20200622-03e: The Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission revision to the FY2021 Budget Recommendation — original pdf

Recommendation

COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission Recommendation Number (20200622-03e): The Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission revision to the FY2021 Budget Recommendation WHEREAS, the Asian American Quality of Life (AAQoL) Advisory Commission was formed to advise the Austin City Council on issues related to the Asian American Resource Center (AARC) and provide ongoing guidance and support for Asian American quality of life initiatives; and WHEREAS, the AAQoL Advisory Commission, as part of its duties, annually submits budget recommendations each spring in support of programs that promote equity and the quality of life of Asian Americans in Austin; and WHEREAS, the Commission approved and submitted its recommendations for the FY 2020-21 City budget in April 2020; and WHEREAS, the Commission submitted its recommendations before adjustments were made to the City budget with regard to federal COVID-19 response and recovery funding and the City Council recommendations related to reallocations in the Austin Police Department (APD) budget as approved by RESOLUTION NO. 20200611-096; and WHEREAS, COVID-19 is expected to significantly decrease the funding available for City of Austin cultural arts programs; and WHERAS, using a true “racial equity” lens to apply a cultural arts funding matrix should consider how African LatinX Asian American Native American (ALAANA) would be disproportionately impacted by a drop in cultural arts funding; and WHEREAS, the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce (GAACC) experienced a reduction in funding in its most recent City contract based on a newly adopted funding model that does not account for disaggregated economic data of Asian Americans; and WHEREAS, the GAACC resources have become increasingly strained due to the impact of COVID-19 on Asian American businesses; and WHEREAS, public health data shows that COVID-19 has affected the African American and LatinX communities at a disproportionally higher rate than the overall population in Travis County; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AAQoL Advisory Commission recommends that the Austin City Council direct the City Manager to maintain FY 2020-21 cultural arts funding for ALAANA contractors at the same level as FY 2019-20; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AAQoL Advisory Commission recommends that the Austin City Council direct the City Manager to maintain the current funding level for the GAACC in FY 2020-21 to support Asian American businesses; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AAQoL Advisory Commission recommends that the Austin City Council direct the City Manager to allocate in the current fiscal year City budget and the FY 2020-21 City budget, to the extent possible, federal COVID-19 response and recovery funds and available funds from the reduction in the APD budget to programs that protect and support African American, LatinX, and other communities that have been disproportionally impacted by COVID-19. Date of Approval: June 22, 2020 Record of the vote: (Moved by Commissioner Yoshida, Seconded by Commissioner Chen) Unanimous on a 11-0 vote (Commissioners Cobalis, Sethi, Radhakrishnan, Hang, Chao, DasGupta, Chen, Stanton, Yoshida, Saxena, and Patel) Absent: (Commissioner Conte, Wang, Patil, and Yang) Attest: