Backup — original pdf

Backup

RESOLUTION NO. 20240829-138 WHEREAS, on July 18, 2024, City Council overwhelming approved Resolution No. 20240718-093 which directed the City Manager to bring to Council a comprehensive bond package in order to allow for a bond election no later than November 2026; and WHEREAS, the City has a variety of critical infrastructure needs that would be well addressed by a bond election, including housing, transportation, facilities for animal shelter, libraries, parks, land acquisition, drainage/flood mitigation, and other public asset improvements; and WHEREAS, the City is recognized as a global leader in climate mitigation through City Council adoption of the Climate Protection Plan (Resolution No. 20070205-23), and the Austin Community Climate Plan (Resolution No. 20140410-024), creation of the Joint Sustainability Committee and plan implementation (Resolution No. 20150604-048), adoption of the Austin Climate Equity Plan in 2021, multiple strategies related to solar use, water conservation, electric vehicle use, recycling in parks, use of low-carbon concrete, sustainable City procurement, and Resolution No. 20240215-025 to create an Environmental Investment Plan; and WHEREAS, Resolution No. 20240215-025, re-affirmed Austin's commitment to the target of net-zero community-wide emissions by 2040, as outlined in the Austin Climate Equity Plan, resulting in the Joint Sustainability Committee and City staff providing recommendations to the City Council to address shortfalls in the City's environmental investments which necessitate the creation of a comprehensive climate implementation program in which a bond election could, and likely must, play an important and critical part; and Page 1 of 7 WHEREAS, the City values the community input that is part of a public process, and the City has initiated and completed several plans and reports to identify and assess City service needs and potential components of a climate program as part of a public process to help determine what should be included on a ballot as part of a comprehensive bond program which will, in part, support a comprehensive climate implementation program; and WHEREAS, the plans and reports to identify and assess City service needs and potential components of a climate program include, but are not limited to the: • Environmental Investment Plan; • Joint Sustainability Committee Report; • Austin Climate Equity Plan; • Water Forward; • Watershed Protection Strategic Plan; • One Austin: The Climate Resilience Action Plan; • Austin Strategic Mobility Plan; • Austin Energy Resource, Generation, and Climate Protection Plan; • Austin Strategic Housing Blueprint; • Austin Travis County Food Plan; • Parks and Recreation Department's Long-Range Plan and Land Management Plan; • Urban Forest Plan; • Austin-Travis County Community Wildfire Protection Plan; Page 2 of 7 • Heat Resilience Playbook; and • Collaborative Travis County-City of Austin initiatives, for example, the Northeast Planning District. WHEREAS, the City Council, by resolution, has directed the City Manager to provide the City Council with a comprehensive climate implementation plan, and the City Council wants a bond election to be a part of the implementation plan; and WHEREAS, the City has previously based bond election packages on recommendations provided by community and stakeholder input, and a Bond Election Advisory Task Force has historically been a key participant in creating comprehensive bond election packages; and WHEREAS, a Bond Election Advisory Task Force serves as a critical source of community engagement, while delivering a thoughtful and deliberative bond consideration process; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN: (A) A Bond Election Advisory Task Force (the "Task Force") is established to identify and prioritize bond funding for projects that will address infrastructure needs including climate investment opportunities necessary to implement a comprehensive climate implementation program. (B) (C) The Task Force shall be composed of 22 members. The Task Force members shall be appointed and begin meeting by October 1,2024, with the following requirements: Page 3 of 7 i. ii. iii. iv. i. ii. iii. the Mayor and each Council Member will nominate two City residents as voting members for appointment; in making appointments, the Mayor and Council will strive to appoint at least two appointees with a background in each of the following professional fields to provide sufficient expertise to the body as it considers capital needs and potential funding scenarios: a. public finance; b. civil engineering; and c. infrastructure planning. (D) The Task Force shall consider the following: the Task Force shall comply with Texas Government Code Chapter 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act); and the members of the Task Force shall abide by and be subject to the provisions of §2-1-24 of City Code "Conflict of Interest and Recusal" and §2-1-21 (C) of City Code "Eligibility Requirements and Removal. ,, projects identified through the public process; projects that are within the scope of a needs assessment and funding priorities recommended by City staff; and projects aligned with recommendations from the adopted plans and reports previously listed in this Resolution (the "Reports"). Page 4 of 7 (E) (F) (G) (H) (I) If any recommendations from the Reports conflict, City staff supporting the Task Force shall advise the Mayor and City Council so that conflicts are recognized and addressed, if possible. In addition to conducting regular meetings for the purpose of considering potential bond projects identified in the needs assessment, the representatives of the Task Force shall attend public briefings at City Council meetings, organize and conduct a minimum of four public town hall meetings to solicit community input on identified projects and to collect information on additional projects the public would like to see included in a bond proposal, and present and consult with City Boards and Commissions. The entirety of the Task Force's proceedings shall be open to the public in order to maximize citizen engagement and the Task Force's efforts will culminate in recommendations to be considered by the City Council regarding potential bond propositions that may be placed before the voters. The Task Force shall present to the City Council periodic status reports including a report no later than July 1,2025, that consists of projects within the comprehensive bond package that the Task Force is prepared to recommend to the Council for evaluation and direction. The City Manager shall provide status reports of the Task Force's work to the following Boards and Commissions and relay input received from those advisory bodies to the Task Force and City Council: i. Planning Commission; Page 5 of 7 ii. iii. iv. v. vi. ix. x. xi. Water and Wastewater Commission; Urban Transportation Commission; Joint Sustainability Committee; Electric Utility Commission; Parks and Recreation Board; vii. Library Commission; viii. Animal Advisory Commission; Environmental Commission; Zero Waste Advisory Commission; Public Safety Commission; xii. Bond Oversight Commission; and xiii. Austin-Travis County Food Policy Board. BE IT FURT ER RESOLVED: The City Manager is directed to schedule and conduct public briefings as needed to be presented to the Task Force and City Council to provide information regarding the City's current bonded indebtedness, bond ratings, the range of future bonding and funding alternatives, and a prioritized capital improvements needs assessment for the purpose of planning future bond proposals. Page 6 of 7 BE IT FUR- El RESOLVED: The City Manager is directed to identify staff resources to support the Task Force work and to provide information sufficient to the needs o f the Task Force, and this support will continue until the Task Force has submitted its final recommendations to the Mayor and Council at which time the Task Force shall disband as its work is deemed completed. ADOPTED: August 29 , 2024 ATTEST: ? ?'t ?-013,/, Myrna Rik City Clerk Page 7 0 f 7