Dear Neighbors,

Today my colleagues and I adopted the Fiscal Year 2023-24 budget. Throughout my tenure on Council, I’ve championed investments in essential services, public safety, parks, and our workforce. I am proud to support a budget that delivers on those priorities.

Specific budget items I have long supported include: funding for our 911 call center, police academy, EMS recruitment, improvements to our airport, and enhanced reliability of our water service. I also authored amendments that support survivors of sexual and domestic violence, expand a cost-saving EMS program, mitigate wildfire risk and climate change through proper land management, and improve our response to hate. 

You will find additional details on my budget amendments and other important budget highlights below.

FY24 Budget Highlights

The adopted budget reflects investments that will make our district and our city safer, more prepared, and more resilient, both during disasters and day-to-day. Below I have highlighted what I think will be of most interest to District 10. I invite you to read the City’s budget overview here.

District 10 Projects:

• Canyon Creek Fire/EMS Station: We are building another new fire station that will serve District 10, anticipated completion - October 2024.

• Mobility Projects: The capital budget funds mobility and safety improvements along Loop 360 and Spicewood Springs Road as well as the planned reconstruction of Redbud Trail Bridge.  

• Old Quarry and Howson Libraries Improvements: The capital plan includes an upcoming renovation of Old Quarry Library and upgrades to the Howson Library.

• Household Hazardous Waste Pickup Program: This pilot program in District 10 will continue for another year! See a list of eligible materials and schedule your home pickup here.

• Deep Eddy Pool: Funding is allocated for construction of a new retaining wall.

Austin Water:

• The Austin Water budget implements recommendations from an external review that I commissioned in 2022 to improve the resilience of our water utility, including:

  • Staff recruitment and retention incentives

  • Plant-specific operator training

  • Support for emergency, multi-language, and social media communications

  • Funding for preventative maintenance at treatment plants

  • Expansion of Water Forward 2024 climate and hydrology analyses

• Additionally, the budget invests in the citywide implementation of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (smart water meters that detect leaks and provide up-to-date water usage info). All Austin Water meters will be converted to AMI by early 2025.

Aviation:

• The airport is currently installing a new checked baggage handling system, remodeling the TSA checkpoint, and implementing a 30,000-square-foot concourse expansion.

• The EMS pilot program at the airport, which I co-sponsored last year, and which serves travelers during health emergencies, is now permanently funded with 3 additional EMS personnel.

• I remain focused on addressing the Aviation Department’s vacancy rate to improve travel experience for Austinites and visitors, and the budget includes some key steps towards that end. 

Public Safety:

• 911 Call Center Staffing: This budget anticipates recruitment and retention incentives for our 911 call takers and dispatchers, and supports a partnership with Workforce Solutions to accelerate recruiting efforts.

• Austin Police Academy: The budget invests in a research-based curriculum for the Cadet Training Academy, including hiring nationally recognized experts to change how we train the next generation of police officers; funding for 11 new positions to enhance training; and a new commander position overseeing police recruitment. Already other recent recruitment changes are showing results. This September, APD will welcome its largest Cadet Academy class in two years.

• EMS Recruitment: 3 new positions will enhance EMS’ ability to recruit medics and specialists.

• Office of Violence Prevention: I created this office in 2020, and it continues to craft and implement a gun violence reduction strategy, a community violence intervention program, and an education campaign regarding safe firearm storage.

• Wildfire Readiness: Multiple departments have made commitments to prepare for and prevent wildfire, including Austin Water, Austin Parks and Recreation, Austin Energy, and Austin Fire Department.

Emergency Preparedness:

• UT - City Climate CoLab: This summer I worked with UT faculty and city staff to establish a new UT-City Climate Colab which will develop Austin specific climate information, data products, tools, and assessments to drive innovation in research, policy and governance, funding, and education. The budget formalizes this partnership which supports projects on issues like urban heat trends and how to mitigate the impact of climate change on our water supply.

• Austin Energy: The budget invests in extreme weather preparedness and system reliability.

• Austin Fire Department: The budget allocates funding for wildfire preparedness and to train firefighters for emergency events, including flooding and winter storms.

• Austin Homeland Security and Emergency Management: New Disaster Reservists are being added to assist with logistical support to deploy emergency supplies and provide preparedness training throughout our community.

• Generators in City Facilities: $6.1 million has been added to equip City facilities with generators for weather emergencies.

