Budget Recommendation — original pdf

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BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Commission on Immigrant Affairs Recommendation Number: 20250602010: Commission on Immigrant Affairs’ Quality of Life Study WHEREAS, the Commission on Immigrant Affairs’ Quality -of-Life Study represents the final installment of the five-part Quality of Life Study series originally funded through the $1.25 million allocation in the FY 2022–2023 City of Austin budget; and WHEREAS, due to inflation, increased engagement needs, and a recent $65,000 reallocation to support another study, only $310,000 currently remains available for this effort; and WHEREAS, the Commission on Immigrant Affairs has identified a highly qualified vendor with deep cultural competence and strong community trust who is prepared to begin immediately; the vendor is willing to proceed at the $310,000 level to meet the June 3rd contracting deadline; and WHEREAS, proceeding in this manner would require significant reductions to the study’s core components—either in its qualitative or quantitative methodologies—and would force the removal or limitation of essential safety protocols and language access services; and WHEREAS, these elements are critical for ensuring participant trust, security, and ethical engagement with immigrant, refugee, and foreign-born community members who are facing unprecedented levels of fear, state violence, institutional disenfranchisement; and WHEREAS, unlike any Quality-of-Life Study, this study must navigate: • An increasingly hostile political climate at both the state and federal levels, with targeted policies; • Heighten safety security requirements for participants and researchers alike; • A need for expanded multilingual engagement and interpretation services; WHEREAS, reducing the study’s scope due to budget constraints risk compromising its integrity, accuracy, and long-term policy value. THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs recommends City Council to not only support the full $400,00 budget for this study, but to direct the City Manager to instruct the Office of Equity & Inclusion to utilize its 25-26 operating budget to close the 90,000 gap through a contract amendment. This would allow the project to begin on time and ensure the full scope of work is completed with integrity, care, and cultural sensitivity that our immigrant communities deserve. Date of Approval: _____________________________ Record of the vote: Attest: _____________________________________________ (Staff or board member can sign)