BG Reads | News You Need to Know (August 28, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
*NEW* BG Podcast Episode 104: Entrepreneurship and Austin Development with Nhat Ho of Civilitude Engineers & Planners (SHOW LINK)
Note: Show also available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Sound Cloud, and Stitcher
*NEW* BG Blog: Council Discusses Creation of Austin Economic Development Corporation (BLOG LINK)
[AUSTIN METRO]
Austin City Council accepts state grants for police, delays vote on one (Austin American-Statesman)
After taking a big bite out of the Austin Police Department’s budget the last time they met, Austin City Council members Thursday handed the department more than $1.7 million in state grants and approved a series of law enforcement-related purchases that will be funded by other grants.
But a vote was not taken on the most controversial grant: $128,000 for a safe neighborhoods project that would increase police presence in the downtown and East Riverside Drive areas. The vote will be kicked to Sept. 3 to allow for more discussion after Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison raised concerns earlier this week that more officers would lead to more arrests.
Thursday was the first time council members met since Aug. 13 when — pressured by community activists in the nationwide push against police brutality — they approved a framework that could remove $150 million from the Police Department’s budget. The spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year includes $21.5 million in cuts through the cancellation of three cadet classes and other eliminations. It leaves room for $128 million more in cuts that still could come by primarily removing civilian functions from police control and diverting dollars to alternative forms of public safety.
The five grants the council accepted Thursday were largely without controversy, passing on the council’s consent agenda. The money will go to fund projects and programs for victim crisis intervention, first responder mental health, sexual assault evidence testing and investigations of violence against women.
The grant for violence against women investigations requires the city to chip in $72,288. It’s the only grant that requires a contribution from the city.
Another grant, for $322,612, will be shared through an interlocal agreement with the Travis County sheriff’s office. The city would use its portion of the money primarily for training.
The safe neighborhoods grant that did not go to a vote would fund overtime operations and crime prevention education in the first year, according to a Police Department memo.
The council also approved three purchases for the Police Department with grant funds. The purchases, totaling $375,000, are for a remote claw device to be used by the bomb squad, an instrument that will test for the presence of drugs (but not tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive compound in marijuana) and a platform to increase passenger capacity in a Police Department helicopter.
The purchase for the helicopter platform drew some resistance. Council Members Paige Ellis, Jimmy Flannigan and Harper-Madison abstained from voting, and Delia Garza voted against. Garza noted earlier in the week that a different helicopter operated by Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services typically makes air rescues in the city and the police aircraft generally does not.
The seating platform will cost $88,750, which will be paid mostly with federal funds.
After lunch Thursday, the council spent roughly 90 minutes in closed session discussing “the employment, duties, and evaluation” of City Manager Spencer Cronk. The details of the discussion are unknown. Cronk has caught heat in recent months for resisting pressure from council members and community activists to replace Police Chief Brian Manley amid calls for a change in the Police Department’s leadership… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Schlosser revises redevelopment plans for former AISD headquarters on edge of downtown (Austin Business Journal)
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Schlosser Development Corp. has revised its plans for the redevelopment of the former Austin Independent School District headquarters on West Sixth Street.
The Austin-based development company is delaying the construction of a new four-story office building on the campus it purchased in January, Schlosser Development said in an Aug. 26 announcement. Austin-based law firm McGinnis Lochridge, which was supposed to be the anchor tenant of that new building, is now slated to move into a building on the south side of the campus that’s being extensively renovated.
“When Covid-19 began taking its toll on the Austin economy, we needed to be nimble in responding to our new and unexpected realities,” Schlosser Development co-founder and President Brad Schlosser said in a statement. “We began collaborating with our anchor tenant to explore all options to keep the project on track while also being prudent not to overbuild against the backdrop of a potentially changing environment for office and retail space.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Central Health proposes raising taxes to fund budget (Austin Monitor)
Central Health has been a critical resource for many during the course of the pandemic; now, the public health authority is looking to accomplish more for its patients in the upcoming year.
To provide additional health care options for a larger number of Travis County residents, Mike Geeslin, the president of Central Health, told county commissioners on Aug. 25 that the health authority is proposing a $367.2 million budget. That’s a $76.5 million increase over last year and will result in the average home in Travis County paying 6.92 percent or $25.37 more on their property taxes next year. Ninety-six percent of Central Health’s budget is dedicated to health care delivery while the remaining 4 percent covers administration expenses.
Travis County taxpayers fund health care for more than 1 in 8 county residents. Many of those residents live in the eastern reaches of the county, and Geeslin told commissioners that the public health authority is responding to the needs of its target demographic by pushing more of its resources eastward.