Budget Initiatives I Authored

The budget initiatives I sponsored will strengthen Austin’s public safety and crisis response, further wildfire prevention and climate resilience efforts, expand emergency healthcare, explore cost-recovery opportunities with local healthcare stakeholders, and protect our community against acts of hate.

Victim Services Counselors: My first amendment secured ongoing funding for 10 Austin Police Department Victim Services counselors who support survivors of sexual assault,  domestic violence, other non-family violence aggravated assaults. These counselors provide trauma-informed services and ensure victims are aware of their rights within the justice system. This funding reflects commitments we made to survivors when the Council settled a pair of lawsuits brought by sexual assault survivors whose cases had been mishandled by APD.  

Wildfire Prevention & PARD Land Management: My amendment provided full-time staff to implement the City’s soon-to-be- adopted Land Management Plan for Austin’s Parks and Preserves. With recent fires throughout central Texas and Red Flag Warnings from the National Weather Service, this plan is a critical component in our fight against the threat of wildfire.

EMS Collaborative Care Communication Center (C4): In 2020 I initiated the C4 program which responds to low-acuity calls from patients that do not require transport by an ambulance or to an emergency room. This program reduces strain on our hospitals and provides real cost-savings to our community, patients, and the broader healthcare system. C4 also frees up ambulances and, in turn, reduces response times across the City and throughout District 10. My amendment provided EMS with the necessary personnel authorization so that the C4 program can operate 24/7.

Paramedic Practitioners / Collaborative Care Communication Center (C4): Data shows that 30-40% of 911 calls are not life-threatening calls requiring ambulance transport. When the City’s Paramedic Practitioners and C4 personnel are deployed to treat non-emergency patients where they are, both patients and our emergency response ecosystem save money. My budget rider established a goal for these two programs to operate 24/7 and directed conversations to pursue cost-recovery measures and enhanced collaboration between our local healthcare stakeholders.

We All Belong: As acts of hate persist in our community, we must continue to improve our community’s response to hate crimes and incidents. Last year, I authored an amendment supporting the creation of We All Belong, an anti-hate outreach and education campaign. This year, I sponsored additional funding to continue this critical work and system improvements.

Initiatives I Co-Sponsored

I also co-sponsored several of my colleagues’ amendments and riders that will further advance my priorities and address concerns I have heard from you. These initiatives supported:

• Purchase of a new aerial fire truck (CM Kelly);

• Additional funding for security, maintenance, and facilities personnel at the Parks and Recreation Department (MPT Ellis) and shade structures at our playgrounds and recreational spaces (CM Vela);

• Increased funding for domestic violence shelter services (CM Ryan Alter);

• Additional funding for the Office of Violence Prevention’s Community Violence Intervention Programming (CM Velásquez); and continued support for safe gun storage education and distribution of gun locks (MPT Ellis);

• Increased funding for early childhood social service agreements and a new program to waive development fees for eligible child care centers (CM Fuentes);

• Increased funding for AISD’s Parent Support Specialists, Prime Time After School Program, and Victory Tutorial programs for economically disadvantaged students (CM Velásquez);

• HIV/STI testing and treatment for vulnerable members of the LGBTQIA+ community (CM Velásquez);

• New funding for the City’s Neighborwoods Community Tree Planting Program (CM R. Alter);

• Increased funding for the City’s College Food Access Grant Program to support college students struggling with food insecurity (CM Qadri);

• Expanded the existing Safer 6th Street Initiative to include funding for the distribution of drink-spiking test strips to nightlife establishments, along with the current Sexual Assault Prevention/Bystander Intervention Training (CM Qadri).

Property Taxes & Fees

You can view the City Manager’s proposed budget here. This website will be updated in the coming week with the final adopted budget that includes all Council amendments as well as the updated taxpayer impact statement.  For the moment, I would like to note two things. First, for homeowners who are over the age of 65 or who are disabled, the City has increased the homestead exemption by an additional $11,000, to a total of $124,000 of the assessed value of their homes which will lower your tax bill. Second, to keep up with the pace of our community’s growing needs, as well as rising costs, certain City rates and fees, including for trash pick-up and the Clean Community Fee, will rise for typical rate payers.

Thank you to those who attended my town hall and office hours or otherwise communicated with me during this process. Our budget is a living document that should reflect the needs and priorities of Austin residents. I also want to thank Interim City Manager Garza, our City staff and my District 10 team, and my colleagues for their diligent work. Together, we will continue to foster a safer, stronger, and more prepared community through these investments.

In the remainder of this letter, you will find updates on a new shared use path on North Hills Drive, information on upcoming City resource fairs, and more. 

Regards,