LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission - April 8, 2020
LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission Special Called Meeting of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Quality of Life Advisory Commission
Special Meeting of the LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission Wednesday, April 8, 2020 LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory 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 (Tuesday, April 7, 2020 by Noon). All public comment will occur at the beginning of the meeting. To speak remotely at the April 8, 2020, LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission Meeting, residents must: •Call or email the board liaison at (512) 974-2154 or neal.falgoust@austintexas.gov no later than noon, Tuesday, April 7, 2020. 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 neal.falgoust@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 LGBTQ QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION APRIL 8, 2020, 3:00 p.m. VIA VIDEOCONFERENCING http://www.austintexas.gov/page/watch-atxn-live CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS: District Commissioner 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Kannou (Kimberly) Curette Sandra Chavez Victor Martinez (Chair) Holly Kirby Ruben Baeza Terrance Hines Deirdre Doughty Saul Gonzalez District 9 10 Mayor At-Large At-Large At-Large At-Large Commissioner Nan Dowling Brandon Wollerson Christina Gorczynski Tarik Daniels Charles Curry Kathryn Gonzales (Vice Chair) Melissa Taylor AGENDA CALL TO ORDER 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 2. NEW BUSINESS a. Consideration and adoption of recommendations related to the city’s 2020-2021 fiscal year budget. (Sponsor: Staff; Strategic Outcome: All) ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are planned with wheelchair access. If requiring Sign Language Interpreters or alternative formats, please give notice at least 2 days (48 hours) before the meeting date. Please …
LGBTQ QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20200408-2A(1) Budget Recommendation to Develop LGBTQ-Focused Programs WHEREAS, the City of Austin has recognized in their Strategic Direction the need to inclusively honor and preserve Austin’s unique and diverse history, culture and traditions, and WHEREAS, the adopted Strategic Direction also calls for a regular inventory and evaluation of cultural programming and facilities to identify gaps and opportunities for impacting equity and equality while implementing standardized process for collecting and analyzing demographic participation, and WHEREAS, the LGBTQ community has long advocated for the need for facilities and programs dedicated to the unique aspect of our community’s culture similar to those provided to the African American, Hispanic and Asian American communities, and WHEREAS, the LGBTQ Quality of Life Commission community forum on the City’s 2020 Budget heard requests for more LGBTQ focused recreation and cultural programming, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission recommends to the City Council that city departments develop LGBTQ focused programming using existing available resources and facilities as well as utilizing community organizations for support and volunteers, and that BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the City Council direct the City Manager to report back to Council on a plan for collecting and reporting on the demographic information on the implementation of such LGBTQ focused recreation and cultural programming prior to the beginning of the next fiscal year. Date of Approval: April 8, 2020 Record of the vote: Unanimous on an 11-0 vote. Present: Martinez, Gonzales, Baeza, Chavez, Curette, Curry, Dowling, Gonzalez, Hines, Taylor, Wollerson Attest: _____________________________________________ Kathryn Gonzales, Vice Chair Page 1 of 1
LGBTQ QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20200408-2A(2) Budget Recommendation to Utilize Community Organizations and Nonprofits to Achieve Strategic Direction Outcomes WHEREAS, the City Council has adopted a plan for focusing resources on the most important priorities known as Austin Strategic Direction 2023, and WHEREAS, the Strategic Direction recognizes the need for a city government that works effectively and collaboratively for all of us and that is equitable, ethical and innovative, and WHEREAS, city staff has asked that City Commissions be cognizant of the limitations that recent state legislation places on the City’s financial resources and include in their recommendations opportunities for departments to increase efficiencies, improve effectiveness and attain more equitable service delivery, and WHEREAS, Austin has a wide variety of community organizations and nonprofits with objectives similar to those in the City’s Strategic Direction, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission recommends that the City Council direct staff to explore additional opportunities for utilizing community organizations and nonprofits in achieving the outcomes set forth in the Strategic Direction for the benefit of the community as a whole such as, • Coordinating with community nonprofits who can expand existing efforts while offsetting costs through donations and volunteers such as the job fairs provided by AustinUp; • Utilizing city staff to organize volunteers to provide new or expanded services such as peer mentoring in practical skills suggested