To: From: Memo: Date: City of Austin Early Childhood Council Austin/Travis County Success by Six Coalition (SX6) SX6 City of Austin FY 2025 Budget Recommendations March 13, 2024 SX6 Goal: All children enter kindergarten happy, healthy, and ready to succeed in school and in life. SX6 is grateful to the City of Austin for prioritizing early childhood through COVID Relief Funds and policy implementation. In the last year, this included: implementing property tax abatement for eligible child care providers through Proposition 2; easing parking restrictions and zoning bylaws to relieve barriers for child care expansion; creating a grant program to help cover the cost of City permitting fees; and including child care as a central component of the Infrastructure Academy. These policies will play a critical role in supporting working parents, providing stability for our youngest, most vulnerable children, and enhancing the early childhood education sector. Austin/Travis County SX6 Coalition’s City of Austin budget recommendations are rooted in equity, data-driven, and aligned with City of Austin priorities. We recognize Austin may experience a budget deficit in FY25 so our recommendations do not ask for increased funding and we encourage maintaining funding levels for existing initiatives. Maintain funding levels for: ● APH Staff: $171,000 for 2 FTE staff focused on early childhood programs and services ● Social Service Contracts: $13,352,165 to six agencies to provide early childhood services, including early childhood education, infant and early childhood services, and early childhood education quality improvement, for a 12-month term through March 30, 2025, and four 12-month extension options. ● Start-up costs for PreK classrooms: $128,000 for six classrooms; one-time cost per ● KinderCare at Bergstrom Tech’s Lease: Annual funding for operating expenses for city classroom funded early childhood facilities ● Maternal and Infant Outreach Program Consider new investments On the horizon Incorporating an annual cost of living adjustment for all social service contracts ● ● Family Connects: Continue in-kind support and look for opportunities to extend the $2 Million in ARPA funding once that investment ends on Dec. 31, 2024. ● Matching funds of $75,000 per year in 2025 and 2026 per the required match to philanthropic funds for the implementation phase of the Home Grown Initiative grant with the City of Austin. ● Support for a dedicated revenue stream to fund the strategies outlined by the Children’s Funding Project Taskforce, which included subsidizing birth-age-three contract slots, expanding the supply of non-traditional hour …
B Plan organization - draft D Rec #_rev Recommendation Subtext Potential Participants/Partners Priority Level E F G H I J Implementation Type (Local policy change City code change, State law change, Other local gov't action, Additional funding/resources, New program, Adapted program, Further analysis, Further community/stakeholder process) (Low, Medium, High) Timeline (short-term, medium- term, long- term) L Resource level (low, med, high) M Estimated amount of funding needed/cost P How will we measure this? Q Recommendations/ overlap from COA plans and/or state preservation plan. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 1. Tell the full stories Create spaces for people to share stories and places that matter to them. 1. Tell the full stories Gather stories that tell Austin’s diverse history across different cultures and languages. 1. Tell the full stories 1. Tell the full stories 1. Tell the full stories Create a cultural mapping program to identify significant places, businesses, and other resources, prioritizing historically marginalized communities and neighborhoods where longtime residents face a high risk of displacement. Develop thematic context statements to understand how local communities, groups, and building types grew and changed, prioritizing themes associated with historically marginalized communities. Tell the full stories of historic places in Austin. 1. Tell the full stories Research historic properties to identify and recognize untold stories, especially those associated with historically marginalized communities. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Create opportunities to recognize, share, and celebrate local heritage and historic places as necessities. Ensure that historic resource surveys continue to include community storytelling opportunities. Develop ongoing efforts to invite stories, share them on accessible public platforms, and use them to inform staff and Historic Landmark Commission decisions. Prioritize storytelling outreach to those who have historically been marginalized in and by public processes and who are underrepresented in designated historic resources. Support and expand the Austin History Center ’s Community Archivist Program. Through proactive outreach and engagement, work with families and community groups to recognize stories and conserve archival materials. Coordinate across City departments and community partners in programming, training, staff support, and marketing/promotion. Integrate knowledge from oral history and community archives into the identification of historic properties. Involve local colleges and universities , school districts , and youth from the community as partners in this work. Work with Austin History Center community archivists, other City departments, local organizations and institutions, and schools to reach community members. Integrate results into historic review processes …
ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20240320-003 Date: March 20, 2024 Subject: Budget Recommendations from the Joint Sustainability Committee Motion by: David Sullivan WHEREAS, the Environmental Commission recognizes the Joint Sustainability Committee has considered these items based on requests for input from the Austin City Council, WHEREAS, these items all would contribute to more sustainable growth and environmental benefits for Austin. THEREFORE, the Environmental Commission recommends the following budget items, as recommended by the Joint Sustainability Committee. Second by: Richard Brimer (est. $150,000) 1. One (1) Climate Equity Plan Project Manager be added to the Office of Sustainability. 2. $320,000 be allocated to the Office of Sustainability for: a. A Community Engagement Specialist (1 FTE) to coordinate community outreach and partnership activities associated with promoting the full suite of City of Austin sustainability incentives (i.e., home weatherization and repair, water conservation, rainwater collection, landscape and green infrastructure programs), with a focus on building relationships with low-income communities, communities of color, and related organizations and service providers. (est. $120,000) b. $200,000 for grants, contracts, and stipends for community leaders and community-based organizations to do direct outreach to promote sustainability incentive programs in targeted Austin communities, in partnership with the Office of Sustainability. 3. Regarding the Sustainable Purchasing Plan: a. $125,000 be allocated to hire a sustainable purchasing contractor and/or purchase needed software and databases to develop a Sustainable Purchasing Plan that sets minimum standards for all products, materials and services purchased by the city; b. A full-time Sustainable Purchasing Director position should be added to the Purchasing Department. If an FTE is determined to be infeasible in this budget cycle, a temporary Sustainable Purchasing Director position should be established and funded. (est. $170,000) 4. $200,000 be allocated to the Office of Sustainability for a Pro-Climate Food Education and Incentive Program. These funds should be spent on a multi-lingual public education and marketing campaign to promote pro-climate/pro-health plant-based meat, dairy and egg alternatives, and identification of opportunities to provide effective incentives for proclimate/pro-health foods at local restaurants and grocery stores. The Office of 1 of 3 Sustainability and Austin Public Health should work together on the public education and marketing campaign. 5. $150,000 be allocated to the Office of the City Engineer division of Austin Transportation and Public Works Department for: a. Field pour demonstrations using concrete containing a total cementitious content that is 50% or more decarbonized relative to a national ordinary Portland cement …
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20240320-003A Date: March 20, 2024 Subject: City’s FY 2024 – 2025 Budget (Renters) Motioned By: Seconded By: Recommendation The Budget of the City of Austin should respect renters as the equal of homeowners. Description of Recommendation to Council Require that the City of Austin 2024-25 Budget respect renters as "Typical" residents of Austin. Require that the City of Austin 2024-25 Budget's "Taxpayer Impact Statement" add a line for the average tax per rental unit, which includes the property tax and all other taxes and annual fees on rental properties. Require that the City of Austin 2024-25 Budget's "Taxpayer Impact Statement" rename the line "TOTAL YEARLY IMPACT" to "TOTAL YEARLY IMPACT (homeowner)" and add a line for "TOTAL YEARLY IMPACT (renter)", which includes the average taxes and fees paid per rental unit. Require that the City of Austin 2024-25 Budget's "Taxpayer Impact Statement" include a calculation of "TOTAL YEARLY IMPACT (renter)" for the previous budget, Fiscal Year 2023- 24, and compute a percentage increase from Fiscal Year 2023-24 to Fiscal Year 2024-25. Require that the City of Austin 2024-25 Budget's "Taxpayer Impact Statement" use the bottom half of the page to hold a table of "TOTAL YEARLY IMPACT" for Austin residents at all income levels. Rows should be by household income for every 10th percentile, from bottom 10% to top 10%. City Staff should estimate what proportion of each income bracket are homeowners and renters and assign an average (mathematical mean) property tax weighted by that proportion, based on properties that income bracket would rent or own. Unless City staff have more detailed knowledge, they can assume that residents in the bottom 10th percentile of income uses the average (mathematical mean) of the bottom 10th percentile of residential Austin Energy usage, residential Austin Water usage, etc.. Rationale: The City of Austin 2023-24 Budget's “Taxpayer Impact Statement” refers to a ““Typical” Resident Ratepayer” who pays property tax with a homestead exemption and, therefore, must be a homeowner. The 2023-24 budget claims that this “Typical” Austin resident owns a house worth $499,524. 1 of 2 In fact, the City of Austin actually has a majority of renters. The U.S. Census Bureau for the time period 2017-2021 reports that only 44.7% of the housing units in Austin are owner-occupied. A household owning a property worth $499,524 is likely in the top 25th percentile of income for the City of Austin. …
