Regular Called Meeting of the Economic Prosperity Commission Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 6:30pm City Hall, Boards & Commissions Room 1101 301 W. 2nd Street Austin, Texas Some members of the Economic Prosperity Commission may be participating by videoconference. Public comment will be allowed in-person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once either in-person or remotely and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, call or email Ryan Sperling, 512- 974-3568, ryan.sperling@austintexas.gov. CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS/COMMISSIONERS: Commissioner VACANT Ofelia Zapata Appointment District 1 District 2 Commissioner Zain Pleuthner VACANT Appointment District 7 District 8 Raquel Valdez Sanchez (Vice Chair) District 3 Michael Nahas Rodrigo Cantu Shakeel Rashed District 4 District 5 District 6 Aaron Gonzales (Chair) District 9 Aditi Joshi Jake Randall District 10 Mayor AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first 10 speakers signed up prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Economic Prosperity Commission Regular Meeting on August 20, 2025. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. 3. 4. 5. Presentation regarding collaborative partnerships to support economic opportunity. Presentation by Christy Moffett, Director of Economic Development & Strategic Investments, Travis County. Discussion regarding potential overlap in work between the Economic Prosperity Commission and other city boards and commissions, as related to approved recommendations. Discussion regarding a potential report on large enterprise employers within the City of Austin that are or are not participating in the summer youth internship program, including feedback from commissioners. Discussion regarding vacancies on the Economic Prosperity Commission and how the commission can encourage people to apply. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 6. Conduct an evaluation of the recommendations made and other actions taken by the Economic Prosperity Commission throughout the year and how these reflected or achieved the commission’s directives, identify any overlaps in the role and work of the commission with other boards or commissions, identify policies or City needs that no current board or commission appears to address, evaluate the level of members’ and the community’s engagement, and identify potential bylaw amendments to improve or address any of the foregoing. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City …
Economic Prosperity Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 20, 2025 ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION REGULAR CALLED MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, August 20, 2025 The Economic Prosperity Commission convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at 301 W. 2nd Street, Boards and Commissions Room 1101, in Austin, Texas. Chair Gonzales called the Economic Prosperity Commission Meeting to order at 6:32 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance in Person: Aaron Gonzales (Chair) Raquel Valdez Sanchez (Vice Chair) Zain Pleuthner Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Rodrigo Cantu Aditi Joshi Michael Nahas Shakeel Rashed PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None present. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Economic Prosperity Commission Regular Meeting on July 16, 2025. The minutes were approved on Commissioner Joshi’s motion, Commissioner Pleuthner’s second on a 7-0 vote. Commissioners Randall, Ponder, and Zapata were absent. PUBLIC HEARINGS 2. Hold a public hearing to solicit feedback from the public and community stakeholders regarding the usefulness and relevance of the Economic Prosperity Commission’s stated purposes and duties and its success in fulfilling those purpose and duties. No speakers present. Withdrawn without objection. 1 Economic Prosperity Commission Meeting Minutes Wednesday, August 20, 2025 DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Presentation regarding the history of the partnership between Workforce Solutions Capital Area and the City of Austin, the new infrastructure academy, and workforce development programs in peer cities. Presentation by Yael Lawson, COO, Workforce Solutions Capital Area. Presentation by Yael Lawson, COO, Workforce Solutions Capital Area. Discussion reviewing peer city actions, local events, and news articles related to the commission’s working groups. Withdrawn without objection. Update from Chair Gonzales regarding his Economic Opportunity Committee presentation on July 18th and the 2024-25 annual report. Discussed. Discussion regarding commissioner attendance and feedback received at district budget town halls. Discussed. Discussion regarding planned and finished external speaker presentations at working group meetings. Discussed. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 8. Conduct an evaluation of the recommendations made and other actions taken by the Economic Prosperity Commission throughout the year and how these reflected or achieved the commission’s directives, identify any overlaps in the role and work of the commission with other boards or commissions, identify policies or City needs that no current board or commission appears to address, evaluate the level of members’ and the community’s engagement, and identify potential bylaw amendments to improve or address any of the foregoing. Discussed. No action was taken. WORKING GROUP UPDATES 9. 10. 11. …
COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY City of Austin Economic Prosperity Commission Meeting Presented by Christy Copeland Moffett, MSSW Travis County EDSI, Planning & Budget Office September 17, 2025 AGENDA Workforce/Job Creation Small Business Long-term Economic Planning 2 Travis County Economic Development & Strategic Investment • Located in the Planning & Budget Office • Areas of Responsibility: • Economic & Strategic Planning • Investments Management • Public Improvement Districts • Community & Strategic Engagement • Corporations Economic Development & Strategic Investments Travis County Economic Development - Travis County Financial Transparency V2 3 WORKFORCE & JOB CREATION TCHHS Workforce Development Funding Overview County Goals: Community Goal: Travis County allocated $2,608,238 for a continuum of adult education and workforce development services for Travis County residents in the Workforce Development issue area àHelp individuals improve workplace skills, obtain employment, & succeed in the workplace (succeed in the workplace includes retaining employment, advancing in employment, & increasing earnings and access to benefits); and àHelp employers secure a skilled workforce Support the Hire Local Plan by improving economically disadvantaged residents’ access to better economic opportunities Source: https://www.wfscapitalarea.com/community-workforce-plan-2/ 5 TCHHS Workforce Development Investments Program YouthBuild American YouthWorks Career Expressway Capital IDEA Educational Pathways Foundation Communites Supported Training and Employment Program (STEP) Goodwill Industries of Central Texas Workforce and Education Services LifeWorks Gateway Skillpoint Alliance Adult Education Todos Juntos Learning Center Workforce and Education Readiness Continuum—Travis County (WERC TC) Workforce Solutions Capital Area Workforce Board TOTAL Funding Level $229,850.00 $829,840.00 $229,850.00 $129,850.00 $329,850.00 $339,840.00 $209,158.00 $200,000.00 $2,608,238.00 6 TCHHS Portfolio Strengths • Broad low-income population targeting • County-wide geographic access • Some service types we’ve funded before • Vendors that have been County contractors before • Support to existing services as well as program expansion • Collaborative programs with a prime contractor and one or more subcontractors • Brand new contractors for the County • Smaller and/or newer nonprofits 7 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS • 8 Active Agreements • 2 Completed Agreements • $97,057,725 total rebated/abated to date for active agreements • 14,662 jobs created or retained by companies with active agreements to date • $24,960,949,945 total capital investment made by companies with active agreements to date • Compliance for 4 agreements completed jointly with the City of Austin 8 SMALL BUSINESS 9 TCTX Thrive 1.0 program • Budget: $10 million allocated from the CARES Act • Program: Business coaching and reimbursement grants of up to $40,000 • …
