| Over the last few days, the weather predictions for Hurricane Harvey have continued to worsen and we are expecting some severe weather in Austin. Please take some time and review your preparations to keep yourself and your family safe in the event of a disaster. Visit Warn Central Texas to sign up for emergency alerts. In an emergency, time is critical.
Remember it is never safe to drive or walk into flood waters. Turn around, don’t drown. Here in Austin, call 9-1-1 for emergencies and 3-1-1 for non-emergencies. The Austin Disaster Relief Network can be reached by dialing 512-806-0800.
With a storm this size, we expect there to be a great need to help others in our state and our community. The Red Cross has put out an urgent call for volunteers. Visit their volunteer page to get started.
Monetary donations to The Red Cross are also needed. Visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your monetary donations will go toward helping respond to and recover from the hurricane.
Please note that non-monetary donations are not needed at this time and may add to the complexities of providing relief at this stage.
In case you need some extra reading this weekend, please continue below to view our first fall newsletter, full of upcoming events and other important information.
-Council Member Alison Alter
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| Table of Contents
- Rosedale CodeNEXT Meeting with Mayor Adler
- Austin Fire Department Overtime Audit and Public Safety Contracts
- August 31st Budget Public Hearing
- 2016 Mobility Bond Project Explorer
- Jester Estates Community Meeting on Traffic Calming
- Expansion to the Curbside Composting Program
- Economic Development Incentive Policy Survey
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| | | Rosedale Neighborhood Association CodeNEXT meeting with Mayor Adler
If you want to hear the Mayor’s perspective on CodeNEXT—and share yours with him—you should attend the Rosedale Neighborhood Association’s upcoming meeting.
Monday, August 28th 6:45 p.m. Congregation Beth Israel 3901 Shoal Creek Blvd CodeNEXT is the proposed rewrite of the City’s Land Development Code. The LDC tells us what we can build and where we can grow, and its rewrite is one of the most important issues in Austin. Visit the CodeNEXT website to learn more. Council Member Alter also will be in attendance and looks forward to hearing your priorities for the Land Development Code. The second draft of CodeNEXT is set to be released on September 15th. It will contain many changes and we need your input in order to best evaluate it. |
| | | Austin Fire Department Overtime Audit and Public Safety Contracts
Council Member Alter has consistently sought ways to improve how the City of Austin delivers its services. After the amount of overtime at the Austin Fire Department tripled from 2014 to 2017, reaching $21 million, Council Member Alter knew we needed to understand why we found ourselves relying so heavily on overtime. She worked with colleagues to have the City Auditor look into the causes and solutions for the high overtime usage. The audit showed that with better management choices we can keep our community and officers safer while saving millions of dollars.
At this time, the City is negotiating long term contracts with all three public safety entities—Fire, Police, and EMS. By reining in ballooning overtime expenses and carefully reforming our public safety contracts with our overall budget in mind, the City could save money that could be used for other public safety needs, other budget priorities, or tax relief.
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| | | Budget Public Hearing
The City Council is holding the second budget public hearing on August 31st during the Council meeting. The hearing will begin after 4:00 p.m. Thank you to the many of you who came to the first hearing on August 17 to address the entire Council. Some of you even brought your kids and taught them the importance of advocacy.
Budget decisions require at least six Council Members to agree. These hearings are the main opportunity to speak in person to the entire City Council at the same time. If you’ve got a passion for changes you think need to be made to the budget, your elected representatives need to hear it from you. |
| | | 2016 Mobility Bond Project Explorer
Last year, Austin voters approved $720 million for transportation and mobility improvements. Visit the newly designed mobility bond website to see what's happened since the bond was approved.
The Mobility Bond Project Explorer lets you find and track projects by location, type of project, project phase, and even City Council district. It also shows you the project’s budget, funding, and who to contact if you want more information.
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| | | Jester Estates Traffic Calming Meeting
Austin Transportation Department will be meeting with residents of the Jester Estates neighborhood, as well as those living in nearby Lakewood, to discuss their efforts to address the high level of speeding on Jester Boulevard.
Tuesday, August 29th 7:00 p.m. at Coffee Shark 7300 Ranch Road 2222 Bldg. 5 #111
At the meeting, ATD will share alternative strategies for ensuring safety on the road and ask for feedback from the neighborhood. Residents of Jester Estates are strongly encouraged to attend in order to be a part of the process.
As Council Member Alter and the District 10 staff continue to work with ATD on traffic calming projects, meetings in other neighborhoods will be scheduled as needed. |
| | | Curbside Composting Program Expansion
After a successful pilot program, Austin Resource Recovery is expanding the curbside composting program to an additional 38,000 households. The program collects food scraps, yard trimmings, and food soiled paper, then converts them into nutrient-rich compost. This program is part of the City of Austin’s Zero Waste goal to divert 90 percent of materials from landfills by 2040. In addition to contributing to Austin’s Zero Waste goal, Curbside Composting may help residents save money on their utility bills. After putting food scraps and food-soiled paper in their green carts, customers will have less trash to throw away each week. This may allow them to downsize to a smaller, less expensive trash cart.
To see if you’re in the new service area, check this map. If the program hasn’t reached your street just yet, don’t fret; the program will continue to expand.
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| | | Economic Development Department Survey
After the City Council passed a resolution to begin the process of revising the City’s Economic Development Incentive policy, staff have been hearing recommendations from the public. After a rewarding week of community conversations in June, the Economic Development Office has created an online survey to gather additional input.
Complete the survey now.
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