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20240320-003B Date: March 20, 2024 Subject: City’s FY 2024 – 2025 Budget (Retirement Programs) Motioned By: Seconded By: Recommendation Reduce risk by moving retirement programs from pensions to defined contribution. Description of Recommendation to Council Remove risk by changing our retirement programs from pensions to defined-contribution programs. Remove risk by paying other parties to accept Austin’s existing pension liabilities. Payment could be either a series of future annual payments or an immediate payment, using funds raised by General Obligations bonds. Rationale: The City of Austin currently promises pensions to its employees. That is, we specify benefits after they retire for as long as they live. This sounds nice, but the hard truth is that we do not know the financial future. We do not know the price today of those promises. Those promises have already created a gigantic problem. The 2023-24 Budget says our unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities in 2020 were “nearly $2.4 billion”. That is more than one-and-a-half years of the annual General Fund. Every resident, adults and children, lost more than $100 benefits in Fiscal Year 2023-24 because the City of Austin spent that money fixing just 1/30th of our pension liability. Pensions are dangerous. They crippled America’s car industry. They almost ended America’s steel industry. And multiple cities have declared bankruptcy due to the burdens of pension: Detroit MI, Stockton CA, San Bernardino CA, and more. Pension programs can harm more than the City of Austin; they might harm our employees in the future who would be relying on the City of Austin for those pension in their retirement. To ensure the City of Austin’s economic prosperity, it should not make unpredictable promises about the future. It should “pay as we go” with its employees. That means a defined contribution plan, which puts a fixed-multiple of the employee’s salary into a retirement program this fiscal year, without any promises about the future. 1 of 2 The risk from existing liabilities caused by past pension programs should be removed from the City of Austin budget. That can be done by paying a financial firm to accept the risk, in exchange for fixed future payments or a lump sum, raised with General Obligation bonds. The risk could also be removed by offering fixed or lump sum payments to holders of the pensions. Vote For: Against: Abstain: Absent: Attest: [Staff or board member can sign] 2 …
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20240320-003C Date: March 20, 2024 Subject: City’s FY 2024 – 2025 Budget (Sales-Tax Income) Motioned By: Seconded By: Recommendation Investigate hedging sales-tax income to reduce uncertainty and increase the budget. Description of Recommendation to Council Ask the City Manager to investigate hedging as a way to reduce the uncertainty in sales-tax income. Specifically, the City Manager should ask financial institutions how much they might bid in exchange for 80% of next fiscal-year’s sales tax revenue. If City Council accepted such an offer, the City of Austin would have a more stable and predictable income, allowing us to plan better and increase the budget. Rationale: The City of Austin’s income from sales tax is large and unpredictable. The 2023-24 Budget states that sales tax was 7% of income. But it also shows that, over the last decade, its income is unpredictable: growing 25% some years and 0% in others. But most of the City of Austin’s expenses are predictable and fixed. According to staff, “70 to 80%” of the expenses are wages, which are steady expenses. With a variable income and fixed expenses, it is easy for the City of Austin to overspend and run out of money. The result would be drastically slashing programs during the middle of a fiscal year, which would be harmful to the economic prosperity of all Austinites. The City’s staff knows about this danger and warns about it in the 2023-24 Budget: “City financial staff have long advocated thoughtfulness and restraint in projecting sales tax revenues, in the knowledge that periodic economic disruptions and resulting contractions of sales tax revenue—such as the one witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic—are inevitable.” and “… actual sales tax receipts falling short of budgeted levels can have severe repercussions with respect to maintaining a balanced General Fund budget, there are no corollary consequences should this revenue exceed projections.” The City of Austin could plan better and have a larger budget if we exchange the variable income from sales tax for a steady predictable income. That is, find a financial institution that is willing to trade: it will pay Austin a stead income in return for the accepting the unsteady income from sales tax. In the financial lingo, this is called 1 of 2 “selling risk” or “hedging”. It is very common in the business world. For example, Southwest Airlines could lose a lot of money if …