by participants at the Commission on Seniors community forum; • Working with community organizations to achieve the mental health outcomes identified by participants in the African American Quality of Life community forum; • Working with community organization grant recipients to identify process changes that can maximize resources on service delivery while minimizing overhead as identified by participants in the Asian American Quality of Life community forum; • Assisting community organizations to fill identified gaps in service delivery such as the number of taxpayers who may not be taking advantage of the property tax exemptions authorized by City Council as identified in previous studies such as “Uprooted” and the “Right to Remain” report on the Montopolis Neighborhood; and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the outcomes achieved through the efforts of these organizations and volunteers as well as by organizations with whom the City contracts for services to the community be included in reporting on the City’s progress toward reaching our Strategic Direction. Page 1 of 2 Date of …
LGBTQ QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION 20200408-2A(3) Budget Recommendation to Implement a COVID-19 Cash Transfers Assistance Program WHEREAS, on March 6, 2020, Mayor Steve Adler declared a local state of disaster for the City due to concerns related to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19); and WHEREAS, on March 17, 2020, Mayor Steve Adler ordered the closure of restaurants and bars in the city, and limiting gatherings to 10 people; and WHEREAS, on March 24, 2020, Austin-Travis County announced a “shelter-in place” order to help slow the spread of COVID-19; and WHEREAS, the pandemic and subsequent enforceable safety measures have disproportionately affected hourly wage workers in the service, retail, hospitality, construction, and food and beverage industries, leading to lost jobs and lack of access to benefits; and WHEREAS, according to the US Census 2018 ACS 5-year Survey, over 153,000 Austinites live in poverty, and the number is expected to grow exponentially due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic downturn; and WHEREAS, economists note that a large percentage of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, which means that not only do residents have to protect their families from a pandemic, they also have to worry about how they are going to pay rent/mortgage, feed their children and keep the lights on for the foreseeable future; and WHEREAS, a stimulus package given by the federal government will only benefit individuals with social security, which means that these proposals would exclude undocumented families, which are some of our most vulnerable residents; and WHEREAS, unemployment benefits do not cover undocumented families, contractors or informal/formal small businesses that may not have unemployment insurance, which further marginalizes low income families that work in the construction industry, service industry, restaurants, hospitality, ride-sharing, housekeeping, and contract their services formally and informally; and WHEREAS, direct cash transfers can help fill in the gap, in addition to Austin Energy not disconnecting utility services, the no evictions order, food distribution, business resources, workforce services and healthcare services offered as a response to COVID-19; and WHEREAS, academics across the country and world have conducted countless studies that draw the same conclusion: cash transfers are cost-effective and have the strongest track record to reduce vulnerability, as well as demonstrating that people judiciously use the cash they receive to meet their needs, rather than spending it on non-essential items; and Page 1 of 3 WHEREAS, research demonstrates that cash transfers protect people’s standards of living during …
LGBTQ QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISSION SPECIAL CALLED MEETING MINUTES The LGBTQ Quality of Life Advisory Commission convened in a special called meeting on Wednesday April 8, 2020, via videoconference, in Austin, Texas. Chair Victor Martinez called the meeting to order at 3:03 p.m. Members in Attendance: Martinez, Baeza, Chavez, Curry, Currette, Dowling, Gonzales, Gonzalez, Hines, Taylor, Wollerson Staff in Attendance: Staff Liaison Neal Falgoust PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: None 1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – There were no minutes presented for approval 2. NEW BUSINESS a. The commission considered a budget recommendation concerning the development of LGBTQ-focused programs. Commissioner Curry motioned for approval, and Commissioner Dowling offered a second. The commission approved the recommendation with all 11 present voting Yes. b. The commission considered a budget recommendation concerning the utilization of community organizations and non-profits to achieve strategic direction outcomes. Commissioner Curry motioned for approval, and Commissioner Chavez offered a second. The commission approved the recommendation with all 11 present voting Yes. c. The commission considered a budget recommendation concerning the implementation of a COVID-19 cash transfer assistance program. Commissioner Gonzales motioned for approval, and Commissioner Baeza offered a second. The commission approved the recommendation with all 11 present voting Yes. ADJOURNMENT – Chair Martinez adjourned the meeting at 3:36 p.m. without objection.
