Prop Q Result

[Colleen Pate]

When the Council put Proposition Q on the ballot, I said, “It’s time to trust the voters”. Tonight, the voters spoke by rejecting Prop Q. Austin voters made their decision, and they did so clearly. I trust their decision. And I hear them.

Voters prioritized affordability. They’re worried about their finances, their grocery and utility bills, their property taxes, and more. They’re concerned about the stability of all levels of government, including city government. We need to give voters reason to trust us—to trust that we will strike the right balance between services and the funding needed to provide those services.

We are expected to govern with fiscal responsibility, focusing on basic services, providing them efficiently and effectively, and being accountable for the money we collect. This election was, in part, a referendum on city government demonstrating discipline and a visible effort to stop or slow rising costs and expenses. Collecting taxes, rates, and fees—even for important items—impacts the ability for Austinites to afford to live here.

We should meet the voters’ mandate with a coherent, straightforward budget process that focuses on basic services and basic budgeting. Voters want stable, efficient governance. At a time when people are losing faith in all levels of government, including local government, as evidenced by the election outcome, our city government needs to show it can act in a thoughtful, structured way.

The next step is for the Manager to bring Council a budget proposal. This should be done soon. To demonstrate an orderly, disciplined process, the Manager and, subsequently, the Council should adjust the original proposed budget, if at all, modestly. This is not the time to engage in or relitigate significant, drawn out, divisive policy fights in the budget. There was general agreement as to the original proposal, even as there were differences and disagreements over proposed additions, and the need for certain additions, that led to the TRE.

Additionally, it’s imperative that we have a process going forward to assess and optimize our service delivery and financial systems. Trust needs to be restored, and we need a systemic evaluation to better balance the cost of services with the need for those services. This evaluation/performance review/audit, whatever it’s called, should utilize shared service models like the Manager and his team are currently using in the analysis of our technology services. It’s incumbent on us as a city government to provide the best services possible while cutting costs.

I ran for mayor by putting affordability first, and I’m proud of what we’ve done over the past few years. We’ve cut regulatory red tape, enacted policies to increase our housing stock, and shifted the economic paradigm to focus on upskilling Austinites for better paying careers. However, the voters have told us they want us to do more, and they want us to not add to the problem of affordability. We should hear them, learn from this election, and trust our voters.