Answers to ECC Budget Workgroup questions Updated 3/19/2024 1. Is there usually demand for 8 pre-K classrooms? Are there ever issues with being able to use up these funds? And if there were extra funds, could they go to Pre-K partnerships? There was only one year during the pandemic in which the City had trouble finding districts that could use all of these funds. That year, we provided funds for classroom supplies to PKP classrooms through UWATX by adding the funds into the City’s exis�ng ARPA agreement with UWATX. If there were an issue being able to use the funds in a given year, we would likely need Council approval to use the funds for a different need/purpose. 2. What is the impact of each of the ARPA funded programs? How many people served, etc.? They are trying to understand the impact of not having this funding anymore. Child care In 2023, WFS used ARPA funds to provide child care for 189 unduplicated children. ARPA direct child care funds were focused on providing care for families needing con�nuity of child care to avoid disrup�ons in care, care for essen�al workers living outside of Aus�n Full Purpose area who were not eligible for other essen�al worker funding, and care for children aged three years and younger and their older siblings. 62% the families served within this funding were from single parent households. These funds prevented child care disrup�ons, reduced the number of families and children on the child care subsidy waitlists, improved access to early educa�on for these children, and helped their parents remain in the workforce. Premium pay essen�al worker wage s�pends 2022 - $2500 • 92 creden�aled child care teachers (AA, BA, or MA) • 29 teachers with CDAs • 137 non-creden�aled child care staff who work in high quality programs 2023 - $1200 • 343 non-creden�aled child care staff who work in high quality programs • (Note, in 2023, Workforce Solu�ons used other quality dollars – i.e. not ARPA funds – to provide premium pay wage s�pends to 81 creden�aled child care teachers and 20 teachers with CDAs.) A follow up survey was sent to the 2023 Jeanete Watson recipients in February. This included those who received addi�onal ARPA Premium Pay S�pends. Of the 212 recipients who completed the survey roughly 1 year from ini�ally applying for Jeanete Watson, 88% (187 out of 212 responses) reported s�ll being …
Strategies for Local Investment in Early Child Care Margo Kinneberg (United Way) on behalf of the Children’s Funding Project Work Group Austin Early Education Council • March 2024 Agenda 1 1. About the Children’s Funding Project Cohort 2. Additional Background 3. The Case for an Investment in Early Child Care 4. Policy Proposal: Four Investment Strategies 5. Cost of Implementation 6. Administration and Governance 7. Next Steps Strategies for Local Investment in Early Child Care Children’s Funding Project Work Group | 2024 About the Children’s Funding Project Cohort 2 • CFP is a national nonprofit that helps communities expand equitable opportunities for children and youth through strategic public financing. • 17+ months in a cohort of municipalities nation -wide • Austin Work Group comprises members of City and County agencies, elected officials and their staff, WFS Capital Area, United Way for Greater Austin, and additional child care stakeholders Strategies for Local Investment in Early Child Care Children’s Funding Project Work Group | 2024 Additional Background 3 • 35+ years of community engagement Success by 6 Coalition, Austin Early Childhood Council • Lessons learned from the pandemic and ARPA investments • Urban Institute study on nontraditional hour care and subsequent pilot • CFP Cost Modeling Strategies for Local Investment in Early Child Care Children’s Funding Project Work Group | 2024 The Case for a Significant Investment in Child Care 4 • Workforce • Affordability • Accessibility • School Readiness • Market Failure • Equity • Social Returns “The business model for child care, which is a market-based system, is broken.[….] Bottom line – it is almost impossible to deliver sustainable, high-quality, full-day, year-round child care for infants and toddlers at a price that families can afford or are willing to pay.” - “Child Care and Economic Development,” TXP, Inc. (Dec 2023) Strategies for Local Investment in Early Child Care Children’s Funding Project Work Group | 2024 Recommended Investment Strategies 5 We propose four strategies to stabilize the industry and increase access to affordable, high quality child care for families in our community: 1. Subsidize birth through age 3 contracted slots 2. Expand nontraditional hour care 3. Build quality and capacity 4. Create a business-government alliance Strategies for Local Investment in Early Child Care Children’s Funding Project Work Group | 2024 Strategy One: Subsidize Birth through 3 Contracted Slots 6 • What are contracted slots? Guaranteed capacity • P a y for …
