Austin Texas Community

The Economic Development Department continues to tweak requirements for the next edition of the Austin Live Music Fund. Music & Entertainment Division Manager Erica Shamaly revealed further changes to the program at the Music Commission’s April meeting Monday night.

Musician and commission member Scott Strickland previously voiced concerns that increasing grant amounts for professional musicians and independent promoters from $5,000 or $10,000 to $15,000 or $30,000 would increase competition and ultimately benefit fewer people. On Monday, Shamaly doubled down on the need to offer bigger awards. “This needs to be a more substantial investment so that we can move the needle for folks to really get their careers to grow,” she said, referencing expensive projects like recording music and marketing. 

If the fund institutes those higher amounts, Shamaly said that starting in fiscal year 2025, awardees would not be allowed to apply for the Austin Live Music Fund two years in a row. However, she said the EDD would consider disbursing the grants over 24 months to ensure the money lasts. 

Last year, applications for the Live Music Fund opened in April. When asked by Commissioner Strickland how close the EDD was to opening this year’s applications, Shamaly said, “very soon.”

In February, organizers changed course from requiring Live Music Fund applicants to specify a certain project they would use funds for to providing a list of all eligible expenses. One of those expenses includes touring, but in last night’s meeting, Shamaly clarified that funds could not be put toward travel expenses. Instead, she listed the following as eligible touring-related costs:

• • Rehearsal fees
• • Marketing and promotions
• • Merchandise transport
• • Management, artist, and crew fees
• • Equipment and transport rentals
• • Administrative advancement
• • Tour-related shipping

“We can’t use HOT funds to pay for those travel expenses or those hotels outside of Texas – just wouldn’t be right,” she said, referencing the locally collected Hotel Occupancy Tax that funds the program. Also not eligible for Live Music Fund financing: food and hospitality expenses, and fundraisers and benefits – including the many concerts thrown in support of HAAM and the SIMS Foundation. 

Stressing the Live Music Fund’s purpose, to bolster local tourism, Shamaly said all awardees will be required to undergo training about how to best promote their music careers. Even if artists decide to use their grants to fund long-running recording projects rather than public-facing events, “You can’t go into a cave for two years,” Shamaly said. “You have to keep engaging in order to not only stay connected with your current fans but to build your fanbase.” 

At the end of last night’s meeting, Chair Nagavalli Medicharla, Vice Chair Anne-Charlotte Patterson, and Parliamentarian Oren Rosenthal were all elected to new one-year terms as Music Commission officers. Strickland was elected secretary, filling a previously empty role.

At least 60 people have lost their jobs at UT-Austin as a direct result of the university’s implementation of Senate Bill 17, which bans initiatives around diversity, equity, and inclusion in institutions of higher education, according to the Austin American-Statesman.

In a letter to faculty and students Tuesday, President Jay Hartzell explained that the university has “embarked on a multiphase process to review campus portfolios and end or redesign the policies, programs, trainings, and roles affected by the new law.” Most changes were implemented by January, and mostly included renamings: The Division of Diversity and Community Engagement replaced "Diversity" with "Campus." The Gender and Sexuality Center became the Women's Community Center. Other changes were more concrete, like the shuttering of the Multicultural Engagement Center, which housed six university-sponsored student groups, including the Latino Leadership Council and Afrikan American Affairs, and the end of Monarch, which helped undocumented students with internships, applications, and financial aid.

Now, despite the name change, UT has shuttered the Division of Campus and Community Engagement (DCCE), which recently hosted a campus-wide women’s history month celebration, and offered a restorative justice program to help students address problems in relationship dynamics. In his email, Hartzell claims that activities within DCCE “overlap with our efforts elsewhere” and that UT will simply be “redistributing the remaining programs.” Hartzell stresses that disability services, University Interscholastic League, UT charter schools, and other “volunteer and community programs” will be continued as part of other divisions. Funding that was used to support DEI will be “redeployed to support teaching and research.” However, UT declined to answer where the programs or funding will be redistributed. 

These changes followed a March 26 letter from state Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, to chancellors and regents at various universities. In the letter, he warns that “merely renaming DEI offices or positions” is not complying with SB 17, and that universities’ funding could be frozen or they could face legal action if they don’t comply. In order to track enforcement, SB 17 requires universities to submit an annual plan to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board before they can spend state money each year, and requires universities to testify before a legislative committee outlining actions they have taken to remain in compliance with the law. Creighton’s letter reminded institutions that their first compliance meeting with the Senate Committee on Education will happen in May – written statements are required by May 3.

“Now that SB 17 is law, I’m confident that Texas public colleges and universities can return to their core mission of innovation and education – and if they do not, the Texas Senate will be resolute in enforcement of this legislation,” wrote Creighton.

City Council Member Paige Ellis, who chairs Council’s Mobility Committee, is sponsoring a resolution on this Thursday’s agenda intended to make cyclists and pedestrians safer and raise awareness of the risks of parking in bike lanes. Joining Ellis as sponsors of the resolution are Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool and Council members Natasha Harper-Madison, Ryan Alter and Zo Qadri.

If approved by Council, the resolution would direct the city manager to initiate amendments to the city’s traffic regulations to prohibit vehicle parking in bike lanes throughout the city, budget for a fleet of e-bikes for Transportation Mobility Service Officers and create a Volunteer Bike Lane Enforcement Program for changes to the parking laws.

It is currently illegal to park in bike lanes where signs indicate that it’s prohibited. If the resolution is adopted and becomes part of city code, it will be illegal to park in any bike lane citywide. Ellis and her co-sponsors are requesting that the city manager develop and implement a bicycle-friendly driver training program for first-time parking violators, which would allow them to have the ticket fee waived. They also propose a six-month grace period before enforcing ticket fines.

Ellis told the Austin Monitor on Monday, “This resolution is about making sure people can safely get to their destination, acknowledges the impact of transportation on family budgets, and is a way individuals can help combat the impacts of climate change.”

She said, “I’m proud to lead on initiatives focused on mobility and public safety, especially as we address infrastructure needs in our community and the necessity for multimodal accommodations. Safety efforts around bike lanes are not just about a few folks who enjoy biking as a leisure activity. By correcting and bringing awareness to dangerous driving behaviors, we create a safer environment for everyone on our roadways, including those who don’t own a vehicle or choose alternative daily transportation.”

For Ellis, the proposed change to city regulations “also moves us closer to our goals adopted in the Vision Zero initiative, the Imagine Austin Comprehensive Plan, Austin Strategic Mobility Plan and the 2023 Bicycle Plan.” She concluded that the resolution is just the latest effort by Council to show “its commitment to creating a more resilient, safer, and inclusive Austin.”

The resolution directs the city manager to provide a memo to Council by May 28 on recommended visual cues for unprotected bike lanes with the projected cost, as well as progress on acquiring the electric bicycle fleet, including recommending a funding source. Ellis and her co-sponsors are asking the manager to bring code amendments back to Council by October.

Ellis’ resolution notes that Transportation Mobility Service Officers currently respond to residents reporting parking in bike lanes to 311. However, this “results in poor enforcement outcomes due to the limited availability of mobility officers and the delay in response times.” According to the resolution, Houston has made parking in dedicated bike lanes illegal since October 2020. That city has also created a bicycle-friendly driver training program, which has improved compliance with the law and improved cyclists’ and drivers’ safety.

The Austin Ghost Bike Project, Safe Streets Austin and Farm&City released a statement Monday calling on local and state elected officials to reduce vehicular fatalities and serious injuries across the state to zero. The group announced an International Ride of Silence that will begin at Austin City Hall at 7 p.m. May 15.

One of those to be honored in the ride is Keith Culver, who was killed in Austin in March 2022 while riding his bicycle from California to Florida. Although his friends offered a $50,000 reward for information on the driver of the vehicle that killed him, that driver has not been identified.

A pilot program to make the Downtown Austin Community Court more accessible to those needing help clearing up misdemeanor offenses and receiving social services has been ruled a success, with organizers pushing to make the expansion permanent.

A memo released last week from the DACC court administrator Robert Kingham recommends the city move forward with the creation of a fully staffed mobile DACC program. The memo also calls for finding ways to scale the program through more engagement with clients, evaluating what other services could be offered and making investments in transportation and technology resources.

City Council directed staff to create the pilot program in 2023 in part because of the success of similar efforts in other cities. The DACC’s main mission is to act as a justice diversion mechanism that resolves low-level offenses for those experiencing homelessness, mental illness, substance abuse or poverty.

At a meeting last month, the DACC advisory board supported asking the city for $1.56 million in the 2024-25 budget to fund a fully operational mobile community court program. The advisory board also forecasted an ongoing need for $2.1 million beginning in the 2026-27 fiscal year.

The memo, which includes an evaluation of the pilot program by Sultan Justice Consulting Corp., notes the mobile court operated on 18 dates from October 2023 through early February, with services available at 10 locations such as homeless service centers, libraries and churches. Engagement increased as awareness of the pilot program spread among populations who could utilize the services, with 383 people receiving court case checks, 125 of which had one or more open court cases.

Among those, 35 clients participated in a mobile court hearing, with 69 cases docketed and 48 warrants cleared.

The end result of addressing minor offenses among distressed populations is seen as a net positive move for the city financially because of the reduction in police and court time, and clearing some legal obstacles for those seeking housing or employment that can help stabilize their lives.

The memo notes that the pilot program required court staff and stakeholders from other involved groups to perform extra duties to carry out the offering of services at mobile sites, which wasn’t seen as sustainable over the long term.

Kingham, who was scheduled to make a presentation to the Public Safety Commission on Monday, told the Austin Monitor that the DACC advisory board’s budget request would fund the staff and other resources needed without overextending the court’s existing operations.

He said the goal of meeting “people where they were” made needed services much more available throughout the city.

“Looking at our population that we generally serve, that’s one of the reasons we identified locations where individuals experiencing homelessness were already receiving services,” he said. “The data reflected in a third-party analysis showed that individuals did not address their open court case with us previously because they didn’t have an idea that they had an open case with us. And it speaks to some of the issues that individuals are experiencing when they have been cited for one of the violations that are heard at our court.”

Kingham said the high level of satisfaction from those served during the pilot program – and its increase in usage as word spread – suggests a mobile DACC presence would become more effective if it were a permanent offering.

“One hundred percent of the individuals who went through this program were satisfied with the services that they received,” he said. “They’re able to help amplify the message that we are there to help, that we’re there to assist them, navigate their court process and resolve as their court case – and also, if needed, connect them with services that will address the underlying root causes of their initial justice involvement.”

As of this month, new regulations dictate how scooters operate in Austin. 

“I think it might be one of the biggest complaints we get in the office,” said Council Member Zo Qadri, who represents downtown. “For me, it’s not as much about the visual clutter. It’s about accessibility and safety.”

Richard Mendoza, director of Transportation and Public Works, explained to Council’s Mobility Committee that he had been working on the new rules in cooperation with Bird and Lime in a process that was launched last fall. They were put into effect April 1.

“I am not anti-scooter,” Mendoza said. “And I understand that, in terms of providing a service, especially with regards to last-mile connectivity, this recent asset and service has filled a very valuable space for our community. However, with anything new, there’s a period of adjustment and there’s an experience of, perhaps, unintended challenges that we’ve been encountering.”

Specifically, Mendoza said challenges centered on safety and the proliferation and clustering of scooters, which has been damaging to the environment, ADA compliance and access to storefronts, as well as general aesthetics. 

“Some of these devices found their way into some of our waterways, which presented significant environmental concerns,” he said.

To address these concerns, the city has now:

• Reduced the number of licensed vendors from three to two
• Reduced the number of individual scooters from more than 14,000 to 8,700, with a proposed further reduction to 6,700, with more scooters allowed during special events like South by Southwest
• Reduced maximum scooters allowed downtown from 4,500 to 2,250
• Discontinued the use of dockless e-bikes (seated scooters will still be permitted)
• Reduced the maximum speed from 15 miles per hour to 10 mph overnight (from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.) in the main entertainment districts of the urban core in an effort to reduce serious head injuries
• Started the creation of designated device staging areas.

Mendoza said that different cities had taken different approaches to the issue with everything from total moratoriums on scooters to the construction of infrastructure to control the environment that scooters operate within. He said that Austin sought to have a dialogue with the micromobility companies as partners to figure out how to address the challenges. When asked why he worked only with vendors, instead of the usual stakeholder process, he said that he saw a need to move faster than typical to address safety issues.

Removing scooters entirely from Congress Avenue was “still in conversation,” Mendoza said as part of a larger conversation about reenvisioning the street as the Main Street of Texas.

Establishing and delineating staging areas will begin this month and continue through the summer.

The Office of Sustainability has published the draft of its long-in-development food plan for Austin and Travis County, which seeks to balance pressures of development and land use against the need to feed a fast-growing metro area. Released last month after more than a year of community input on priorities related to food availability and equality, the draft plan is available for comment until April 19. The first online discussion on the draft plan is scheduled for Wednesday, with those talks helping to shape a final plan that’s  expected to go before City Council for approval this summer.

The draft plan is divided into nine major goals: preservation of local farmland, availability of agriculture resources to marginalized groups, improving quality of life for food and farm workers, making the local food system more resilient, improving the local food supply chain, expanding access to quality food, decreasing food waste, addressing environmental concerns related to food production and transport, and increasing awareness of the impact of the food system in local quality of life. Those nine broad goals have 74 total smaller steps the sustainability office and relevant groups have identified as key to making the larger food plan a success.

The push to create the plan came in the aftermath of the early 2021 winter storm that disrupted power and water service to major portions of the city and exposed the fragility of the local food system when thousands of residents saw their food spoil in their homes, then found store shelves empty for days when they were able to travel again.

As city staff and other community leaders began to study the realities of food availability and production in the greater five-county area, the weak spots became clear very quickly: Every day, the city loses 16.8 acres of farmland located mostly in the fertile Eastern Crescent region that has experienced heavy development pressures for at least two decades. Also only 0.06 percent of all food consumed in Travis County is locally produced, and each day 1.24 million pounds of food is wasted.

That imbalance also opens up business opportunities for those interested in solving discrete pieces of the food problem, because research shows about $2.3 billion is spent annually transporting food to the area, with that cost baked in to the final purchase price of meals prepared in homes or area restaurants. While major producers of food products such as Tyson Foods operate in the state and supply huge amounts of local meat products or produce, local mid-sized farmers and livestock producers say the area’s food infrastructure is so lacking that it’s difficult to stay in business.

At a recent meeting of the Joint Sustainability Committee that featured a presentation on the draft plan, members were supportive of the effort and expressed concern about the likelihood the city and Travis County would be able to address the many interconnected challenges related to keeping all Austinites fed. Sergio Torres-Peralta, a food and resilience coordinator in the sustainability office, said the time and effort given to the plan’s creation by community members and the many food-focused nonprofit groups in the area show there is a willingness to make the plan a priority locally.

“One of the biggest challenges is to find the right balance in between what our community members want versus what we can do and where we can actually write in the food plan,” he said. “Goal No. 1 talks about agriculture and increasing agriculture because we know that we’re losing land, agricultural land, at a staggering rate. We also know that we need to house people, so there is a challenge there. How do we make a solution that works for everybody that doesn’t create unintended consequences? We’re working very diligently to find those.”

On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court unanimously approved a 100 percent property tax break to qualifying child care centers in the county. The decision comes close on the city of Austin’s heels; the city passed a similar break in January and was the first city in Texas to do so after the passage of Proposition 2, which formally enabled child care facilities to receive property tax abatement of 50 percent to 100 percent.

Staff estimates approximately 50 facilities across the county will be eligible for the relief funding, and County Judge Andy Brown noted that the 100 percent exemption “will not have a destructive effect to our budget overall,” which he classified as “a good thing.”

“We’re talking $258,000 on a billion-dollar budget,” said Travis Gatlin of the Planning and Budget Office. 

But in a county with a minimum 18-month wait list for child care, two years for state financial assistance programs, a median child care worker wage of $12, a wave of closures during the pandemic and a great number of home-based care operations ineligible for funding, the exemption won’t fix all of Travis County’s child care woes.

After a litany of calls in support of the item, Commissioner Jeff Travillion highlighted the downstream benefits of expanded child care services, including job creation and jail diversion, and stressed the importance of compensating workers with a living wage.

“I think that this is going to be one of the most important issues that we address. We need to address it comprehensively,” he said. “I think that extending tax relief is a constructive thing, but we have got to look at the whole system so that we are not only making a safe learning space for our infants, but really through 12th grade, something that allows us to to … address school-to-work issues rather than school-to-jail issues.

“(It’s) just a piece of the puzzle, but I think it’s an important piece,” Travillion said.

Child care facilities must meet multiple criteria in order to qualify for the exemption. Travis County’s language specifies that applicants:

• Be a licensed child care facility;
• Be a Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Texas Rising Star program participant; 
• Have at least 20 percent of their children enrolled in TWC’s Child Care Services (CCS) program.

Pandemic federal relief funding for child care providers will expire later this year, and officials hope the tax breaks help high-quality centers remain open.

“We applaud the Travis County Commissioners Court for providing vital tax relief and supporting child care providers and families,” Barbara Grant Boneta, director of the Austin/Travis County Success By 6 Coalition, United Way for Greater Austin, said in a statement to the press. “Child care providers, many of them operating on razor-thin margins, need all the help they can get. This decision represents a significant stride towards ensuring that parents can pursue careers and opportunities with peace of mind, confident that their children are receiving high-quality care during those crucial early years.”

Property owners hoping to qualify for the exemption must submit an Application for Child-Care Facility Property Tax Exemption, Form 50-844, to the Travis Central Appraisal District (TCAD) by April 30, 2024. Those forms can be found here.

Although Travis County District Judge Madeleine Connor ruled in favor of homeowners fighting to keep a developer from building more than two houses per lot in their subdivision last week, that victory may be marred by further decisions in the near future.

Attorney Bill Aleshire represents four homeowners in the Elmwood Estates subdivision in South Austin. The original owner of subdivision, which was platted in 1953, imposed covenants and restrictions on all the lots so that future property owners could not build more than two houses on a lot, Aleshire said. However, two developers purchased lots in the subdivision, planning to build considerably more houses in apparent violation of the restrictive covenant.

The homeowners sued to enforce the restrictions. One developer settled with the homeowners, agreeing to build two houses per lot. The second developer, Cliffhanger Development of Dallas, sued the homeowners and the suits were consolidated. Cliffhanger “was trying to use re-subdivision to build at least eight houses on the lot and told us during the case that Austin’s H.O.M.E. Ordinance would allow him to build 36 housing units,” Aleshire told the Austin Monitor.

Aleshire said the homeowners appeared to have prevailed in a lawsuit last week. However, Connor informed attorneys she wanted to hear more arguments on the question of whether the homeowners had waived their right to stop development beyond what is specified in deed restrictions by failing to object to some earlier developments. It is not clear when the parties will be returning to court for those arguments.

Aleshire noted that the city of Austin ignores deed restrictions and leaves it up to property owners to find out whether such restrictions apply to their property and take action if they wish.

Love them or hate them, electronic scooters, or e-scooters, are everywhere. But starting next week, there will be new rules for e-scooters in Austin.

At its meeting on Thursday, Austin's Mobility Committee discussed scooter regulations. Talking points included reducing the number of licensed e-scooter vendors down to just Bird and Lime and putting a moratorium on e-scooter vendor licenses for at least a calendar year.

Transportation and Public Works says the purpose of these regulations is to reduce the number of serious head injuries while also clearing the clutter of scooters downtown. 

Starting on Monday, April 1, only Bird and Lime will continue operating in Austin and the 2,000 e-scooters from the company Link will be removed. This will reduce the total number of permitted e-scooters in Austin down to 6,700 – 3,700 from Lime and 3,000 from Bird.

Additionally, the maximum speed for e-scooters will be reduced from 15 mph to 10 mph between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. each day in the city's main entertainment districts. The goal of the speed reduction is to decrease the risk for injuries.

From July 2023 through September 2023, Austin-Travis County EMS estimated there were 48 accidents involving e-scooters, out of the 29,423 patients medics saw during that timeframe.

Selena Xie, the President of the Austin EMS Association, says in the ICU, the most common outcome healthcare workers see from scooter accidents is head injuries. 

"We see a lot of, honestly, irreversible brain damage because of these scooter incidents and some deaths because of them," Xie said. "Also on accidents that don't seem that bad initially, but you hit your head in just the right place, and they can be fatal."

During these late night hours, there can be several factors contributing to these accidents, like poor visibility and impaired judgement due to alcohol. 

"These things really need your full attention when you're out there mixing it up with traffic," said Richard Mendoza, Director of Transportation and Public Works. 

Even some visitors from out of town have noticed that scooters have gotten out of hand in Austin. 

"They're just lying all over the place and causing issues as you're walking down the sidewalk," said Sevan Kesenci, a visitor from Los Angeles. 

Kesenci says scooters like Lime started popping up in LA in 2017. 

"It became a nuisance very quickly and started branching off into the valley areas," Kesenci said. 

Kesneci said LA also had issues with people riding them recklessly, scooters blocking businesses and taking parking spots.

To combat the cluster of scooters downtown, the Mobility Committee will also be adding "staging areas" for scooters to park when people are done using them. They will essentially be lines on the ground, marking a set place for the scooters. 

The Director of Transportation and Public Works says they're going to start implementing the new regulations on April 1. They'll also be working with Bird and Lime from now until summer to identify and create the marked spaces for the scooters.

What an asshole. How the fuck did this person have a “valid” CDL license?

TX truly does get washed up talent from other states and countries — from doctors to CDL drivers.

Personal injury lawyers are foaming at the mouth right now. CDL drivers definitely supposed to be carrying commercial insurance. Company hiring this numbskull didn’t do any DD. That company or insurance carrier will be opening up the check book.

2 deaths — 1 adult, 1 child. 40+ children traumatized for life.

A new report reveals that in Austin, the median Black household earned 54 cents for every dollar earned by the median white household in 2019.

The report, titled “The State of Black Lives in Austin,” examines the issues faced by Black Austinites in six sections: Arts and Culture, Business and Economics, Employment and Education, Health and Wellness, Neighborhood Sustainability, and Community Safety. A collaboration between the nonprofit Measure and community organization Austin Justice Coalition, the paper calls for the city to address these challenges by taking transformative measures.

“The report envisions a future where Black residents of Austin live free from oppression, with access to healthcare, wellness, education, capital, and justice,” said Chas Moore, founder of the Austin Justice Coalition, in a press release. “The journey towards racial justice in Austin is ongoing, and this report provides a roadmap for the city to follow.”

Another finding shows that Black Austin ISD students accounted for 17% of those referred to law enforcement or involved in school-related arrests while only accounting for 6% of the student body in the 2019-20 school year. Also stated was that Black people constituted 15% of traffic stops and 25% of arrests while making up only 7.5% of the city’s population.

As a whole, the paper is juxtaposed with the 2008 African American Quality of Life Report, which was reported by the city of Austin and assessed similar data. However, the 2024 report found many of the initiatives outlined in the 2008 report were not fully implemented. The report concludes with a demand for the city to go beyond “symbolic gestures and piecemeal solutions” to achieve racial justice.

“The path forward must move from performative partnerships to accountable co-governance models that mobilize Black Austinites to lead local development agendas, direct funding priorities, overhaul failed institutions, build generational wealth, celebrate Black culture without appropriation, and help every Black resident thrive,” the report said.

Austin announced Tuesday night that it will offer the city manager job to T.C. Broadnax, the outgoing city manager in Dallas. Upon his arrival later this year, he will have a full plate of duties and projects to oversee.

Broadnax is joining City Hall during major reform in the housing and policing sectors. The city will also soon embark on the construction of the public transportation behemoth Project Connect, the expansion of Interstate 35, the renovation of the Austin Convention Center and an expansion at the Austin airport.

These things are not new for Broadnax. In Dallas, he helped usher in many of these same projects, including the revitalization of Fair Park, where the State Fair of Texas is held, and the master plan for the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. He also helped oversee operations at Dallas Love Field airport, according to his resume.

Broadnax’s local government experience spans 30 years. He served as a city manager in Tacoma, Washington, and before that, as an assistant city manager in San Antonio. Most recently, he has been the city manager of Dallas. He took on the role in 2017 and left last month after calls for his resignation.

Despite his complicated relationship with some of the Dallas City Council, Austin city leaders said they are confident he will do this job well.

“We did our due diligence and reference checked him in Dallas and Tacoma, and we got a lot of positive feedback,” Council Member Zo Qadri said.

Ultimately, his experience is why City Council members say he is the best fit for the job.

Council Member Vanessa Fuentes is on the city manager search subcommittee and said Broadnax’s work addressing homelessness stood out.

While in Dallas, Broadnax helped create a large coalition of local governments, nonprofits, foundations and advocates that helped over 2,700 unhoused people leave homelessness.

“To me, that shows and demonstrates his ability to take a look at our homelessness ecosystem and ensure that we have a system that is set up to support our most vulnerable community members,” Fuentes said.

There are more than 5,500 people experiencing homelessness in Austin. The city has spent tens of millions of dollars on reducing homelessness, including efforts to open permanent supportive housing and reopening the former Salvation Army shelter downtown. But there is still work to do, and Council members say Broadnax has the experience.

Council Member Chito Vela said he was largely impressed with Broadnax’s experience with public safety, especially as Austin seeks a new permanent police chief and the Austin Police Department experiences staffing shortages.

“One of the first things that he needs to do is go ahead and kick off the search for a police chief and get a good, talented police chief, who is committed to the transparency and accountability that Austin voters demand,” Vela said.

Austin has not had a permanent police chief since Joe Chacon retired in September. Robin Henderson has been serving in the interim.

Vela said the city was holding off on hiring a police chief until a new city manager could be named. Broadnax told reporters earlier this week this is something he would focus on during his first 100 days in Austin.

“Top of mind is hiring a permanent police chief,” Broadnax said. “And creating a process that is public and open, that allows for people to have input in that process and ultimately help select the next police chief for this city.”

In addition to steering Austin through some hefty decisions on public safety, transportation and homelessness, Broadnax would also be tasked with implementing the city’s environmental goals.

In February, City Council passed a resolution to initiate a plan to address climate change, sustainability of city operations and community resiliency. It’s part of the city’s goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040.

Over the last several weeks, Council has been working to implement policies that help combat climate change. The latest move was to create a program that incentivizes the use of battery-powered lawn tools. Council Member Ryan Alter said there is more to be done to help Austin achieve this and believes Broadnax will get the city there.

“I think we are going to move forward as a city making the most environmentally friendly and sustainable decisions with him in place,” Alter said.

Broadnax will finish his time in Dallas on June 3. Council is set to finalize his hiring with a start date and salary at its April 4 meeting.

With City Council set to consider a host of green infrastructure projects later this spring, environmental proponents want the city to commit to green space acquisition, curbing motorized vehicle use and converting all municipal energy generation away from carbon fuels.

Wednesday’s public hearing at the Joint Sustainability Committee meeting featured more than a dozen speakers weighing in on the city’s environmental investment plan, which was initiated by a February resolution that committed to a net-zero carbon goal by 2040, along with several other goals and initiatives.

In addition to the carbon emissions reduction, the city is aiming to decrease water usage and improve overall community resilience. The early discussions on environmental priorities were intended to avoid concerns over funding options, though there is a goal of prioritizing projects that would trigger or leverage federal aid programs.

The Joint Sustainability Committee is expected to vote on a recommendation to Council next month that would give its guidance on the projects and concepts to pursue. City Council is tentatively expected to hold a public hearing on the plan in late May.

During the hearing, speakers such as environmental consultant Ted Eubanks said Austin’s rapid development is creating pressures and dire consequences in most aspects of local environmental health.

“To ameliorate Austin’s expanding and intensifying urban heat island, protect water and air quality, increase water quantity and conserve biodiversity, Austin must balance green with this densifying gray,” Eubanks said. “Austin is not going to address these climate issues with new programs, managers and (full-time employees). This is pretense, not action. We need measurable action. Acres purchased, acres restored, wetlands preserved, riparian buffers created.”

He also pushed for an inventory of all publicly owned land to assess their conditions and potential for conversion to green space.

Bobby Levinski, staff attorney for the Save Our Springs Alliance, said state laws limiting the city’s ability to regulate development – including drastic cutbacks in parkland dedication requirements – make land acquisition even more important for the city to protect local water quality.

“Land and wildlife habitat are limited resources,” he said. “It is a proven strategy to protect water quality, protect water quantity, mitigate flooding risk and combat sprawl development. I would encourage you to include in your recommendation language to City Council to leverage those funds with state and federal resources, as well as the Austin Water utility revenue. It’s getting harder and harder to regulate development within the county areas in our (extraterritorial jurisdiction). We really need to get back on to finding out more funding resources to protect land.”

Levinski also touched on the need for the city to shut down its portion of the coal-powered Fayette Power Project as soon as possible.

Speaker Ted Siff, president of the Austin Outside coalition of environmental groups, echoed those sentiments, arguing, “If you close Fayette in the next two years, you’ve accomplished a substantial percentage of all of these plan goals.”

In addition to pushing for land acquisition, Siff supported converting the city’s entire vehicle fleet to electric motors, planting more trees and substantially investing in battery storage infrastructure.

He also said supporters of the plan need to have spending limits in mind while assembling the priorities because the city almost certainly won’t pursue a bond funding vote this fall but could use other financial tools to cover the costs.

“Bonds in November of 2024 is not a choice. It’s not an economic choice for the city. The city finance director and the current city manager have said that a year ago, and they recommend general obligation bonds not be presented to voters until November of ’26 at the earliest,” he said. “They already issue revenue bonds that could but do not require voter approval, and those could be initiated sooner than ’26. All of the things that I’ve proposed can be funded through revenue bonds or utility rate adjustments.”

Austin’s Fleet Mobility Services Department wants to lead the way in the use of battery electric vehicles, following the Austin Climate Equity Plan to cut communitywide greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2040.

According to a report from the fleet department, the transportation sector accounts for more than one-quarter of total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions each year. Of course, because of the specialized needs of numerous city vehicles and the many technical questions that arise when considering what those vehicles must do, it is difficult to promise electrification of the entire fleet within the plan’s time frame.

With encouragement from City Council members, leaders of the department are also working on cutting emissions from city vehicles to the greatest extent possible by 2030. On Wednesday, members of the Council Audit and Finance Committee heard a report on progress and challenges the city faces in moving toward that goal.

Fleet services Director Jennifer Walls said the city has 5,147 on-road “assets,” which travel more than 45 million miles annually. She said the department has a goal of battery electric vehicles accounting for 40 percent of total vehicle miles traveled, equating to approximately 18 million miles annually.

Assistant Director Rick Harland explained that the city has a diverse and complicated fleet, including trucks, construction equipment, ambulances and cargo vans, as well as police pursuit vehicles and motorcycles. The fleet utilizes a diverse array of fuel sources in order to ensure optimal performance, he said.

The department has identified seven different types of vehicles that could adopt battery electric vehicles, excluding public safety front-line vehicles.

However, Harland revealed that the city has an opportunity to get a head start on a battery electric police pursuit vehicle. Chevrolet is advertising the first-ever all-electric police pursuit vehicle, and the city is in early stages of getting involved with a pilot program for that vehicle, Harland said. If all goes according to plan, the city will be testing performance, acceleration, handling and other qualities of the vehicle during the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2025.

The current glide path for adopting battery electric vehicles assumes that the city would purchase 2,171 vehicles over the next 17 years, spending $162.8 million. That equates to a 14 percent average increase in battery electric vehicles each year over the next 17 years, plus spending $11.3 million for charging infrastructure.

The more ambitious and “higher-risk option,” as Harland explained, would involve purchasing the same number of vehicles and spending the same amount of money over the next six years. The cost of the charging infrastructure would remain the same at $11.3 million but would be completed within the next six years.

Harland told the committee about some of the challenges of electrifying fleets, including global supply chain issues for critical components of the batteries, insufficiently fast charging stations for the vehicles and the cost of capital and inflation.

Harland said, “We know (electric) vehicle sales have increased year over year. We believe that a regular assessment of these things is important. There’s a lot of players at the table here. Infrastructure development is critical, and policy changes are going to be very important as well as consumer behavior to drive the demand for electric vehicles.”

Last September, the city’s Office of the City Auditor released an audit highly critical of the city’s animal shelter operations, saying there was a conflict between its priorities of providing humane care, operating as an open intake shelter and maintaining its live-release goals. On Wednesday, Assistant City Manager Stephanie Hayden-Howard and Animal Services Officer Don Bland told City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee about progress the department has made since last fall.

Hayden-Howard noted that she had hired Deven Desai last summer to organize cleanup and help reform the shelter’s policies and was grateful for Desai’s work on the project. Desai was recently tapped by interim City Manager Jesús Garza to be the city’s chief ethics officer after reading a report from auditors critical of how the city is handling ethics concerns.

Hayden-Howard pointed out that City Council approved changes to city code in January that included updating the impoundment period to include time spent with a person who found a lost animal, revising the bite scale and allowing for euthanizing dogs with a bite history of Level 4 or higher on the Dunbar Bite Scale. While there was support for some of the changes, some members of the public expressed concern that they would result in euthanizing more animals.

Hayden-Howard said the department would be working with both internal and external stakeholders to come up with a strategic plan for the department. She said the city will hire a third-party vendor who will focus on external stakeholders. The audit recommended hiring an independent facilitator to help restore the public’s trust in the department.

Bland told the committee that his department had been working with the city’s Real Estate Services to look for an additional location for an animal shelter, either within the city’s inventory or property that is for sale. He added, “ASO has been working with a national shelter planner to do an assessment of a site for those needs.”

The department is holding regular staff meetings that include educating employees on how to avoid being bitten, Bland said.

The audit was particularly critical of Austin Animal Services for its failure to keep the center clean and for housing dogs in temporary crates, which could lead to more infectious diseases in the shelter. Bland said they were no longer doing that. In addition, he said Building Services has been working to keep the shelter clean, saying they had been doing “a phenomenal job,” including steam cleaning all of the center’s air vents and cleaning up the grounds four times a month.

Bland said his department has also hired a new IT person who started work this week. That person will work to verify data to make sure that it is correct, complete and consistent, according to the audit recommendations.

Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool, who asked for the audit last year, said, “I just really appreciate the movement and the progress. I hope we can continue to get the reports. … I know our folks in the community are avidly active. It’s important for the clear lines of communication to be open and for accurate information to be shared with the public.”

Council Member Alison Alter, who chairs the committee, said she was “happy to see so much progress. … The community is really asking for it and I hope we will be able to deliver on it.”

Downtown Commissioners are once again asking City Council to address Austin’s ongoing battle against vandalism, with the hope of seeing funding for a dedicated anti-graffiti task force on the budget this August.

The proposal dates back to March of last year, when commissioners unanimously recommendedthat the city allocate $2 million toward the creation of a more streamlined abatement process. Failing to gain traction with Council, commissioners say the lack of initiative continues to place a financial burden on homeowners, small businesses and various city departments.

“In 2022, the Parks and Recreation Department spent over $600,000 in their previous funds abating vandalism throughout our parks, and that was still not enough to get the job done,” said Commission Chair August Harris. “The Downtown Austin Alliance spent nearly $100,000 abating vandalism in the Downtown pit alone … and the city’s Building Services Department spent roughly half a million.”

Commissioners say the issue has also been costly to Austin’s right of way, particularly along MoPac Expressway and Interstate 35, where the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority and Texas Department of Transportation report upticks in vandalism over the past year of 129 percent and 46 percent, respectively. The defacing of street signs is a particularly expensive fix thanks to its damage to the signs’ reflective coating, which requires that they be replaced rather than cleaned and repaired.

Commissioners argue the existing protocol for handling vandalism has proved insufficient for handling the problem’s scale. An upfront investment in full-time employees and removal contracts managed by a single department, they say, could both be more proactive and cost-efficient.

“Right now, there is not a structured, cohesive process for taking calls on graffiti. When you call 311, it’s routed to the health department … who has a period of time to evaluate it. If it’s on city property, a city department may deal with it. If it’s on private property, that becomes a whole different matter,” Harris said. “We have been told that unless there is a code violation of another sort, code enforcement will just provide a notice of convenience that your building has been tagged. But I’ve had conversations with code enforcement officers who said they don’t actually do anything at all.”

In addition to enforcement, commissioners hope the funding can be used to conduct community outreach, including partnerships with businesses that sell aerosol paint cans.

“At one point in time, aerosol cans had to be behind cages. … Rather than go to that extreme, one of the suggestions I had was to have the city place signage in front of displays that list the penalties as outlined in state statute,” Harris said. “Perhaps if folks know there can be consequences, and some of them are fairly extreme, they may make another decision, and it would be fairly unobtrusive.”

A new report from public policy and real estate leaders in Austin recommends a variety of approaches the city can take to reduce the presence and impact of multilevel parking decks in new developments in the downtown core and beyond.

The recently released technical assistance panel report from Urban Land Institute Austin was an attempt by local leaders to “solve” the parking issue that is seen as an obstacle to quality of life downtown. With new towers and high-rises frequently including several-level parking podiums, the report sees those structures as taking away from ground-level activation and adding to projects’ costs because parking spaces detract from the amount of commercial or residential space that can be offered.

One notable policy change supported in the report includes creating a “soft cap” system to limit parking, with fees instituted on the parking spaces in excess of limits, which would likely be recalibrated periodically.

The report also calls for modifying the floor area ratio (FAR) formula used by the city to include structured parking located above ground, with the FAR offered by right recalibrated in line with other policies and recommendations.

Other tactics suggested include decoupling parking from commercial and residential assets, establishing partnerships among property owners to encourage sharing of existing parking structures, increasing fees for on-street parking and prioritizing on-street spaces for uses other than low-occupancy vehicles.

The report was the focus of ULI’s monthly breakfast panel discussion, which brought staff from the offices of City Council members Zo Qadri and Natasha Harper-Madison into the conversation about how the city should address parking in addition to other development pressures. In January, City Council voted to eliminate minimum parking requirements on new developments, a move that follows development trends in other major cities.

Melissa Beeler, senior policy adviser in Qadri’s District 9 office, said initiatives to increase pedestrian safety and comfort across the city while increasing transit options need to accompany policy changes aimed at reducing parking spaces.

“What we’re focused on right now is doing more with staff, along with outside staff to address parking, especially along the Project Connect corridor. We’re really happy to see staff return with what they can do in terms of unbundling parking. They’re really working very closely with the development community to get that right,” Beeler told the Austin Monitor. “We’re working with stakeholders on moving forward the more comprehensive approach to the downtown density bonus program that really needs to be updated. That’s the opportunity for us to really boost entitlements while also addressing the trade-off of parking by including it with FAR, counting it towards FAR.”

John Lawler, policy strategist in the District 1 office, said Harper-Madison has approached parking reforms with the view that those who travel to work downtown via car shouldn’t be negatively impacted while addressing the needs of downtown residents and businesses.

“She wanted to make sure that that vote (eliminating parking requirements) actually had reform in mind. … Simply eliminating parking minimums, from everything we could hear from folks, was not enough to actually reduce the amount of parking podiums, the parking structures that too often are not utilized to their full extent,” he said. “There are a dozen other (policies) that go and that delve not just into parking policy, but also housing policy. It digs into the parks policy, tree shade, it digs in how well we build pedestrian, bicycle infrastructure. And then it opens the door to some other new policy concepts, such as soft caps for parking downtown where we’d be incentivizing a new development to think creatively about how much parking they do or do not need, and to try to find other uses for that space.”

https://communityimpact.com/austin/south-central-austin/government/2024/03/27/commission-floats-austin-election-rule-changes-voters-could-decide-in-november/

City Council is recommending T.C. Broadnax as the next city manager. Mayor Kirk Watson said Tuesday that Council will finalize his hiring April 4.

Broadnax resigned as city manager of Dallas last month after calls from a majority of that city’s council. He had had a tense relationship with the mayor and some council members for years, making it difficult for the city to get anything done.

Before becoming the Dallas city manager in 2017, he worked as a city manager in Tacoma, Washington, and was assistant city manager in San Antonio for six years.

It’s not yet clear when Broadnax will start or how much he will be paid. City Council will discuss that at their meeting. For context, former City Manager Spencer Cronk’s final annual salary was $388,000. He also had been receiving other monetary benefits, including an “executive allowance” of $7,200 a year and cellphone reimbursement. In Dallas, Broadnax was paid an annual salary of $423,246 plus a monthly car allowance.

The city manager position is the highest-ranking position at City Hall. Broadnax will be responsible for hiring and firing department heads, preparing the budget and serving as an objective adviser to Council.

Broadnax said Tuesday that as city manager he would focus on addressing Austin’s most pressing challenges, including homelessness and policing. He said emergency preparedness is also a top priority for him.

“I would figure out how we are more prepared than we may have been in prior years,” he said. “And what steps I need to take to ensure everything we said we needed to do and improve upon, that we have resources to do it.”

Broadnax beat out Sara Hensley, who has been the city manager in Denton since March 2022. She was the Austin Parks and Recreation director for nearly a decade before becoming an assistant city manager in 2017.

Austin has been without a permanent city manager since Cronk was fired in February 2023. Jesús Garza has been serving in the interim.

The city began the official search for a city manager late last year. It received 39 applications for the job and narrowed those down to Broadnax, Hensley and a third candidate, Brian Platt, who withdrew from consideration.

Broadnax and Hensley were introduced to the community in a town hall meeting Monday night. Both candidates had the chance to speak about their experience and how they would prioritize things like policing; homelessness; and diversity, equity and inclusion.

The moderator presented questions the public had submitted ahead of the meeting, and people used a QR code to give feedback. After the Q&A, people lined up to talk with the candidates. Some said they were concerned about whether City Council would have enough time to analyze their feedback before making a decision.

Kathie Tovo, a former Council member who is running for mayor, said there should have been more engagement with the audience.

“I would have liked to have seen the community members really be able to talk directly with the candidates,” she said. “Not after the meeting, as they are, but really in the context of the meeting and have that help inform the decision-making that the Council will have to do.”

City Council members interviewed both candidates Tuesday before announcing their decision.

In assessing the latest analysis of the Austin Police Department’s Training Academy, members of City Council stressed the importance of a comprehensive audit system to ensure that years and money spent to improve the academy aren’t wasted.

Concerns over the audits for the training process of each academy class, as well as the need for long-term leadership stability in academy management, were among the areas of focus at Monday’s meeting of Council’s Public Safety Committee. The discussion was prompted by the recent completion of the Kroll consulting company’s report, “Assessment of APD Training Academy’s Long-Term Processes to Sustain Reform Measures.” That report assessed how much progress has been made on the 22 actions recommended in the firm’s initial review of the academy in 2021.

Contained in the 30-page findings document are 22 steps to continue progress in areas such as bringing the community into the academy instruction process, better structuring the roles of civilian staff, improving the academy’s culture and developing the skills of cognitive decision-making and emotional intelligence. It also includes four final recommendations: requiring all academy staff to read the new Academy Operations Manual, further refining and updating that manual in line with Kroll’s findings, completing and implementing an audit process “as soon as practicable” and having the Office of Police Oversight renew its oversight of the academy.

Council Member Alison Alter stressed to APD and academy leaders at the meeting that the lack of an audit of academy processes prevents the city from knowing which procedures are working effectively and where further improvements are needed.

“We have, to this date, had Kroll in there helping us to understand where we’re at and helping to identify the path forward. With the delivery of this report … we won’t be having that, and that makes the manual (and) the audit protocol that much more important,” she said. “This is how we are gonna be able to hold the academy accountable. This is how we’re gonna make sure that we have a learning organization.”

Rob McGrath, program manager at the academy, said hiring additional Council-approved academy staff, including a data analyst to create the audit process, is one of the most important components of the five steps he and other academy leaders will carry out through September. Other near-term priorities include reviewing the cadet curriculum, establishing a professional advisory committee and community advisory committee, and monitoring the state of the Kroll recommendations that have already been implemented.

Alter said she expects McGrath and other academy leadership to make periodic presentations to the Public Safety Committee to give progress updates on the Kroll recommendations, plus notes on additional resources that may be needed.

Mark Ehlers, managing director with Kroll, said APD’s eventual permanent police chief and other leaders need to commit to keeping a close eye on the performance and culture within the academy for many years to come for the city to see the changes that Council and the community have called for.

“The only way to really evaluate that at this point is gonna be for the critical reflection and analysis that APD needs to conduct itself through how they’re doing each cadet class,” he said. “The written operations manual is essential because it can incorporate that practical guidance for staff, and that goes a long way to making these practices a regular part of day-to-day practices. Given how frequently personnel changes occur at the academy, it’s essential that these written processes and guidance help minimize disruption and reinforce the importance of the values and priorities described.”

Some Austin Energy customers who are categorized as medically vulnerable and need electricity to operate life-saving equipment have not been able to sign up for the utility’s program to assist them in emergency situations, according to an audit report from the Austin Office of the City Auditor. Members of City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee are scheduled to hear a report at this morning’s meeting on what auditors learned and what they recommend to resolve some problems with the program.

The audit explains the importance of the Medically Vulnerable Registry program: “Power outages can be dangerous, especially to customers with critical illnesses or who depend on electricity for life-saving medical equipment. Most life support systems require a continuous power supply to function properly. Austin Energy, the city’s electric utility, offers the Medically Vulnerable Registry (MVR) program. Eligible MVR customers receive case management and assistance creating an emergency back-up plan in the event of an outage.”

One major problem, according to the audit, is the complex application process for signing up for and continuing to be part of the Medically Vulnerable Registry.

Austin Energy told auditors that it is currently working on changes to the process and expects to ask Council to approve those changes before June 1.

The audit reports that applicants found the process difficult to use, with many saying the recertification process was an obstacle to their participation. As a result of complications with the process, auditors found that about 70 percent of applications were denied in 2022 and 2023 because documents were not submitted in time.

The certification process, which is managed by third-party vendor Solix, Inc., determines who is eligible for Austin Energy’s program. An Austin Energy spokesperson told the Austin Monitor, “The MVR program was codified in 1987. Solix took over enrollment administration in 2021. The total dollar amount of the Solix contract (which was extended and increased in 2021) is $12,424,700, with an annual expenditure of approximately $1.3M. It is important to note that this contract covers additional Customer Assistance Program services beyond just MVR.”

Auditors sampled 100 applications for the MVR program and found that the manual process used to manage the application and eligibility verification process “increases the risk that the data may not be secure and reliable, and this may lead to inefficiencies.”

Applying to be part of the Medically Vulnerable Registry requires signatures of the applicant, their doctor, and – if the applicant is not the Austin Energy customer – the person whose name is on the account. This happens frequently since the program requires recertification every 2 to 12 months. Other cities reviewed by the auditors reported recertification frequencies between 12 and 24 months.

Auditors also reported that 45 percent of the participants they talked to about the certification process said it was “inefficient due to the frequency of recertifications and difficulties obtaining a physician’s signature.”

“We surveyed a sample of 50 MVR participants and their experiences and perceptions related to the MVR process. The MVR participants who receive services are generally satisfied” with the program and say it meets their expectations, auditors said. However, they found issues with the enrollment and reenrollment process.

Auditors recommended that the general manager of Austin Energy work with stakeholders to resolve challenges accessing the registry, including evaluating the recertification requirements. They also recommended an online option for receiving application and recertification documents and to reorganize the existing application process “to ensure that sections filled by the applicant and the physician are well aligned.”

According to historical data provided to auditors from Austin Energy, 84 households enrolled in the MVR program in 2008 and 268 enrolled in 2022.

Austin Energy told auditors it has begun to create a new online application for medically vulnerable people, saying, “Due to the complexities of this technology intake process … the work to create a new portal is expected to be extensive.” The utility expects to finish that work by Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year. It also intends to redesign the paper application forms.

The other utilities whose programs were considered include Georgetown Utilities, New Braunfels Utilities, CPS Energy in San Antonio, Jacksonville Electric Authority, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the Tallahassee Electric Utility. Auditors said that Austin Energy’s program for medically vulnerable people “appears to offer more services than similar programs from other cities we reviewed.”

Kroger facility in Austin, TX is closing down on 5/25. Never knew we even had one here (no clue how they got my email though)

🤷‍♂️

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has recently sided with South by Southwest in an ongoing lawsuit against its insurance company, reversing a previous decision in the insurer’s favor.

In its reversal, the Fifth Circuit remanded the case, returning it to the lower courts to determine how much money Federal Insurance Company (FIC) owes SXSW in defense costs.

The lawsuit stems from SXSW 2020, which was canceled by the city of Austin due to COVID-19 concerns. The festival did not have insurance covering “bacterial infections, communicable diseases, viruses and pandemics,” and quickly laid off around 50 employees following the financial blow. After refusing to refund tickets to the canceled festival, the organization faced a class action lawsuit from two badge holders who wanted their money back.

SXSW paid more than $1 million to settle the refund lawsuit in 2022, including $290,402 to those who bought tickets to the 2020 festival. During the litigation, SXSW sued its insurer, Federal Insurance Company, for not paying for suit damages – alleging breach of contract, breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and violations of the Texas Insurance Code.

In 2022, the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas ruled in favor of FIC, writing that because the ticket holders claimed breach of contract in their lawsuit – which insurance companies are not liable to cover – the firm had no duty to defend SXSW. In an opinion filed on March 21, the Fifth Circuit disagreed.

In addition to breach of contract, the class action plaintiffs alleged unjust enrichment and conversion – in other words, that SXSW took their money, didn’t provide a service, and wouldn’t give it back. Those claims are completely unrelated to the ticket contract, the court wrote, which means FIC must still defend the case.

The Fifth Circuit also poked holes in FIC’s claim that SXSW failed to provide a service – another behavior that would allow the insurer to skirt responsibility. According to the court, throwing the actual event is the festival’s service, not issuing refunds.

“The Policy defines ‘professional services’ to include ‘services which are performed for others for a fee,’” the opinion states. “SXSW reasonably argues that ‘professional services’ might include SXSW’s actions in putting on (or failing to put on) the March 2020 festival. But ‘professional services’ would not extend to SXSW’s actions in refunding or not refunding ticket purchases, which are not services SXSW performs for a fee.”

When reached by the Chronicle, SXSW declined to comment on the Fifth Circuit’s decision. Chubb, the parent company of Federal Insurance Company, offered the following statement: “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on individual claims.”

Texas insurance law tends to favor policy holders over providers because it requires courts to accept a client’s interpretation of a policy as long as it's reasonable, explained Jim Cooper, partner in the Insurance Recovery group in Reed Smith’s Houston office. “The court got it 100 percent right,” Cooper said. “If there’s more than one reasonable interpretation of a policy, the court is supposed to adopt the interpretation that most favors coverage.”

Cooper continued, “Most of the time, in my experience, insurance companies come out more favorably in the Fifth Circuit than policy holders do. So I’m very happy to see a decision from the Fifth Circuit that, in my opinion, is a very accurate interpretation of how you would apply Texas law in both a defense context – duty to defend. [The decision also shows] the way in which you construe exclusions, like the contract and professional services exclusion, and give the policyholder the benefit of the doubt that Texas law requires.”

The court disagreed with two other arguments from the insurance company: that SXSW did not inform FIC of the class action suit in a timely manner and that restitution is not a covered loss. The opinion states: “Texas state courts have never held that restitution is per se uninsurable. Restitution might be uninsurable when the receipt of funds was unlawful… but there is no suggestion that SXSW acquired the plaintiffs’ money unlawfully.”

Editor’s note: SXSW co-founder and part owner Nick Barbaro also co-founded and owns The Austin Chronicle.

The two candidates for Austin’s city manager position each made their case to the public Monday for why they should be chosen for the job. Sara Hensley, the current city manager of Denton, Texas, and T.C. Broadnax, current but soon departing city manager of Dallas, fielded questions for about 30 minutes each in an interview in front of a live audience moderated by journalist Judy Maggio.

Hensley and Broadnax received the same seven questions about topics that are top of mind for city leaders and residents, with each giving a closing statement, followed by an open meet-and-greet session to talk with attendees.

Maggio started by asking each how they would implement policies related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Hensley said the city government has to be reflective of the public at large, with City Council and other leaders being vocal about diversity as a priority.

“Every single department has to affect that, not just one person. Everybody has to be a part of the solution for (DEI),” she said. “Every one of us has to be the people that move that forward. As the city manager, I have to be the one that leads that effort. Talking about it, making sure I’m engaging groups and people to talk about it, making sure we’re getting it out on the table if there’s issues, working with Council when they talk about their strategic priorities.”

Broadnax discussed his work to launch diversity efforts in his previous positions and said DEI goals can be successful only if they are genuinely baked into the priorities of a city’s leadership.

“It’s easy to talk about wanting to implement equity as an organization or even as a leader, but when it’s a part of your DNA and who you are as a person and a leader, I think it’s easy because I show up like that every day and I expect the people that work for me to have the same type of values and principles associated with diversity and equity and inclusion across all different pieces and elements of what that represents for who you are.”

Because Hensley oversaw matters related to homelessness when she was an assistant city manager in Austin, she drew on her experiences uniting city departments under her purview in trying to address the needs and impacts of the city’s growing homeless population. She also shared details of an effort to convert a former senior center in Denton into a housing and rehabilitation facility to help unhoused people achieve stability and employment.

Broadnax shared details of a plan launched in 2021 with homelessness services groups and related organizations that he said helped house more than 3,600 people in two years. He said Dallas’ success in curbing homelessness has resulted in increased federal funding and other recognition, which Austin could take as some inspiration for how to evolve its own policies.

On the issue of public safety, Hensley said Austin needs to start with a careful review and possible search for a permanent police chief. From there, she said accountability, transparency and training on mental health needs and de-escalation tactics should be priorities for ensuring support for police among residents.

“It’s hard to deal with when you haven’t had the training,” she said. “I’m a big proponent of making sure that you provide training for police officers under the right chief so that you are actually effecting change in a positive way.”

Broadnax made reference to the evolving issue of accountability and oversight in the public safety sector in Austin and said the police chief has to prioritize public involvement.

“Having some respect for (oversight) is … to balance out or allow people to have the opportunity to make sure and understand that they have a place to go should they feel like something did not happen the right way,” he said. “I think support for law enforcement is important, but also holding them accountable for protecting and serving at the same time.”

On the matter of transparency, both candidates spoke about the importance of making city data highly visible via a digital online dashboard so that information on spending and actions taken is available and searchable for residents.

Both expressed an appreciation for high expectations and humility when they were asked about how they’d hold their leadership teams accountable while also encouraging creative solutions for the city’s many issues and challenges.

“The higher you go, the less you know,” Hensley said while talking about the need to be aware of the surprises and unpleasant realities that often come with the job. “You build a team through trust. You build a team through transparency. You build a team through respect. I expect critical thinking in everything we do. We owe the mayor and Council our due diligence to give them the best information to make the most informed decision. That’s sometimes not what they want to hear, but it’s important that I make sure, and I’m transparent enough, that here’s the facts and here’s the information you needed.”

Broadnax said he makes his expectations for excellence clear for his leadership team and relevant staff so they’re ready to achieve from the moment they’re onboarded.

“You can’t be on my team long if you do not subscribe to the fact that you’re here for a reason and every day has to be purpose-driven,” he said. “That is really to provide the utmost and best quality service. For me, it’s growing people. It’s motivating them and rewarding them and allowing what they think and what they do to show up in the end product.”

The issue of accessibility to the public brought similar approaches for the two, with Hensley sharing that she’s constantly in offices of colleagues or in meetings with public groups, as well as holding employee forums to talk widely about city matters.

Broadnax said he enjoys feeling energized by hearing stories and feedback from the community and makes a point to take down names and relevant information of people he interacts with inside City Hall and beyond so he can better process those interactions.

Because Austin is facing growth pressures from many directions, Maggio’s final question focused on how the candidates would unite city departments around a cohesive vision for the city.

Hensley likened the city manager post to that of a coxswain, in charge of making sure everyone on a boat is rowing in the same direction set by City Council and the public.

“It’s important that I work with them to have their vision, their mission and their values, but also where are their strategic priorities,” she said. “Then you work with the staff – the directors and the staff – to set the initiatives. Now, they may say safe community, and under that is homelessness and under that is creating a better quality of life.”

Broadnax said he prefers frequent conversations with staff and residents to take feedback, so there’s a constant communication loop about what’s happening and needs to happen.

“You can listen to residents to talk about the disconnects that exist, elevating those conversations, developing systems that prevent the same mistakes from happening, but just actually opening yourself up to wanting to be more aware and get out of your own little bubble sometimes,” he said. “Accountability and results matter, and you only get that for people that are equally as committed to engaging and to advancing the greater good. I think you do that better with teams and collective insight.”

The Charter Review Commission has wrapped up its evaluation of possible charter revisions relating to petition requirements, among other items, and has submitted its final report to City Council with nine recommendations. Council will ultimately decide which items will be placed on the November ballot.

In its 2023 resolution creating the commission, one of Council’s key directions was to decide on changes to petition requirements for initiative and referendum or city charter amendments and to explore a “durable signature threshold” using a percentage of the total number of registered voters in the city. The existing requirement is 20,000 signatures of eligible voters.

The commission was most sharply divided on the threshold issue, but ultimately landed on a 3.5 percent signature threshold for petitions. The motion initially failed on a 5-5 vote, but narrowly passed 6-5 when the motion was reconsidered at a later meeting with all members present. The five dissenting commissioners in both instances were Michael Cowles, Cynthia Van Maanen, Brian McGiverin, Betsy Greenberg and Randy Ortega.

As the commission noted in its report, the proposed 3.5 percent threshold may have little impact in the next couple of election cycles, but will have greater consequence over time for initiative and referendum petitions. Such an imbalance could incentivize policymaking through the city charter instead of code, the report noted, since state law sets the signature threshold for charter amendments at 20,000 qualified voters.

The report warned that setting the 3.5 percent threshold would eventually create an inequitable system and make it more difficult for organizers with fewer means.

“Well-funded organizations will continue to have the resources to collect a sufficient number of signatures even if the threshold is raised,” the report said. “However, genuine grassroots, community-based organizations and groups of citizens with limited resources and funding will find it harder and harder to meet that higher threshold.”

Other recommendations created less angst among commissioners. The remaining eight proposals include:

• Alphabetic Rotation for Proposition Lettering: Requires ballot propositions to be labeled sequentially through the alphabet until its completion.
• Signature, Form, and Notice of Intent for Petitions: Addresses signature validity and requires a notice of intent to the city clerk.
• Citizen-Initiated Petitions on Municipal General Election Dates: Requires Council to select the earliest municipal general election date when it orders an election for Charter changes or citizen-initiated initiatives.
• Conflicting Ballot Initiatives: Requires implementation of the provisions of the proposition receiving the highest number of votes.
• Disclosure & Contribution Limits for Recall Petitions: Requires public disclosure and campaign finance reporting for contributions and expenditures made related to recall petitions.
• Recall Signature Thresholds: Requires the recall of a City Council member with a petition containing valid signatures of at least 15 percent of qualified voters within the respective Council district.
• Ratification of City Attorney Appointment: Requires the city manager’s appointment or removal of a city attorney to be confirmed by Council.
• Designated Assistant City Attorney: Designates an attorney within the city attorney’s office to serve as a liaison to Council.