Dear Neighbors,

I would like to thank everyone who engaged with me and my office throughout this year’s budget process. Last night, my colleagues and I unanimously approved the City’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-2022 budget. I believe this budget addresses many of the issues I heard prioritized by District 10 residents. 

Since entering office, I have advocated for investments that improve our community and strengthen our city’s long term financial health. I was pleased to vote for a budget that is fiscally sustainable and makes strategic investments to keep our community healthy, resilient, and safe.

In this letter you will find budget highlights, initiatives I championed, and other FY22 items of note.

Reducing the Taxpayer Burden

Earlier this summer, I worked to raise the general homestead exemption to the legal maximum of twenty percent and to increase the senior homestead exemption by $25,000. I am pleased to report that the City tax bill for the typical homeowner will decrease by $17.12 per year or $1.43 per month. Typical senior or disabled homeowners will see a reduction of $173.83 per year or $14.49 per month. 

For the typical homeowner, the adopted budget provides nearly double the property tax relief than the City Manager’s initial budget proposal included.

Under the adopted budget, typical rate payers will see no change to their Austin Energy and Austin Water bills and modest increases to Austin Resource Recovery charges and Transportation User Fees. 

The combined impact of tax, rate and fee changes would represent an increase, for the typical ratepayer, of 0.6% - an additional $28.12 per year or $2.34 per month.

FY22 Budget Highlights

The budget includes significant investments in improving public safety, wellness, and resilience for our City.  I invite you to review a longer overview here.

Below I have highlighted some key items that may be of interest to District 10:

• The construction and design of the Loop 360/Davenport Fire and EMS station, which will improve response times and contribute to our wildfire mitigation efforts

• $22.8 million to support vegetation management near power lines to lower wildfire risk and improve electric reliability in District 10 and around the city

• Community-wide emergency preparedness planning, as well as a cross-departmental analysis of potential wildfire evacuation routes

• Funding for two police cadet academies

• Significant investments by the city to put the Austin Police Retirement System (APRS) on track for long term sustainability

• $348.6 million in Austin Water’s five year planned capital spending to improve Austin Water’s resilience to address the impacts of aging infrastructure, extreme weather events, and a growing population

• Improvements in storm water infrastructure and waterway maintenance

• $8.3 million dedicated to addressing mission critical infrastructure and deferred maintenance for city facilities, a practice I have long championed

• Investments to optimize and grow the city’s electric fleet and to support the electrification of mobility infrastructure and to identify locations for Community Resilience Hubs

• Funding for improvements at several District 10 parks including extension of walking trails landscaping, new volleyball courts, group camping areas, picnic areas, and a nature-based discovery area, at Emma Long Metropolitan Park and renovation of the restrooms at Bull Creek District Park and Walsh Boat Landing

• Funding to house an additional 200 individuals living at targeted encampments through the HEAL initiative, a program I helped create to house individuals experiencing homelessness and close existing encampments across the city

I am pleased to share the following amendments I championed as part of the FY22 budget deliberations process:

• Improving Access to Medical Care in Austin

  • Three additional Paramedic Practitioners, who provide care on-site to low acuity patients and alleviate strain on the EMS system as a whole. Many of these personnel have advanced medical training and therefore the city may charge insurance for their services and generate revenue

  • Three more EMS Division Chiefs to provide more leadership oversight across the EMS system

  • To further support the long-term sustainability of EMS, I brought forward a rider to address a backlog in EMS billing and improve the billing system in the future, to identify opportunities for optimizing Fire/EMS operations, and for the City Manager to bring forward a plan to achieve 12-person staffing at all EMS stations over the next four years

  • Phase II of the Office of the Chief Medical Officer (OCMO) which I created during last year’s budget cycle. Phase II adds medical staff and data coordinators to further our efforts to improve the health outcomes of all Austinites by taking a holistic and strategic approach to medical care. Dr. Mark Escott serves as our new Chief Medical Officer

• Enhancing First Responder Preparedness

  • Wildfire operational readiness training for all AFD personnel

  • Active attacker training and emergency response equipment for EMS

  • Vehicles and other safety equipment to support EMS’ downtown emergency response

  • Continued support for reforms at the APD Cadet Academy that aim to improve the use of adult learning concepts, instill a sense of “guardianship” over a "warrior" mentality, and deepen understanding of our community as we prepare to bring on new classes 

  • Compensation reviews for 911 call takers, police dispatchers, and Victim Services counselors to ensure we are paying our first responders and public safety staff at a level that values their dedication and service

• Recommendations from the Reimagining Public Safety Process

  • Funded additional Victim Services counselors and provided emergency financial assistance to survivors of violence

  • Increased investments in violence prevention and interruption strategies to be administered by the Office of Violence Prevention which I created during the last budget cycle. 

  • Took steps to make our Emergency Communications Department and Forensic Science Department autonomous entities operating in coordination with but independently of the police department to improve efficiency and objectivity

• Investments in our Parks and Recreation System

  • Additional Facilities and Grounds Maintenance staff for the Parks and Recreation Department to better maintain new and existing parks and park facilities

  • 6 new Park Rangers to provide safety and education patrols in our city parks

  • Funding to provide high quality after-school programming to an additional 450 children at our Recreation Centers

    
    

• COVID-19 Relief and Recovery

  • $1 million more to the Arts and Culture Nonprofit Relief Grant, a program I created which provides $20,000 in relief grants to arts and culture organizations who have been significantly impacted by the ongoing pandemic

• Resources to Aid the Homeless and Food Insecure

  • A college student food insecurity grant program to support the creation of related programs at local universities

  • Another Workforce First crew and supervisory staff to support the workforce development program employing those experiencing homelessness

As a body, Council unanimously advanced actions that further improve our delivery of housing and services to individuals experiencing homelessness and funded anti-displacement strategies, community health workers, and a fund to preserve iconic local music venues.

For more details on what we funded within this budget, here are a few helpful links:

• Speak Up Budget Engagement, where you will find all budget documents for your perusal

• Council Message Board, where Council Members post and deliberate various budget amendments, riders, and priorities

I would like to extend my gratitude to my colleagues and city staff for their collaboration and hard work during this budget cycle. Thank you as well to each constituent who engaged with me and my office to share your views. Over the coming year, I look forward to advancing District 10 priorities and continuing to create a safer, greener, and more sustainable Austin for all.

In the remainder of this newsletter, you will find information relating to COVID-19 and the county’s new mask mandate, Project Connect and I-35 input sessions, and more.

Regards,

Alison Alter

Council Member, District 10