Last week Council took action on gun violence prevention, public safety reform, school finance concerns, COVID-19 relief and assistance, and more. See the items below for more details. 

Gun Violence Prevention (Item 59) – In the aftermath of the shooting deaths in District 10 on April 18th, Council approved a resolution I authored calling for immediate federal action on gun violence and accelerating local efforts to prevent gun violence (e.g. working with our County partners to ensure robust firearm surrender protocols when ordered by a judge or law enforcement). The resolution also opposes efforts at the State Legislature to repeal our statewide licensing requirements to carry a handgun (permit-less carry). 

Public School Funding (Item 37) – Texas is one of only two states that has not given dedicated federal stimulus funding to its schools. To date, three rounds of federal funding totaling over $19 billion have been allocated for Texas K-12 schools. During the first round, state leaders released only $1.3 billion in federal money to Texas schools, but subsequently withheld an equivalent amount of state money, effectively supplanting expected state funds and leaving public school districts with no supplemental assistance. 

Last Thursday, Council unanimously-approved my resolution urging the Texas Education Agency, the Texas Legislature, and Governor Greg Abbott to release currently withheld federal funding intended for public schools and provide the expected amount of state funding to local school districts. Our public schools are key to the future of our state and our nation, and our kids deserve better from state leaders. So long as state leaders withhold billions of dollars from our children, both our kids and our economy will suffer. Learn more about this item in this press release.

Reimagining Public Safety (Item 20) — As part of our ongoing process to Reimagine Public Safety in Austin, Council approved Item 20, a comprehensive budget amendment that includes:

• Creation of the new Emergency Communications Department –

  This item lays the groundwork for the creation of a standalone Emergency Communications Department. This new model offers an opportunity to streamline and provide for continuous improvement in emergency communications while also allowing APD to focus on their primary law enforcement functions. We will have more conversations moving forward as it relates to improving the City’s crisis response, including exploring how to deploy Community Health Paramedics as appropriate and how to tie this initiative into our broader efforts to provide more mental health services.

• Transfer of the alarm administration to the Development Services Department – The permitting authority for alarm systems was transferred from APD into the Development Services Department. Moving the permitting authority is a first step in a larger issue we are trying to solve. Previously, the City’s Innovation Office found that APD was spending time and resources responding to thousands of false alarm calls each month. City staff is working to use data modeling and prediction to find proactive ways to reduce this inefficiency.

• Centralization of a Number of Support Functions – Item 20 shifts non-sworn activities into the larger umbrella of the City’s Support Services including APD’s Human Resources, Public Information Office, Facility Maintenance, and Financial Services functions.

This item aligns with our larger Reimagining Public Safety efforts. It is a budget neutral action. In none of these cases are we spending any less money on public safety and on these functions. Moving civilian divisions out of APD allows us to better streamline those functions and create cohesion between APD’s support functions and the City’s support departments. It also allows APD to focus on their core community guardianship and law enforcement functions. It is also important to understand that Item 20 does not interrupt our current functions; it is an organizational change happening in the background of our daily operations. All current 911 staff will continue to operate in the same way, as will Austin’s 311 system. Please continue to use 911 and 311 as you normally would. 

Water Reuse Pilot (Item 2) – Ensuring a secure future water supply for Austin is a top priority for me and my Council colleagues. In 2018 the Water Forward Plan approved by Council included requirements for alternative onsite water reuse for large, new commercial and multifamily development. As part of that process, Item 2 initiated a pilot program to incentivize large developments to create these alternative onsite water systems. This pilot will allow us to sustainably and responsibly craft and implement new requirements for large developments in the near future.  

Water Line Repairs at Bryker Road (Item 8) – Council approved a contract to repair and replace existing water and wastewater mains located along Bryker Road from 30th Street to 34th Street and a segment along 34th Street at Bryker Road. This project is part of Austin Water’s Renewing Austin Program which is an ongoing effort to replace and upgrade deteriorated and aging water mains with a documented history of multiple breaks, that are in poor condition, and that impact service delivery.

Rental Assistance (Item 16 & 17) – Council approved an interlocal agreement with the Housing Authority of the City of Austin to provide emergency rental assistance for eligible households impacted by COVID-19 in an amount not to exceed $29,467,788.00, using federal relief funds. The Council also approved a contract with El Buen Samaritano to fund and administer a program to provide financial assistance to low-income renters whose housing was impacted by Winter Storm Uri in an amount not to exceed $1,000,000.

Land Acquisition for Water Quality Protection (Item 22) – Council approved a significant acquisition in the Barton Springs Recharge Zone through the City of Austin Water Quality Protection Lands (WQPL) Program. This acquisition protects our water quality and will prevent source pollution that would be generated by potential development of this land from entering the aquifer or impacting downstream aquatic resources. This investment was funded from the voter-approved 2018 Proposition D Bond Funds for Open Space.

Density Bonus Program (Item 39) – I co-sponsored this resolution authored by Council Member Kathie Tovo, which initiated an update to our density bonus fees which developers must pay towards our affordable housing funds for large developments downtown and in the Rainey district. This will enable us to ensure developers make appropriate contributions towards affordable housing when they build developments beyond what they would typically be entitled to build. Currently our fees are outdated and they are not assessed on developments which are entirely commercial in nature such as office or retail sites. This will enable increased investments in affordable housing in our city.

Winter Storm Uri Assistance (Item 52) – This ordinance extended the ability for our Development Services Department to waive fees related to repairing or reconstructing structures, and removing trees and tree limbs damaged as a result of Winter Storm Uri. Through the previously approved fee waiver ordinances, the City issued approximately 350 waiver requests from Austinites totaling approximately $14,000. DSD forecasts the new ordinance will result in an additional $40,000 of waived fees to Austinites impacted by the winter weather event. You can access storm relief and resources at http://austintexas.gov/atxrepairs.

Cadet Academy Update – Yesterday Council received the final report from

Kroll & Associates, the consultants contracted to assess the APD Training Academy. Kroll will be presenting their findings at the May 4th Council Work Session, and Council will be voting on whether to commence the Austin Police Department's Pilot Reimagined Police Cadet Training Academy (Item 10). I encourage you to review the report yourself and/or tune in to Tuesday's work session.