RECOMMENDATION DOWNTOWN COMMISSION Recommendation Number: 20240320‐002 Immediate and future funding for the Red River Cultural District WHEREAS, On February 9, 2024, City Council approved a resolution directing the City Manager to return to Council with an Economic and Cultural District Framework, identifying funding and support for Red River Cultural District, and WHEREAS, The Red River Cultural District is the Austin’s largest geographically contiguous collection of live music venues hosting local and touring artists from a diverse range of backgrounds and a wealth of genres, from hip‐hip to Latin to LGBTQIA+ to independent rock and more; and WHEREAS, other designated Austin Cultural Districts have received recent funding in amounts ranging from $120,000 to $300,000; and WHEREAS, Austin’s live music industry is a primary driver of tourism; and WHEREAS, Austin’s live music venues face dramatically escalating rent and operating costs; and WHEREAS, the Red River Cultural District produces two annual festival which are completely free and open to the public, and on February 15, 2024 City Council passed a resolution directing the City Manager to investigate ways to preserve accessible, inclusive, open‐to‐the‐public events and to identify opportunities for the City to support and promote community events NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Downtown Commission recommends that Austin City Council to allocate immediate and future funding to include in the Fiscal Year 24‐25 Budget to the Red River Cultural District consistent with amounts allocated to other Cultural Districts, through its managing entity, Red River Merchants Association. Date of Approval: March 20,2024 Record of the vote: 6‐0 For: Chair Harris, Vice Chair Ishmael, Commissioners Coufal, Lavigne, Levinson and Shifferd Absent: Commissioners Cardona‐Beiler, Major and Ortega (Staff or board member can sign) Attest: Christine Maguire, Executive Liaison 3/22/2024
BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Downtown Commission Recommendation Number 20240320-003: Downtown Vehicle Safety Mitigation Plan FY 2025 Budget Recommendation The Downtown Commission recommends that the Austin City Council appropriate funding in the amount of $518,291.19 purchase 65 Meridian Archer movable street barricades and associated equipment and training as shown on the attached Quote from to Meridian Rapid Defense Group Sales LLC and thereby equip the Austin Police Department and Transportation and Public Works Department with sufficient barricades to enhance pedestrian safety for Downtown activities and events. Motioned By: ________________________ Commissioner Levinson Seconded By: __________________________ Commissioner Coufal Date of Approval: March 20, 2024 Vote: ___-___ 0 6 0 0 Against: Abstain: Absent: Vacant: two vacancies For: Chair Harris, Vice Chair Ishmael, Commissioners Coufal, Lavigne, Levinson and Shifferd Commissioners Cardona-Beiler, Major and Ortega Attest: Christine Maguire, Commission Executive Liaison, Economic Development Department __________________________________________
Meeting of the Codes and Ordinances Joint Committee March 20, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. Permitting and Development Center (PDC) – Room #2103 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive Austin, TX 78752 Some members of the Codes and Ordinances Joint Committee may be participating in the video conference. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely by telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in-person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation. To at 512-974-7288 or email Jordan.Feldman@austintexas.gov. Jordan Feldman, the board call or register, liaison, COMMITTEE MEMBERS PRESENT Claire Hempel (Chair) Alejandra Flores (Vice-Chair) Greg Anderson Felicity Maxwell Lonny Stern COMMITTEE MEMBERS ABSENT Awais Azhar Betsy Greenberg CITY STAFF PRESENT Jordan Feldman, Planning Department Paul Books, Planning Department Donald Jackson, Economic Development Department CALL TO ORDER Chair Hempel called the meeting to order at 6:04 pm. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL 1 Speakers signed up prior to commencement of the meeting will be allowed to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. No speakers signed up for public communication. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approval of the February 21, 2024, meeting minutes. On a motion by Vice Chair Flores, seconded by Commissioner Maxwell, the minutes from the February 21st, 2024, meeting were approved unanimously (5-0) with Commissioners Greenberg and Azhar absent. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. C20-2023-026 Live Music and Creative Space Bonus Phase 2. Discussion and possible action to recommend amendments to City Code Title 25 (Land Development) to create a Creative Combining District and Development Bonus Program to enhance the development and preservation of live music venues and creative sector businesses. City Staff: Donald Jackson, Economic Development Department, (512) 974- 2214, DonaldE.Jackson@austintexas.gov. Chair Hempel motion to recommend the amendment to Planning Commission seconded by Commissioner Maxwell 5-0, Commissioners Greenberg Azhar absent. 3. Update on Potential Upcoming and Active Code Amendments: City Staff: Jordan Feldman, Planning Department, (512) 974-7288, Jordan.Feldman@austintexas.gov. DISCUSSION ITEMS Jordan Feldman presented. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 7:19 pm. The minutes were approved at the April 1st, 2024 meeting on Chair Hempel motion, Commissioner Azhar second on a vote of 6-0. (Commissioner Maxwell Absent) The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon …
