City of Austin Council Message Board

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am and then hear public comment on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being cal...

Council:

I want to update you on the firefighter pension bill (HB 2802 by Bucy). The bill passed on the House Local Calendar today.

On to the Senate!

Thanks.

Kirk

On behalf of Mayor Watson

Council, I’m including a proposed FY26 Budget timeline as an attachment to this message board post (see below). Last year, we had good success navigating the budget process by starting with a timeline and I think it would help to do it again. The outline below is to help and assure transparency both...

As you know, our current City Auditor, Corrie Stokes, has announced that she will be retiring at the end of the year. The City Auditor is a position that is appointed by the City Council. It also is a position with specific requirements for the appointment that are set out in City Code and the City ...

We received word today that the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chair Sam Graves (R-MO) released his piece of the massive budget reconciliation package that the House leadership hopes to pass before Memorial Day. The House T&I Committee has instructions to produce its portion...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am and then hear public testimony on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being c...

As a follow up to my recent Message Board post about the agreement re the Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund, I’m attaching the MOU for your information.

http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 170158.pdf

Thanks,

Kirk

On behalf of Mayor Watson

Council: I'm happy to report that there is an agreement regarding the Firefighter Retirement System. The Austin Firefighter Retirement Fund (AFRF) and the City have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and there will be Committee Substitutes for the pertinent legislation. There will be hearings on t...

Council: The City Manager and his team have let my office know that there are no scheduled briefings or pulled items for our upcoming Council Work Session scheduled for Tuesday, April 22nd. With no briefings or pulled items to come before Council, the Work Session is cancelled. Everyone have a good ...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am and then hear public testimony on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being c...

Council: As we prepare for the FY26 Budget, I want to share an outline of upcoming dates when the Audit and Finance Committee or the full Council will have discussion and possible action on financial matters, including the Budget. Please note that we will be adding a Special Called Audit and Finance...

Council: We will convene tomorrow at 2:00 PM for the Joint City Council and Planning Commission special called meeting. The purpose of this meeting is to review the proposed amendment to the preservation bonus program related to multiple units on one lot. Tomorrow, I will call to order the meeting o...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10 AM and then hear public testimony on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being ...

Council Members— Before Thursday’s Council Meeting, I want to share Version 2 for Item 62, which pertains to the Walnut Creek Wastewater Expansion. City staff has requested that Chapter 25-7 (Drainage) be added to the list of initiating amendments. This recommendation comes from the staff’s ongoing ...

Council Members: I wanted to make sure you all are aware that staff has paused Phase I of the public art plan at the airport. The reason given was to reassess the artist selection process and it was also stated the pause is “to ensure meaningful participation from Austin-based artists”. You received...

Colleagues – I wanted to provide you an update on the dueling bills in the Legislature to reform the Austin Firefighters Retirement Fund (AFRF or the “Fund”). Rep. John Bucy and Sen. Pete Flores have filed the City’s bill in their respective Chambers; Sen. Charles Schwertner and Rep. Ellen Troxclair...

Colleagues— On the upcoming council meeting agenda, there are three items that award three contracts to national artists for projects at our new airport expansion. Though I believe that the work of these artists is important, I've always believed that any art work that we place in the airport should...

Council Members: In my previous post about a process for reviewing Council appointees, I indicated that we would review the three appointees on two separate days. I’ve learned that the Manager’s Office is not planning on any briefings at the March 25th Work Session, which should mean we have a good ...

Council Members: I’m confident all of you join me in congratulating Myrna on over two decades of public service at the City of Austin. We’re going to miss her, but congratulate her on her retirement and wish her all sorts of good luck. Myrna’s last day at City Hall will be April 7th. She has some ac...

Staff is postponing item 32. I will read this into the record tomorrow when I read Changes and Corrections.

Thanks,
Kirk

On behalf of Mayor Watson

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am and then hear public testimony on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to being c...

Colleagues— I wanted to make sure that you saw the memo the City Manager’s office shared today. Since there are no prepared staff briefings and nothing has been pulled for discussion by members of the Council, the March 4th work session has been canceled. I’ve attached the cancellation notice from t...

Council Members: Please see attached the alternate versions of Items 39 and 40 that I requested from staff. I appreciate the work that went into getting these for us. The Alternate Version for Item 39 includes an effective date of August 4, 2025. The Alternate Version for Item 40 establishes STR Reg...

Council: Here is my plan for the Council meeting tomorrow. We will begin promptly at 10am. We will begin with public testimony on consent items. Speakers will have 2 minutes per item. Speakers will be able to donate time. Speakers wishing to donate time must coordinate with the City Clerk prior to b...

Council Members: This is to suggest an approach for tomorrow and Thursday relating to the short-term rental (STR) items. As I’ve said publicly, including at the joint public hearing with the Planning Commission, we want to be thoughtful in our approach to STRs based upon the legal rulings that impac...