Dear Neighbors,
Last Friday, July 9th, City Manager Spencer Cronk delivered his proposed FY22 budget to the public and to City Council. You may view a recording of the budget presentation here. In this letter, you will find resources for learning more about the proposed budget and ways to make your voices heard during the deliberation process.
FY22 Budget Process and Resources You may read the full proposed budget, which is over 900 pages long, here. City staff also prepared the following additional documents as an overview:
For those who would like to dive deeper, I invite you to explore the Open Budget ATX tool, where you may review the city’s revenue and operating budgets in detail.
While the deadline for responses to be included in the final report has passed, the City’s budget survey remains live for public input here. You also may submit comments via Speak Up Austin.
Connecting with the District 10 Office on the FY22 Budget Over the coming weeks through the adoption of the budget in early August, District 10 residents will have several opportunities to share your priorities and feedback with me and my office.
The District 10 FY22 Budget Survey is available via this Google form. You are invited to share your thoughts on where you’d like to see investments or cuts for the upcoming fiscal year.
Budget Office Hours My office will be holding three in-person budget office hours, starting this week. Feel free to drop by and ask any questions you may have about the proposed budget at the following dates and locations: Friday, July 16th from 10:00 am -12:00 pm at Coffee Shark on 2222 Monday, July 19th from 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm at Rudy’s in Rosedale Friday, July 23rd from 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm at Galaxy Café on Mesa Drive
| District 10 Virtual Budget Town Hall Join me and Interim Budget Officer Kerri Lang to discuss the FY22 Budget process and the City’s spending framework on Wednesday, July 21st at 6 p.m. The virtual presentation will be followed by a moderated Q&A session where attendees will be able to submit questions via the chat function in real time. Attendees who are calling in and not using the video platform should e-mail their questions for the panelists at budgetqa@austintexas.gov.
Register to attend using the link below. When you submit your registration, you will receive an email containing the video link and call-in number: https://austintexas.webex.com/austintexas/onstage/g.php?MTID=e48cce2184b322edc746a1835dd98b1bb.
Public Hearing and Council Deliberation Dates Council will hold budget public hearings at City Hall on Thursday, July 22nd and Thursday, July 29th. At this time, members of the public will be able to provide comments directly to the City Council either in person or virtually. To sign up for public comment, follow the instructions on the council meeting website.
Council’s budget work sessions will be held Tuesday, July 27th and Tuesday, August 3rd. Final budget deliberations begin Wednesday, August 11th. These meetings will stream on ATXN. For further information on the budget process, you may review answers to Council budget questions and discussion on the Council message board.
I also want to call your attention to this morning's announcement that Austin-Travis County is returning to Stage 3 of our Risk-Based Guidelines. Vaccinations are as critical as ever for protecting our community from COVID and the new variants, and I highly encourage you to access the many free vaccine resources available if you are not yet inoculated. Find more information on our latest COVID data immediately below this letter.
In the remainder of this newsletter, you will find the links to view the recordings of the recent Austin Energy vegetation management and reliability meetings, and a few other updates.
Regards,
Alison Alter Council Member, District 10 P.S. If you enjoy the District 10 newsletter, please take a moment to invite your friends and neighbors to subscribe at bit.ly/d10newsletters. Thank you! | | COVID Update: Rising Numbers, Vaccination Information Austin Energy Meeting Presentations and Recordings Project Connect: Upcoming Orange and Blue Line Public Meetings Homelessness Update Parks and Recreation Summer Playground Program at Ramsey Park Zilker Park Vision Plan Meeting Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission of Austin Announces Public Input Hearings Call for Sobering Center Local Government Corporation Board of Directors Applications
| | | COVID Update: Rising Numbers, Vaccination Information
Travis County is returning to Stage 3 of our COVID-19 Risk-Based Guidelines.
This week, Austin-Travis County Health Authority Dr. Desmar Walkes also reported a concerning trend of rising positivity rates, case numbers, hospitalizations, and ICU admissions. The number of “breakthrough” cases – COVID cases in individuals who have been fully vaccinated – is also increasing and some breakthrough cases have led to COVID-related hospitalizations. In her presentation to the Travis County Commissioners Court, Dr. Walkes also shared that a number of COVID variants are threatening our community and surrounding counties.
Getting vaccinated against COVID-19 is as critical as ever. If you are not fully vaccinated against COVID, please take advantage of the many free vaccine resources available in our city. You can find free vaccine locations and the latest COVID data at austintexas.gov/covid19 or visit vaccines.gov to find vaccines anywhere in the country.
If you are not vaccinated, please continue to wear a mask in public and social distance. If you are fully vaccinated, please encourage friends and loved ones to take the vaccine so we can better protect our community from another wave of transmission. | | | Austin Energy Meeting Presentations and Recordings
In June, my office and Austin Energy held area-specific meetings regarding vegetation management and ongoing electricity reliability concerns in certain parts of District 10. These meetings focused on the high wildfire risk areas of District 10 that also experience frequent and prolonged outages.
For those unable to attend, here are the links to the recordings and PDF versions of the presentations:
| | | Project Connect: Upcoming Orange and Blue Line Public Meetings
You are invited to attend in-person or virtual public meetings starting July 27 to receive the most recent updates about the Orange and Blue Line Projects, two light rail lines that will serve communities all across our city, with a downtown subway and connections to the airport. The project teams will share the latest details on the current proposed design for each line and engage in discussion with the community.