One major effort that was approved by the Commissioners Court Tuesday was the execution of a contract to purchase a 2.5-acre parcel just east of State Highway 130 on Elroy Road for a purchase price of $801,000. Funding for the purchase is part of Central Health’s Fiscal Year 2020 budget.
Central Health will develop the land into a health care clinic to provide primary care, preventive care, vaccines, labs, disease management and pharmacy services, something Commissioner Margaret Gómez has long pushed for… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
GOP event in Bee Cave under investigation over possible violation to coronavirus orders (Austin American-Statesman)
A fundraiser hosted by the Travis County Republican Party in Bee Cave last week is under investigation after an Austin resident complained that the event might have violated state and local coronavirus restrictions.
The Ronald Reagan Gala at Star Hill Ranch featured high-profile Republicans, including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, a Republican from Hays County.
The Travis County fire marshal’s office is investigating the complaint and working with the city of Bee Cave to determine jurisdiction, Travis County spokeswoman Yoojin Cho said.
Hearst Newspapers first reported that the event was under investigation. North Austin resident Kevin McKay said he filed a complaint after he saw photos of the event online.
“I saw the photos online over the weekend, and I was pretty angry right away,” McKay, a 39-year-old North Austin resident, told the American-Statesman on Thursday. “We passed 12,000 (coronavirus) deaths in Texas. ... Instead of staying home and being safe, the GOP is out at Star Hill Ranch eating, drinking and having a big party without any restrictions whatsoever.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Legislature sidelined as three Texas GOP leaders steer $1B in budget cuts (San Antonio Express-News)
As the Texas fiscal year closes amid the coronavirus pandemic, state agencies are quietly moving forward with budget cuts through a process controlled entirely by top Republicans, putting services for low-income Texans in jeopardy at a time advocates and some lawmakers say they are needed most. More than $380 million in cuts were slated for the fiscal year that ends Monday, without formal input from the state Legislature, which negotiates the state budget. Another $670 million are scheduled for the coming fiscal year, and nearly 5,000 full-time jobs are at risk over the biennium, according to a recent budget document obtained by Hearst Newspapers.
The biggest agencies, including the Texas Education Agency and the Health and Human Services Commission, have declined to say whether all of the cuts slated for this fiscal year went into effect or exactly what’s on the table for 2021. That lack of transparency has left providers and advocates in the dark about cuts to programs used by millions of vulnerable Texans - including specialized health care programs, oversight of child care facilities and the state’s system for enrolling children and families in services such as food stamps and Medicaid. Under the proposals, donations to food banks and meal deliveries to senior citizens would be slashed through cuts to the Department of Agriculture. Rural hospitals would receive less money to make capital improvements and purchase updated medical equipment. The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University would downsize by more than $61 million, cutting hundreds of faculty and staff and scaling back research funding.
Thousands of students would lose state-granted financial aid. Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston and a member of the House Appropriations Committee, has repeatedly spoken out against any cuts to health programs, but says she hasn’t been able to get any firm answers from top leaders or agency officials about the status of the reductions. Some of the proposals — including cuts to services that help domestic violence survivors, child advocacy programs and adult care facilities — are “horrifying” in light of the coronavirus pandemic, she said. Davis said she is unsure how some agencies are already planning to slash funds without lawmakers’ approval… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson: Top city of Dallas salaries are bloated (Dallas Morning News)
To guide the employees of the city of Dallas, the city manager has used a mantra: Service first. As we debate the annual budget for the next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, we are going to put that slogan to the test. We will see whether the City Council is willing to defund the bureaucracy to help the people of Dallas during difficult and unprecedented times. The city manager’s proposed budget is a good start, especially in terms of supporting some important public safety initiatives that can lessen our dependence on law enforcement. However, the proposed budget has some significant flaws that leave taxpayers in the lurch.
I am offering amendments that would reduce salaries at City Hall and redirect that money to provide services to the people who have been hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic. My proposal is a tiered approach that cuts executive salaries the most and affects no one earning less than $60,000. (My salary is $80,000 a year, but it is set by the City Charter, so I will donate the equivalent of any cut of my tier to help implement the recommendations of the Mayor’s Task Force on Safe Communities.) This proposal is similar to what both private businesses, large and small, including local newsrooms, and nonprofits such as the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Symphony and the Dallas Zoo already implemented months ago. With the savings from the cuts, I will offer three possible options: Enhance public safety by bolstering the police department in a sensible way and by investing more heavily in solutions that reduce violence and strengthen neighborhoods without involving law enforcement; Provide more funding to fix the city’s broken streets and traffic signals, a basic responsibility that is too often shirked; Give the money back to taxpayers by reducing the property tax rate… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
How Trump’s law and order rhetoric applies to Texas, and how it doesn’t (Houston Chronicle)
As the Republican National Convention wraps up, one overarching message has been clear: “The hard truth is you won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America,” as Vice President Mike Pence put it on Wednesday night. With millions still out of work as the coronavirus outbreak lingers, President Donald Trump has focused his reelection pitch on law and order, warning repeatedly in speeches and tweets of what’s to come if Biden wins in November in an effort especially aimed at shoring up support in the suburbs where Democrats gained ground in 2018. The president and his allies have repeatedly falsely accused Biden of wanting to “defund” police departments as protests over police violence against Black Americans have roiled cities across the country. Biden has said he believes police actually need more funding, but that has not slowed down Trump.
“If you want a vision of your life under Biden presidency, think of the smoldering ruins in Minneapolis, the violent anarchy of Portland, the bloodstained sidewalks of Chicago, and imagine the mayhem coming to your town and every single town in America,” Trump said at a rally in Scranton, Penn. earlier this month. “You’re not going to have law and order.” Trump’s supporters in Texas would add Austin to that list after its city council earlier this month voted to reduce the police department budget by about a third — siphoning $100 million in police training and overtime to pay for other city resources, including a new family violence shelter. But the move comes as Austin, which still has seen among the fewest homicides of any of those big cities, weathers a spike in homicides during the coronavirus outbreak and economic recession. “There couldn't have been a greater gift to help President Trump than the actions of the city of Austin,” said Bill Gravell, county judge in Williamson County, a longtime Republican stronghold north of Austin where Democrats have gained ground in recent years as the city has grown… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
Five takeaways on GOP's norm-breaking convention (The Hill)
The Republican National Convention concluded Thursday after a week of testimonials from lawmakers, administration officials and Americans making the case for President Trump’s re-election.
The Trump campaign is hoping the convention resets the race and boosts Trump in the polls with less than 70 days until Election Day. Here are five takeaways.
If any proof were needed as to how completely Trump has taken over the Republican Party, it could be found in the contrast between this year’s convention and the 2016 event.
Four years ago in Cleveland, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) caused uproar by conspicuously declining to endorse Trump and telling delegates they should “vote your conscience.” There was even an effort to deny Trump the nomination at the last moment.
This year, pillars of the GOP establishment, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (D-Calif.), lined up to pledge their fealty to Trump.
The convention foregrounded numerous members of the Trump family, as well as stalwart personal allies of the president, such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and UFC president Dana White.
Most anti-Trump Republicans have been banished from the party, and the remaining internal skeptics keep their silence, at least in public.
In policy terms, too, Trump’s ideas have replaced what used to be GOP orthodoxy… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Turmoil consumes Chamber of Commerce as it backs Democrats (Politico)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is poised to endorse nearly two dozen freshmen House Democrats for reelection, triggering a revolt within the right-leaning organization and drawing fierce pushback from the group’s powerful GOP donors. The decision represents a sharp departure for the traditionally conservative Chamber, which has spent over $100 million backing Republican candidates during the past decade, and it threatens to further complicate the party’s prospects in the November election while driving a split in the business community. Chamber leaders — including President Suzanne Clark, Chief Executive Officer Tom Donohue and Executive Vice President Neil Bradley — have been pushing the proposal ahead of a Thursday committee vote to finalize a slate of 2020 endorsements.
But the group’s donors and members are up in arms, with some threatening to pull funding and others openly venting their frustration. Some are raising the prospect that Chamber board members will quit in the weeks to come. There is particular concern the Democrats in question do not have the pro-business record an endorsement would convey. State Chamber of Oklahoma President Chad Warmington wrote a letter Tuesday to national Chamber leaders fervently opposing the proposal to back Rep. Kendra Horn, perhaps the most vulnerable House Democrat in the country. Citing the Oklahoma congresswoman’s voting record on energy issues, Warmington wrote, “I question how the U.S. Chamber could endorse a candidate who consistently voted against the largest industry in Oklahoma, employing over 90,000 workers throughout the state. That is hardly a pro-business record. I am also concerned the U.S. Chamber would endorse a congresswoman that voted in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats who are not pro-business nearly 90 percent of the time.” Warmington added: “I don’t believe an endorsement of Congresswoman Horn is warranted at this time and certainly not justifiable based on the current record of consequential votes impacting Oklahoma businesses.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
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