Sharing the City Council Office Expense Policy Draft

[Colleen Pate]

Council,

I promised that I’d get the first draft of a proposed City Council Office Expense Policy to the Council for review by Friday, December 19. Here it is http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 120426.pdf. How’s that for adding to your holiday happiness?

The goals of this policy are:
• To craft a single policy that compiles and incorporates information from the numerous administrative bulletins and governing policies that relate to office budgets and staff spending; and
• To provide more precise definitions and greater clarity on permissible and impermissible uses of funds.

The next step is for Council to review the draft policy and provide thoughts and feedback on this message board thread. This will be an agenda item at the January 14th Audit & Finance Committee meeting, and once again, I invite all Council Members who would like to be part of this conversation to join that committee meeting. After that, the goal would be to get this policy on the January 22nd Council meeting agenda, which would allow an opportunity to discuss feedback at the work session on January 20th.

I anticipate that we will adopt a resolution that incorporates and refers to the policy document we ultimately want to pass. I will provide a proposed resolution in advance of the January 14th Audit & Finance Committee meeting. I’ll post it on the Message Board.

I appreciate the help that Carrie Rogers, the City’s Government Relations Officer, and Diana Thomas, Deputy Chief Financial Officer, have provided. They’ve been great.

Thanks,

Kirk

On Behalf of Mayor Watson

[Ryan Alter]

Mayor,
Thank you for these draft policies governing Council Office Budgets. It is very thorough and well thought out. I would propose one change as it relates to transfers to other City departments. Currently, the "General" category states a transfer to another City department is prohibited. I would propose that such a transfer be allowed, but only through the annual budget process, that way there is a formal action and check by the Council. I believe there are worthy instances when these dollars could support department work to the public's benefit and preserving this ability through the budget seems an appropriate method for doing so.

I look forward to the conversation about this at next week's Audit and Finance Committee.

Thanks,
Ryan

[Jose Velasquez]

Thank you, Mayor, for sharing this Council Office Expense Policy.

I agree with CM Alter in that we should look into allowing the transfer of funds to other city departments through our formal annual budget process.

In addition, I and some of my colleagues have achieved larger carry forward dollars than the proposed $50,000 limit. The carry forward allows my office much needed flexibility to bring in interns and part time assistance to meet our district's need. I would like to see this limit be larger than what is being proposed.

a sus ordenes,

CMJV

[Julie Montgomery]

On behalf of CM Ellis:

Mayor, thank you for this thoughtful Council Office Expense Policy proposal. I believe centralizing and clarifying these rules in one document will be very helpful to this and future Councils. I strongly support the intent and appreciate the opportunity to offer my feedback.

I would support a few changes as follows:

- General: Permit a transfer to a City department for a clearly documented purpose, contingent upon Council IFC approval.
To avoid holding up good work for our constituents, I would amend CM Alter’s proposal slightly and recommend that a Council Member be allowed to bring an IFC for Council consideration at any Council meeting (not just during the annual Budget process); that IFC should document the maximum amount, purpose, and recipient department of the proposed transfer.

- Unexpended Balance: Eliminate the cap on carryover/carry-forward funds.
Like my colleague CM Velasquez, I rely heavily on the District 8 Office carryover funds to deliver services (temporary staffing) and projects (major parks improvements) to my District 8 constituents. I believe your proposal does such an excellent job defining *how* a Council office may spend its funds that it may not be necessary to constrain *when* it spends those funds, since this policy will have ensured those funds will be spent on appropriate expenses. By removing a carryover cap, we will also eliminate any unintended incentives to “use it or lose it” and thereby we will continue to facilitate prudent use of taxpayer dollars that may bring more impact to a district’s constituents.

- Unexpended Balance: Clarify that “Unexpended funds that are carried forward should not be used for ongoing expenses such as *regular employee* personnel.”
This clarification preserves our ability to use carryover funds on temporary personnel.

- Software and IT Services: Strike “and not a subscription service for software.”
This prohibition feels overly broad to me, could prevent Council offices from doing their most nimble and efficient work, and seems unnecessary given the following bullet regarding coordination of software purchases with Austin Technology Services.

Thank you again for drafting, Mayor, and I look forward to discussing tomorrow at the Audit & Finance Committee meeting.

Paige

[Krista Laine]

Colleagues,

I agree with Council Member Ellis’s proposed changes, and I would like to emphasize the importance of flexibility within Council office budgets, given the disparate needs of each district.

Thank you so much, Mayor, for outlining these common sense policies. I believe that, with the edits proposed by CM Ellis, we will be well-positioned to strengthen public trust while retaining the agility required to respond to the needs of our constituents. I look forward to discussing further during today’s Audit & Finance committee, which I am planning to attend.

Thank you,

Krista

[Julie Montgomery]

On behalf of CM Ellis, please find a motion sheet for Item 85 (Council Office Expense Policy) attached that reflects the amendments proposed above:
http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 202503.pdf

[Jose Velasquez]

CM Ellis,

Thank you for bringing forward this amendment. I would like to be added as a co-sponsor.

a sus ordenes,

CMJV

[Julie Montgomery]

Colleagues,

I appreciate all the good conversations we’ve had around the draft Council Expense Policy. Since my initial post above and following our Audit & Finance Committee discussion, I’ve been grateful to dig extensively into the topic with CMs Laine and Fuentes, especially regarding our carryover funds. We’ve had productive discussions, and I understand CM Laine has prepared an alternative amendment regarding the handling of Unexpended Balances. I support the approach she’s proposing as it does a good job balancing Council’s goals of transparency, fiscal responsibility, and service to our districts. I am also eager to see CM Fuentes’s vision for District Service Funds – embraced unanimously by Council in November 2024 – move forward. Accordingly, I am offering a v2 of my motion sheet that removes my proposed amendment to the Unexpended Balance section of Exhibit A.

This v2 of my motion sheet also makes a small change to the amendment regarding Council Member and Aide financial training, clarifying that our intent is for all CMs and Council aides to have access at least annually to the financial training after the mandatory new-hire training. I understand most Council aides do not have financial decision-making responsibility within their offices and annual training would not be a prudent use of their time, but those aides that do (e.g. Chiefs of Staff, ProCard holders, etc) and the Council Members may benefit from an annual elective opportunity to refresh their training, receive any updates on relevant laws, policies, and procedures, and discuss questions with our professional financial and legal staff. I appreciate the dialogue with CM Laine around this topic as well.

The remainder of my motion sheet is unchanged in v2.

Ellis motion sheet v2: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 092801.pdf

I look forward to discussing Item 85 and feel optimistic we will find a consensus point for approval. If the dais needs a bit more time to digest and discuss the latest proposals, I would be comfortable with a 2-week postponement. Thank you again, Mayor Watson, for leading this important work.

Paige

[Krista Laine]

Colleagues,

Council Member Ellis and Council Member Fuentes have been excellent partners in crafting this policy. I want to thank both of them, as well as their staff, for the comprehensive conversations we’ve had over the last several days. My motion sheet, which I’ve attached below, is a product of that teamwork.

The purpose of my amendment is to streamline and focus the efforts of Council offices on what matters most: directly serving our constituents. To that end, I have made edits to allow flexibility and agility within our offices, and which allocate excess rollover dollars to District Service Funds which will be used to directly support infrastructure improvements within the neighborhoods we serve.

Motion Sheet: http://assets.austintexas.gov/austincou ... 094314.pdf

Thank you,

Krista