Join CapMetro for one or more of the following meetings:
IN PERSON open house at the Austin Central Library (come and go at your convenience):
LIVE VIRTUAL MEETINGS with breakout sessions to discuss the projects at a neighborhood level:
Blue Line Project: Republic Square East to the Airport Tuesday, July 27, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 2, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Orange Line Project: Republic Square North to Tech Ridge Wednesday, July 28, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 3, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Orange Line Project: Republic Square South to Slaughter Thursday, July 29, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5, 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Can't make it? Visit CapMetro's on-demand virtual open house from Tuesday, July 27 to Friday, Aug. 27. Materials will be available in English and Spanish. For other language translations or accommodations, please call 512-904-0180. Requests must be made at least three working days prior to the scheduled virtual meeting date.
Learn more about Project Connect and register for an event here. | | | As detailed in prior newsletters, the City Manager is charged with implementing and enforcing Proposition B. The City Manager’s plan has been developed through a coordinated effort among multiple departments—including the Austin Police Department (APD), the Homeless Strategy Division, the Homeless Outreach Street Team, the Downtown Austin Community Court, Parks and Recreation Department, Austin Resource Recovery and others.
We are now in Phase 3 of the enforcement schedule. More details on Phase 3 of the implementation of Proposition B can be found here.
Separate from the enforcement of Prop B, staff are also focused on ongoing efforts to create permanent housing via projects like Caritas of Austin’s Espero Austin at Rutland apartment development and the HEAL initiative, which creates pathways to housing for people living at priority encampments. Individuals living at the second HEAL site have been offered places at the newly-opened Southbridge shelter. City staff will soon move on to the third HEAL site. | | | Parks and Recreation Summer Playground Program at Ramsey Park
The Summer Playgrounds Program for children 6-12 years of age is operating in District 10 at Ramsey Park from July 6 to August 13, 2021. The program runs Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is free of charge. | | | Zilker Park Vision Plan Meeting – August 10 The City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) invites Austin residents to participate in the second Virtual Community Meeting for the Zilker Park Vision Plan, the first-ever comprehensive planning effort in the park’s history. This is the second of five community meetings which will focus on potential programs to generate ideas for the park’s future including enhancements, amenities, activities, events, traffic, and parking. The meeting will include live polling throughout and a live Q&A session after the presentation. Virtual Community Meeting #2 Tuesday, August 10, 6 p.m. Zoom Meeting Registration Spanish interpretation will be provided.
The meeting will be hosted simultaneously on Zoom and Facebook Live. A recording will be available following the presentation at AustinTexas.gov/ZilkerVision.
Community Meeting #1: Follow-up in July On June 29, over 130 participants attended Virtual Community Meeting #1. During the meeting, PARD shared an overview of the Site Analysis and Existing Needs Report, results from the community survey as well as from small group discussions, and asked participants to weigh in on the draft Guiding Principles and Goals.
Visit a pop-up event to learn more throughout the month of July. Zilker Park (D8) - Barton Springs Pool: Friday, July 16, 4 to 7 p.m. Govalle Pool (D3): Saturday, July 17, 12 noon to 3 p.m. Dittmar Pool (D2): Sunday, July 18, 12 noon to 3 p.m. Northwest Family YMCA (D6): Monday, July 19, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Shipe Neighborhood Pool (D9): Saturday, July 24, 12 noon to 3 p.m. Balcones Neighborhood Pool (D7): Sunday, July 25, 12 noon to 3 p.m. Southwest Family YMCA (D8): Monday, July 26, 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. Ramsey Neighborhood Park (D10): Saturday, July 31, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
More details on how to participate can be found here. | | | Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission of Austin Announces Public Input Hearings Under our City Charter, the responsibility of drawing the district boundaries through an open and impartial process is held by the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) of Austin. The first group of residents on the redistricting Commission drew the City Council boundaries in 2013, but after each census, the district boundaries must be updated to account for population growth and changes. The Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) of Austin will hold the first of ten public input hearings on Thursday, July 15, 2021 from 6-8 p.m. at Austin City Hall.
The Commission will also conduct a hearing in District 10 on Thursday, July 22, 2021, from 6-8 p.m. at the Dell Jewish Community Center, 7300 Hart Lane, Austin, TX 78731. Along with Census data, publicly submitted comments will be used to assist the ICRC as it begins the process of drawing district boundaries. More information on public hearings meeting dates and ways to be involved can be found here. | | | Call for Sobering Center Local Government Corporation Board of Directors Applications The Austin City Council seeks applications from qualified individuals to serve on the eleven-member Sobering Center Local Government Corporation Board of Directors. The opening is to fill the next term of office, beginning October 1, 2021 and running through September 30, 2024. Applications will remain open until vacancies have been filled. The Sobering Center Local Government Corporation is incorporated to aid and to act on behalf of the City and the County to accomplish their governmental purpose; namely to staff, manage, and operate a sobriety center for the safe short-term treatment and management of persons under the influence of alcohol, and to provide those persons with information on and referrals to community-based outpatient services, for the purposes of preservation of law enforcement, judicial, and medical resources in the jurisdictional limits of the City and the County.
Find application requirements and more information here. | |
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