REGULAR CALLED MEETING OF THE ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 2026, 6:30 PM AUSTIN CITY HALL, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM, #1101 301 WEST 2ND STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS 78701 Some members of the Economic Prosperity Commission may be participating by videoconference. The meeting may be viewed online at: http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live 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, contact Chelsea Pfeifer at chelsea.pfeifer@austintexas.gov or 512-974-2498. CURRENT COMMISSIONERS: Commissioner Appointment Nicole Tomaszewski Ofelia Zapata District 1 District 2 Raquel Valdez Sanchez (Vice Chair) District 3 Michael Nahas VACANT Shakeel Rashed CALL TO ORDER District 4 District 5 District 6 PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL Commissioner Zain Pleuthner VACANT Appointment District 7 District 8 Aaron Gonzales (Chair) District 9 Aditi Joshi Jake Randall District 10 Mayor The first ten 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 February 25, 2026 and the Special Called meeting on March 16, 2026. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. Presentation on an Economic Snapshot of Central Texas. Presentation by Chair Gonzales. 3. Discussion of priority initiatives related to the use of Artificial Intelligence as it relates to construction and job creation. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. For assistance, please contact the Liaison or TTY users’ route through 711. A person may request language access accommodations no later than 48 hours before the scheduled meeting. Please call or email Chelsea Pfeifer at the Austin City Clerk’s Office, at 512-974-2498 or chelsea.pfeifer@austintexas.gov to request service or for additional information. For more information on the Economic Prosperity Commission please contact Chelsea Pfeifer at 512-974-2498 or chelsea.pfeifer@austintexas.gov.
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2026 ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2026 The Economic Prosperity Commission convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at Permitting and Development Center, Rooms 1401 & 1402, 6310 Wilhelmina Delco Drive, Austin, Texas. Chair Gonzales called the Economic Prosperity Commission Meeting to order at 6:47 p.m. Commissioners in Attendance: Aaron Gonzales, Chair Aditi Joshi Michael Nahas Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Jacob Randall Nicole Tomaszewski Ofelia Zapata PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Economic Prosperity Commission Regular Meeting on January 21, 2026. The minutes from the Economic Prosperity Commission regular meeting on January 21, 2026 were approved on Commissioner Joshi’s motion and Commissioner Nahas’ second on a 6-0 vote. Vice Chair Valdez Sanchez and Commissioners Cantu, Rashed, and Pleuthner were absent. DISCUSSION ITEMS 2. Discussion regarding the city’s FY 2026-27 budget process. Discussed. 1 ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2026 3. 4. 5. Discussion regarding the city’s boards & commissions bylaw amendment process. Chair Gonzales made a motion to postpone Items 3, 6 and 7 to the March 18, 2026 regular meeting, seconded by Commissioner Joshi. The motion did not pass, on a 5-1 vote. Commissioner Nahas voted nay. Vice Chair Valdez Sanchez and Commissioners Cantu, Rashed, and Pleuthner were absent. Discussed. Discussion regarding priority policy areas for potential Working Groups. Discussed. Update on outreach efforts regarding Recommendation 20251119-010: Pensions and OPEB Benefits. Update was given by Commissioner Nahas. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 6. 7. Approve a revised version of Recommendation 20251119-010: Pensions and OPEB Benefits based on additional information received from stakeholders. Chair Gonzales made a motion to postpone Items 3, 6 and 7 to the March 18, 2026 regular meeting, seconded by Commissioner Joshi. The motion did not pass, on a 5-1 vote. Commissioner Nahas voted nay. Vice Chair Valdez Sanchez and Commissioners Cantu, Rashed, and Pleuthner were absent. Withdrawn due to lack of quorum. Approve an impact assessment framework and recommendation approval guidelines for the Economic Prosperity Commission. Chair Gonzales made a motion to postpone Items 3, 6 and 7 to the March 18, 2026 regular meeting, seconded by Commissioner Joshi. The motion did not pass, on a 5-1 vote. Commissioner Nahas voted nay. Vice Chair Valdez Sanchez and Commissioners Cantu, Rashed, and Pleuthner were absent. Withdrawn due to lack of quorum. Chair …
ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES MARCH 16, 2026 ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION SPECIAL CALLED MEETING MINUTES MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2026 The Economic Prosperity Commission convened in a special called meeting on Monday, March 16, 2026 at Austin City Hall, 301 W. 2nd Street, Austin, Texas. Chair Gonzales called the Economic Prosperity Commission Meeting to order at 5:09 P.M. Commissioners in Attendance: Aaron Gonzales, Chair Michael Nahas Commissioners in Attendance Remotely: Aditi Joshi Zain Pleuthner Jacob Randall Shakeel Rashed Nicole Tomaszewski Raquel Valdez Sanchez PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL None. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 1. Approve a revised version of Recommendation 20251119-010: Pensions and OPEB Benefits based on additional information received from stakeholders. The recommendation and possible amendments were discussed. The following amendment was made by Chair Gonzales and seconded by Vice Chair Valdez Sanchez. The amendment was to reinsert the following sections that were previously struck through: “WHEREAS, the City of Austin’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report says “The deficit in governmental unrestricted net position is largely due to the net 1 ECONOMIC PROSPERITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES MARCH 16, 2026 pension liability of $2.3 billion and other postemployment benefits (OPEB) liability of $1.9 billion.” AND “Request that the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) require a prudent, financially conservative discount rate and use it for the liabilities used to calculate the City’s total governmental activities net position.” The motion to approve the amendment failed on a 3-3 vote with Chair Gonzales, Vice Chair Valdez Sanchez and Commissioner Joshi voting Aye, and Commissioners Pleuthner, Randall and Tomaszewski voting Nay. Commissioners Nahas and Rashed abstained. Commissioner Zapata was absent. The motion to approve the recommendation without amending was made by Chair Gonzales and seconded by Vice Chair Valdez Sanchez. Chair Gonzales called the question. Commissioner Tomaszewski objected to calling the question. The motion to proceed with calling the question failed on a 3-5 vote with Chair Gonzales, Vice Chair Valdez Sanchez and Commissioner Joshi voting Aye, and Commissioners Pleuthner, Randall, Tomaszewski, Nahas and Rashed voting Nay. Commissioner Zapata was absent. Chair Gonzales withdrew the item without objection. 2. Approve an impact assessment framework and recommendation approval guidelines for the Economic Prosperity Commission. Withdrawn without objection. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Approve a revised version of the pension recommendation. Approve an impact assessment framework and recommendation approval guidelines. Chair Gonzales made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 6:18 p.m., seconded by Commissioner Joshi and passed on a unanimous vote. …
