >> Mayor. Council members. >> I'm Kathleen Abbott. >> District nine Austin is facing a $3,331 million deficit. Property taxes have more than doubled since 2015, and they're going up another 7.9% this year. And yet this budget proposes millions of dollars for what can only be called concrete vanity projects. Optional mega developments that offer zero relief to the people footing the bill. Let's be specific. 104 million for cap and stitch, 100 million for new convention center this year 185.5 million for project connect. These heat generating concrete boondoggles are being pushed forward while you propose cuts to firefighters, homeless services and public health contracts in a city already behind on basic services and facing an 800 [5:35:06 PM] services and facing an 800 million backlog in park maintenance, this budget exemplifies cognitive dissonance. Despite our inevitable future of worsening heat, drought and flooding, not one of the 1300 pages in your budget seriously addresses climate resilience or environmental protection. Not a word about reversing Austin's growing urban heat island. The silence is deafening. Not just deafening. It's dangerous. This budget makes it painfully clear your priorities are behind closed doors with corporate lobbyists and developers showing that big contracts and ribbon cuttings matter more than the basic needs of the people who voted you in to serve. You're not investing in Austin's future. You're mortgaging it for heat trapping, concrete and political vanity. Vanity specifically. It is ridiculous to tie up more than 5 billion [5:36:06 PM] to tie up more than 5 billion hotel tax money. >> Thank you. Thank you. >> Miss Joseph. >> Thank you. >> Mayor. Council. >> There's a presentation. >> Mayor. Thank you. Mayor. Council. I'm Zenobia Joseph. I just want to preface by saying respectfully, mayor, it feels like you're engaging the community in a mere exercise in futility. On page 262, there are 70 boards and commissions, approximately 700 members. But we do not know how many of those recommendations you included in the budget as it relates specifically to transportation. I want to speak to the members in districts one, four, six, and seven. I want you to understand that north Lamar has been funded. It's a bait and switch. And this is the slide from may 15th, 2020, when txdot actually put north Lamar number one, $482 million was supposed to be allocated for this area. In addition to the other projects there. 2020 $460 million. So, city manager, I would ask you to [5:37:09 PM] city manager, I would ask you to recognize that you need to ask Richard Mendoza where the money went. Next slide. I want you to remember that you actually acknowledge the discrimination. And in your walk bike roll update, you actually noted the disinvestment in sidewalks on north Lamar chito vela Mike Siegel, council members, please take a look at this and recognize this is not a new issue. The city has acknowledged it. Next slide. I want you to see for yourself the difference between airport boulevard, 46th street, and I want you to recognize not necessarily the need to spend additional monies, but to actually take the money that's been allocated. You want us to support the 2026 bond? I say no because you continue to take the money away from the area when it's already allocated. This is not the more on the left. This is airport boulevard. The terracotta sidewalks cost more. Red sidewalks equate to redlining. Next slide. I'll just let you know, mayor, I'm totally against the $11.5 million and would ask [5:38:09 PM] the $11.5 million and would ask you to actually fund the things that we need. Next slide. And as it relates to the carver, I just want to ask the city manager to be transparent and tell us where the money went. If you have any questions, I'll gladly answer them at this time. >> Thank you, miss Joseph. >> You're welcome. >> Mandy blatt, Reece Armstrong. Susannah Carranza, Liz Schoenfeld, Peter. Kim. Leanne. Martini. Cuauhtemoc Toren and Ben suddaby. >> Should I start, please? >> Okay. >> My name is Mandy blatt. >> I live. >> In district one, and I've been coming to these kinds of city council meetings about. >> The budget. >> For about eight years now, and I have. To admit, this year has been a wake up call. Like so many other austinites, I've [5:39:11 PM] many other austinites, I've always considered the state government to. >> Be our biggest. >> Obstacle to Progressive community. First budget. While I considered you, our local government, to be our biggest advocate. So when Texas passed its law prohibiting cities from ever reducing the police budget, I lamented this new barrier and I assumed that you all did the same. So I was completely shocked to find out that your current budget includes an increase in police dollars during this budget crisis that we're in, where we should not be increasing spending on anything. The community has explicitly expressed opposition toward, such as expanding APD and instead allocating what little money we have to the essential services in the community investment budget, such as the services to prevent and reduce homelessness. In other words, that Texas law is not even hurting Austin at all because you are independently choosing to do worse than what Texas requires by adding dollars to the police budget dollars, you have the ability to invest elsewhere. This is the first time I've truly felt that we're not on the same side. No one can truly represent the needs and values of Austin if they're [5:40:12 PM] values of Austin if they're literally making less Progressive decisions than the state government. I strongly encourage you to think about whether this is truly what you intended when you signed up to represent us. >> Please go ahead. >> Hi, I'm. >> I'm doctor. >> Susana Carranza. I live in district nine. I represent myself, and I oppose the budget as it stands. I testified. >> Earlier today. >> In favor of the. >> Tax rate increase, because I consider. >> Tax and investment. >> To create the community we want. >> You recently received. >> A carefully developed community. >> Budget. >> Which I support, but I oppose the current. Budget because it left out. >> Or underfunded. >> Many programs that truly increase the safety of our community by. Prioritizing housing, not handcuffs. I agree with previous testimony. Remind us the budget is a moral document. At a time when our federal and state governments are. Cutting funding for vital programs and converting us into a police state, the city has the opportunity and the duty to buck [5:41:15 PM] opportunity and the duty to buck the trend and stop adding to the APD budget. I want my tax dollars to help. House people provide rent assistance for those. Who need, and also to focus on harm reduction. Not to arrest people and. Criminalize poverty. I want my tax dollars to fund our libraries, parks and public spaces. Not a apr which we know will be used to target and terrorize our communities. I know it's off the table right now, but it will come back in a few months and we're not going to forget. I urge you to meet the moment. As many testified earlier, this is not the time for austerity budget. This is our rainy day. This is a time for a budget that will uplift, uplift our most vulnerable communities and not keep feeding into police state. Thank you. >> Please go ahead. [5:42:20 PM] >> Please go ahead. >> Hello, mayor and council members, my. >> Name is. >> Reece Armstrong and. I'm a. >> Proud resident. >> Of district seven. I'm here today to express a variety of concerns with the proposed budget. At present, this budget is an austerity budget that succumbs to the state and makes deep cuts to services while funding cops permanently at our expense. I am very worried about the killing of the housing trust fund and the gutting of the Austin housing finance corporation, as well as other cuts to housing and homelessness programs. These are vital programs that are already underfunded and should not be the first to go in a tight budget. Our most vulnerable are who need the protection of the city the most, and we must prioritize the stability of the working class over the comfort of a few. Additionally, I'm concerned by the cuts to public health due to grant loss. We need our public health services in this time when we're reeling from the effects of covid, and we live under a crumbling health care system, that only works for a few. Thirdly, I am concerned about the increases in budget for the police. We already gave them a ton of money which has decimated this budget cycle, and [5:43:22 PM] decimated this budget cycle, and it's a permanent increase. Redirect this money to fighting the root cause of crime poverty. Lastly, I want to support council member Siegel's amendment to cut all pool fees for working families. However, it's important to note that continuing and expanding protection and investment in Austin citizens, as we know is necessary is not possible without passing a strong TRE of at least $0.07, preferably the full $0.08. Thank you. >> Good evening, mayor Watson. Mayor pro tem Fuentes. Members of council, thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening. My name is Liz Schonfeld. I am a homeowner in district three, and I am the CEO of lifeworks, a nonprofit that is dedicated to solving youth homelessness here in our community. I want to begin by expressing my strong support for the homeless strategy office's comprehensive plan. It outlines a thoughtful strategic investment in a continuum of services that our city urgently needs. I'm grateful to David [5:44:23 PM] needs. I'm grateful to David gray and to his team for their leadership and their vision. I also want to express my appreciation to the members of council who have amplified the importance of addressing youth homelessness. The number of young people in our community who are unhoused has more than quadrupled in the last five years, and many of these individuals have experience in the foster care system or have children of their own. While the zo plan is not population specific, a strong system benefits everyone, and that includes youth. This is a critical moment for us collectively. Between the sunsetting of covid relief dollars and changes in federal priorities, we are seeing a dramatic reduction in federal funds. And yet the needs of our community continue to grow. We simply can't afford to do nothing without sustained investment. We risk reversing the progress that we've made and allowing more people, including youth, to fall into homelessness. And that's why I support investing in our homelessness response system through a tax rate election at [5:45:23 PM] through a tax rate election at any level that appropriately balances the affordability challenges that so many in our community are also feeling. We're at a crossroads, and the decisions that you make in the coming weeks will shape not just policies, but. >> Futures. >> Especially for our most vulnerable residents. So thank you for your leadership, your service and your willingness to engage in tough but necessary decisions. And I stand ready to partner with you in building the homelessness response system that our city deserves. >> Thanks. >> Thank you. >> Hello again. My name is cuauhtémoc Duran. I live in district two. I want to see in a budget an equitable cola that includes a 4% raise for city employees, especially everyone making under 50,000. I was moved by a gentleman today. I met waiting for you all to adjourn. Someone that enjoys Austin for its great qualities like parks and its and its art culture. He wanted to speak today, but didn't get enough time to sign up. He works at one of our libraries, but he makes more mowing lawns than the cost of rent. And the cost of rent is [5:46:24 PM] rent. And the cost of rent is just too much and may have to move from Austin. Let's make sure that our workers have a livable wage and that we fund our libraries to their fullest, and that we expand hiring. I love our libraries and their modern services like enhanced library ids. Let's keep it all funded and expanded. On that note, I ask that you not make cuts to affordable housing, multiple public health contracts, ems services, and the housing trust fund. Ask that we keep the Austin civilian conservation corps and ensure it is utilized to its fullest and creative and creative potential. In a state with 70% of employees being retail and services, it is amazing that it can provide jobs to young people that want to see a better city. I would also like to see expanded swim lessons and the elimination of entry fees for all pools citywide. As a renter, these pools are a great way to beat the heat. Lastly, I ask of you to move nine, 11, nine, 11 out of APD and return it up to municipal control and also establish a climate revolving fund. Like I said before, the far right is making tough decisions that harm us. [5:47:25 PM] tough decisions that harm us. It's time for our leaders. Fighting the far right make bold decisions that protect us and improve our way of life. That's what the voters want. We've seen in other cities, like New York City, where they cut, where they increase the police budget to a ridiculous amount, just like we've done here. And the response was people got organized and they responded to it. Voters wanted so listen to the voters, improve our lives, fight back against the far right. Thank you. Hello, my name is Peter Kim. I am a resident of district one. I, I mostly have just a bunch of loose observations. I'm still trying to get caught up with what the heck is going on in the budget, but just some things that kind of popped out to me were a lot of the reductions I saw in expenditures for departments like parks and rec, cuts in housing, and those all totaling up to around $27 million of [5:48:25 PM] up to around $27 million of cuts. 27 to like $19 million dollars of cuts. And, you know, you look at that and you compare that to the slice of the pie that APD is growing by, by this year. And I think all of this really highlights the need for us to commit to increasing or committing to a tax rate election, because if we can't make up the actual deficits that we're on the brink of incurring this year, again, the only way to get that money is to actually collect that money. I think from all the impassioned testimony that others have given today, you do see that these are real people, and these programs are not just some abstract numbers on a spreadsheet. These provide support for people, for the people in our community who need [5:49:27 PM] people in our community who need it the most. And in situations like these, of course, they're always the first ones to get the boot. And given the state of our country, the state of our state, I think that we as a city of Austin, think that it's unacceptable to let those who are the most vulnerable be kicked out from underneath us. They need our help more than ever in this time, and as a homeowner, I am totally willing to do that. >> Hello, my name is Ben suddaby, resident of district four. What a day! >> Just to give context Wright. >> I. Want us to imagine a thought experiment. Had the state never put those. >> Caps in place, where would our rates be? >> Right? So sometimes when we talk about the rates, it can sound scary, especially going over these new imposed caps. >> But really. >> We're what we're talking about is right along. >> The trend line. >> We've heard from staff, we've heard from the public, we've [5:50:27 PM] heard from the public, we've heard from my fellow afscme members. Now, I ask you to put it before the voters give us a TRE that maintains essential services. Let us vote on keeping libraries staffed. Make sure that we have a public health care system here in our city that takes care of our our health and safety. A Progressive cost of living adjustment for the staff that serve the city so well. The success of all the programs that you implement and design hinges on the staff that make it run. So I believe that the voters of Austin will take this on and continue to make this a wonderful place to live. I know that in this room, I've seen some of the best community advocates, some of the best canvassers that I know in town, and I see the coalition forming that is going to go out and talk to our friends and our neighbors door to door backyard parties over the summer and fall, and we're going to talk to each [5:51:28 PM] we're going to talk to each other about the vision of Austin. That is a beautiful place to live, where we take care of each other, where we resist what's happening on the federal and state level, trying to marginalize people, trying to divide us, trying to make sure we're not taking care of each other. We live in a wonderful city. And again, this is a very reasonable amount that we're talking about. I've done the math for my house, not with new appraisal district numbers, but I'm talking about 20, 25 bucks a month. Incredibly reasonable to keep our city running, taking care of these basic services that make this a beautiful place to live. Put it before the voters, we'll decide. >> Murray. All speakers for the public hearing have been called. >> Thank you. And I want to say thank you on behalf of the city council, to all of the speakers that were here today and participated in this public hearing on the budget, as we have talked about members and members of the public many times before, we will not be actually voting on the budget today. [5:52:30 PM] voting on the budget today. Although this was a public hearing specifically on the budget itself. So without objection, the vote on the adoption of the fiscal year 2025 2026 budget is postponed to August 13th, 2025 here in Austin city hall at 301 west second street, Austin, Texas, at 10:00 in the morning. As you know, we also will have a public hearing at that time. And that's something that we voted on earlier today. At the same time, we set the maximum tax rate, the council budget discussions and voting will continue to August 14th and 15th if necessary. So without further objection, the public hearing on the budget schedule for today is now closed. But I want to point out again that the public will be allowed to speak when we take action on the budget on October, on August 13th, 14th and 15th if necessary. And as we go forward [5:53:32 PM] necessary. And as we go forward with some of these work sessions, which I'll talk about in just a second. Council member alter. >> I. >> Just want to be doubly clear because I don't want us to accidentally. >> Do something. >> Do we need to have a motion in a second to postpone the budget or you you can just do that. I just want to be. >> Extra triple, you know? >> Well, I, I appreciate your diligence. Why don't I let you make a motion since you want to council member alter moves that we postpone the vote on the adoption of the fiscal year 2024, 25, 26 budget to August 13th, 2025 here in Austin city hall at 301 west second street in Austin, Texas at 10:00 in the morning. Council member alter makes the second. Oh, you can't do both. Council member Velasquez makes the second to that motion. Is there any discussion? Without objection, the motion is adopted and council member harper-madison is joining us virtually, and she votes along with us. With that being said, let me again remind the public where we are in this process. On Monday, August 4th, we will bring forward by 6:00 a [5:54:34 PM] we will bring forward by 6:00 a form of what we want to offer up as potential amendments. And so that everybody will have an opportunity to know what we're thinking about individually with regard to the budget. On the fifth at 9:00, we will have a work session, and it will be at that work session that we will have the financial staff walk through the various alternative budget options that the manager's office has put together. Those alternatives run from alternative one, which would be a $0.01 tray to $0.08 in terms of tray. Also on August 5th, there will be a audit and finance committee meeting. I anticipate that will be scheduled for 130 to try to schedule it, that we may that the work session could go longer [5:55:34 PM] the work session could go longer than that, but we will schedule it for 130 and it will be delayed if the work session goes longer than that. Then on August 7th, the council will lay out. We'll have that work session where the council will lay out the amendments and potential ifc's. I should have said that earlier. Potential ifc's will also be offered up by August, August 4th at 6:00. That will give us the opportunity, as we discussed earlier today, to have some discussion about how this all ends up playing out going forward into August 13th, 14th and 15th if necessary. Members. That's all we have for this agenda for today. So without objection, we will adjourn this work session. And that included a public hearing of the Austin city council. It is 5:56 P.M. On Thursday, July 31st. We are now adjourned. Thanks, everybody. [5:56:36 PM] adjourned. Thanks, everybody. And thanks for those who participated in the hearing.