Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission - April 8, 2020
Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission Special Called Meeting of the Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission - Meeting will be held via web conference.
Special Meeting of the Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission APRIL 8, 2020 Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission to be held April 8, 2020 with Social Distancing Modifications Public comment will be allowed via telephone; no in-person input will be allowed. All speakers must register in advance by Noon April 7. All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the April 8, 2020 Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission Meeting, residents must: • Call or email the board liaison at 512-974-7676 or jesse.rodriguez@austintexas.gov no later than noon April 7. The information required is the speaker name, item number(s) they wish to speak on, whether they are for/against/neutral, and a telephone number or email address. • Once a request to speak has been called in or emailed to the board liaison, residents will receive either an email or phone call providing the telephone number to call on the day of the scheduled meeting. • Speakers must call in at least 30 minutes prior to meeting start in order to speak, late callers will not be accepted and will not be able to speak. • Speakers will be placed in a queue until their time to speak. • Handouts or other information may be emailed to jesse.rodriguez@austintexas.gov by Noon the day before the scheduled meeting. This information will be provided to Board and Commission members in advance of the meeting. • Residents may watch the meeting here: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn- live COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION APRIL 8, 2020, 1 PM – 2:30 PM VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: Nehemiah Pitts III, Chair Sophie Gairo Malcolm Yeatts Irfan Syed Michelle Reinhardt CALL TO ORDER David Alexander, Vice Chair Claudia Yanez Dave Floyd Sumit DasGupta Nicole Thompson AGENDA 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – February 12, 2020 2. NEW BUSINESS (Discussion and Possible Action) a. Commission discussion and action on the Digital Inclusion Stakeholder Summit b. Commission discussion and action on the FY21 Budget Recommendations including City Council Vote Tabulation, Digital Inclusion Stakeholder Summit, Police Video Processing, Remote Meeting Participation, Grant for Technology Opportunities Program, and Residential Technology Study 3. COMMISSION UPDATES (Discussion and Possible Action) a. Digital Inclusion, Civic Engagement, and Strategic Technology and Telecom Policy Working Group b. Knowledge, Information, and Data Stewardship Working Group c. Technology, Infrastructure, and Innovation Working Group FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with …
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION NUMBER: 20200408-002 BUDGET RECOMMENDATION NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION: Recommends budget support to maintain the Grant for Technology Opportunities Program (GTOPs), this grant is an essential component to implementation of the COA Digital Inclusion Strategic Plan adopted by Council Resolution No. 20140320-056. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased need for the community’s ability to participate in digital society through GTOPs programs. The Commission recommends program improvements for FY21 include: • Digital Inclusion resource accessibility • Digital Inclusion Ecosystem innovations • Outcome focused alignment In FY20, GTOPs funds available to local Austin nonprofit groups increased to $400,000 and 2020 Awards are underway, with additional COVID-19 digital access funding pathways and awardees depending upon funds. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION RECOMMENDS TO THE CITY COUNCIL THE FOLLOWING: To include an allocation for GTOPs of $400,000, as approved in FY20 unanimously, in the FY21 City of Austin budget. Date of Approval: April 8, 2020 Record of the vote: Motion to approve GTOPs funding of $400,000 annually made by Commissioner DasGupta, seconded by Gairo passed on a vote of 7- 0. ATTEST: _____________________________________ Jesse Rodriguez Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs City of Austin COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION RECOMMENDATION NUMBER: 20200408-002 BUDGET RECOMMENDATION NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION: Recommends budget support for development of a digital solution for City Council Vote Tabulation (Voting History). This concept was generated from citizen communication delivered in 2019 and aligns with CTTC mission. City Council Resolution No 20190207-031, and recommendation by the Austin Neighborhoods Council also align with this Budget Recommendation. This recommendation will generate the opportunity to: • Leverage Open Data portal for this database of votes • Align with other major Texas cities have vote tabulation systems (e.g. Dallas, San Antonio, and Minneapolis) • Create a searchable voting history The Office of City Clerk believes a new FTE (IT Application Developer) can create a custom in-house system with assistance from the Communications & Technology Mgmt. Dept and managed with existing resources within the Clerks’ Office that will allow individuals to download and/or search the voting history of individual Council Members. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION RECOMMENDS TO THE CITY COUNCIL THE FOLLOWING: To include an allocation of $75,400 for an IT Application …
COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION http://www.austintexas.gov/cttc MINUTES Regular Meeting Wednesday – April 08, 2020 – 1:00 PM VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING Please go to http://www.austintexas.gov/cityclerk/boards_commissions/meetings/10_1.htm for backup material associated with this agenda. All ATXN (City Channel 6) programming is cablecast on Spectrum, Grande Communications, and Google Fiber on their cable channel 6, on AT&T U‐ Verse Channel 99 and webcast online. Over 20 meetings per month, including this commission meeting, are available on demand online, typically within a few hours of the cablecast. Schedules and video can be found at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/atxn-video-archive. CURRENT COMMISSION MEMBERS: Sophie Gairo ‐ Mayor Steve Adler Nehemiah Pitts III ‐ Council Member Natasha Harper‐Madison, District 1 Claudia Yanez ‐ Mayor Pro Tem Delia Garza, District 2 Malcolm Yeatts ‐ Council Member Sabino “Pio” Renteria, District 3 David Alexander ‐ Council Member Gregorio Casar, District 4 Dave Floyd ‐ Council Member Ann Kitchen, District 5 Irfan Syed ‐ Council Member Jimmy Flannigan, District 6 Vacant ‐ Council Member Leslie Pool, District 7 Michelle Reinhardt ‐ Council Member Paige Ellis, District 8 Nicole Thompson – Council Member Kathie Tovo, District 9 Sumit DasGupta ‐ Council Member Alison Alter, District 10 Commission Members Present Sophie Gairo Nehemiah Pitts III Malcolm Yeatts David Alexander Dave Floyd Nicole Thompson Sumit DasGupta Unexcused Absence Claudia Yanez Michelle Reinhardt Irfan Syed CALL TO ORDER 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – February 12, 2020 Motion to approve the February 12, 2020 minutes made by Commissioner DasGupta, seconded by Commissioner Floyd passed on a vote of 7-0-1 with Commissioner Gairo abstaining. 2. NEW BUSINESS (Discussion and Possible Action) a. Commission discussion and action on the Digital Inclusion Stakeholder Summit The commission decided to reorient the summit around an online format to adapt to the current circumstances. b. Commission discussion and action on the FY21 Budget Recommendations including City Council Vote Tabulation, Digital Inclusion Stakeholder Summit, Police Video Processing, Remote Meeting Participation, Grant for Technology Opportunities Program Marketing, and Residential Technology Study Motion to recommend the maintenance of a $400,000 per year budget for the Grant for Technology Opportunities Program proposed by Commissioner DasGupta and seconded by Commissioner Gairo passed on a vote of 7-0. Motion to recommend a $75,400 FTE position for the Clerk’s Office to create and maintain a digitized, tabular Council vote tracking system made by Commissioner Yeatts and seconded by Commissioner DasGupta passed on a vote of 7-0. Motion to recommend $60,000 to support the …
City of Austin FY21 Budget Recommendations Community Technology & Telecommunications Commission Nehemiah Pitts III, Chair Commissioner Grant for Technology Opportunities Program (GTOPs) ● GTOPs is an essential component to implementing the COA Digital Inclusion Strategy adopted in 2014 with Council Resolution No. 20140320-056. ● COVID-19 has increased need for Digital Inclusion…. ○ Digital Inclusion resource accessibility ○ Digital Inclusion Ecosystem innovations ○ Outcome focused alignment ● GTOPs budget was doubled last year and 2020 awards have been issued, with additional funding pathways and awardees depending upon funds. CTTC Budget Recommendation: $400,000 (as initially approved for FY-2020) City Council Vote Tabulation ● Citizen Communication originated 2019 inquiry aligned with CTTC mission ● Open data portal enables the capability ● Other major Texas cities have vote tabulation systems ○ (e.g. Dallas City Council & Socrata) ● Meetings with City Clerk Office have confirmed… ○ Goal is a “Database of Votes” ○ Commercial Systems will require customization ○ Additional FTE resources will be required to work on Council voting history ○ Additional FTE resources could also address speaker sign-up and City Hall engagement CTTC Budget Recommendation: $101,858 ----- OR -------- $75,400 1.) IT Database Administrator --------- OR ------------ 2.) IT Application Developer Residential Technology Study ● Current Residential Technology Study provides critical data on the levels of connectedness, device access, and digital literacy in Austin, particularly on our most vulnerable constituents. ● Current Residential Technology Study occurs every (3) years and is slated to take place in 2021, with a purposive sampling taking place this year. ● COVID-19 pandemic dynamics indicate greater frequency than (3) years is required to fairly address widening digital divide. ● Discussions with City Councilmember(s) about education and children being left further behind confirms need to more frequently assessment CTTC Budget Recommendation: $XX,XXX - Specific amount to be calculated with Staff assistance Remote Meeting Participation ● Spring of 2018 CTTC began discussing changes to the COA ordinance on video conferencing for Commission meetings to allow for remote participation ● Summer of 2018 CTTC began to meet with City Clerk’s Office and City Hall IT management to discuss possibilities January of 2019 CTTC submitted a Council Committee Agenda item request ● ○ http://www.austintexas.gov/edims/document.cfm?id=313283 ● Spring 2019 Council Committee Agenda item reviewed at Audit and Finance Committee meeting with agreement to convene working group with City Clerk’s Office Fall 2019 CTTC pilot effort began with one completed round of testing January/February …
