20210512-2a: on Council Vote Tabulation — original pdf

Council Committee Agenda Request

Name of Board or Commission:  Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission    Request Number: 20210512‐2a  Description of Item:  WHEREAS, City Council passed on February 7, 2019, a resolution directing the City Manager and the City Clerk to research best practices for electronic vote recording and report the results of the investigation in May of 2019; WHEREAS, it is the intent of this commission to advise City Council in service of the community and transparency of all future City actions and our elected officials voting record; WHEREAS, an informed and engaged community is essential to the health of our local government; and WHEREAS, the voting record and legislative history of any government body is foundational and essential information for an informed and engaged community; and WHEREAS, the City of Austin has both the means and the stated intent to make government more open and transparent; and WHEREAS, many other city, state, and national legislative bodies, including the City of Dallas, routinely publish data sets containing the basic information of the voting history of those legislative bodies; and WHEREAS, the City of Austin does not tabulate voting histories on council action in a form that ensures a transparent, open, and consumable record; and WHEREAS, the Austin Neighborhood Council, representing the neighborhoods of Austin, has passed a resolution asking City Council to create an online City Council voting record; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION: Requests City Council to place an Agenda Item on the appropriate Council Committee Agenda to discuss which option in the City Clerk’s Office report of May 28, 2019 would be appropriate for Austin; And, further requests that City Council allocate sufficient funds in the FY 2021 – 2022 Budget to purchase resources for this effort and for additional FTE position for administration; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  This project will allow the City of Austin to publish a future tabular data set useful in quantitative analysis of future city action and our elected officials’ future voting records to the city’s Open Data Portal. This data set will contain the following information at a minimum: Item description  Meeting date   Member name  Member district  Vote cast  Present during vote                   2 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  This data set will be appended with updates within 2 business days following any council vote. Board or Commission Vote to refer item to Council:   Motion to approve the Council Committee Agenda Request for Council Vote Tablature as edited and read into the  record made by Commissioner Yeatts, seconded by Commissioner DasGupta, passed on a vote of 8‐0‐1 with  Commissioner Svirsky abstaining.                        Date of Approval of Request:  5/12/2021    Attachments: ☐ Yes ☒ No  If yes, please list the attachments:  Attest:    Jesse Rodriguez, Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs    MAYOR’S OFFICE USE ONLY  Council Committee Assigned:   ☐Audit and Finance Committee  ☐Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee  ☐Mobility Committee  ☐Health and Human Services Committee  ☐Housing and Planning Committee  Recommend a Fiscal Analysis be completed?  Recommend a Legal Analysis be completed?  Notes:        Mayor Signature & Date: