BG Reads | News You Need to Know (June 29, 2020)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
Early Voting for the Travis County Democratic and Republican Primary Runoffs, and Special Elections begins today through Friday, July 10th.
BG Podcast Episode 96: First Month Wrap Up with Associate Intern Josh (SHOW LINK)
On today’s episode Bingham Group CEO A.J. downloads on Associate Intern Josh's first month with the firm.
Note: Show also available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play, Sound Cloud, and Stitcher
[AUSTIN METRO]
Amid fiscal chaos, Austin budget aims for APD cuts, coronavirus recovery boost (Austin American-Statesman)
The Austin City Council is running out of time.
City staffers and council members must craft a 2020-21 budget while still reeling amid repeated financial blows from a state-mandated revenue cap, the global coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest.
Each of those issues taken on its own would have been a major disruption in the city’s fiscal planning process. Together, they have created an unprecedented challenge city leaders are struggling to navigate as important deadlines approach.
Ed Van Eenoo, Austin’s deputy chief financial officer, drafted financial plans in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the 2007-08 financial crisis, both of which sparked substantial financial volatility for cities throughout the country, he said.
The current crisis overshadows them all.
“It has been a cycle unlike any other I’ve seen before,” Van Eenoo said.
Despite the widespread uncertainty associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and recent calls to strip funding from the Austin Police Department late in the budget process, Van Eenoo said he is confident his team will present a balanced budget that meets community expectations.
“I hope what people see when they see this budget is a budget that reflects their priorities and, at the very least, a budget that is moving in the direction of the priorities that we’ve heard both from the City Council and the community,” he said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
What $100M from the APD budget looks like (Austin Monitor)
In response to pressure from activists to defund the Austin Police Department, City Council unanimously approved a series of reforms to APD operations, including a resolution that asks for deep cuts to the public safety budget.The Austin Justice Coalition has asked Council to reallocate $100 million from APD’s budget in Fiscal Year 2021 to fund other departments that might provide alternatives to policing. However, Ed Van Eenoo, the city’s deputy chief financial officer, said while it might be possible to shave $10 million-$20 million from the budget, reaching $100 million in one year would be next to impossible.
“If you want to get to a $100 million reduction in the police department budget, you really are looking at how we just need to substantially scale back,” Van Eenoo said. “The number of officers that we have, we currently have 1,959 sworn personnel that provide patrol services, investigation services, command staff, internal affairs, airfare, helicopter – all those people are sworn personnel and that number would just have to be much, much smaller to get to $100 million.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Experts say pandemic’s future impact on demand for Austin office space is overhyped (Community Impact)
Since the coronavirus took hold in Austin and the United States, large swaths of the workforce have moved to teleworking, or working from home. The safety precaution, for many, of migrating work operations from the corporate office to the home office has sparked a debate over what demand for office space could look like beyond the pandemic.
Working from home appears to be a bigger part of the future than it seemed only a few months ago. Major local employers, such as Dell and Facebook, have said working from home would be a significant part of the companies’ futures. In a recent survey of 730 Austin workers, conducted in May by Movability Austin, roughly 75% of all participants said they would like to continue telecommuting, at least some of the time, after the pandemic subsides.
What this means for commercial office real estate in the future remains uncertain; however, experts said this week that they expect the net impact of the coronavirus on office space demand to be neutral.
“The narrative in the press that equates working from home to a drop off in office demand has been oversimplified and is not the right discussion,” Sean Coghlan of real estate firm JLL said at a Urban Land Institute Panel on June 24. “Job growth, work-from-home trends and de-densification will normalize themselves, and the net impact on office demand will be neutral.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS]
Gov. Greg Abbott expresses regret over reopening Texas bars during coronavirus (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday expressed regret for the first known time about the reopening process he spearheaded during the coronavirus pandemic, saying he should not have allowed bars to open as quickly.
"If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting," Abbott said during an evening interview with KVIA in El Paso.
Abbott added that the "bar setting, in reality, just doesn't work with a pandemic," noting people "go to bars to get close and to drink and to socialize, and that's the kind of thing that stokes the spread of the coronavirus."
In a subsequent interview with WFAA in Dallas, Abbott reiterated regret over the pace of bar reopenings, calling it an "easy thing to pinpoint" as he looks back on the process… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Houston hospitals hit 100% base ICU capacity. Then they stopped reporting data. (Houston Chronicle)
Texas Medical Center hospitals have stopped reporting key metrics showing the stress rising numbers of COVID-19 patients are placing on their facilities, undermining data that policy makers and the public have relied upon during the pandemic to gauge the spread of the coronavirus. The change came one day after the hospitals reported their base intensive care capacity had hit 100 percent for the first time during the pandemic, with projections showing the institutions — which together comprise the world’s largest medical complex — were on pace to exceed their “unsustainable surge capacity” by July 6. It also followed discussions between Gov. Greg Abbott and hospital executives in which the governor expressed displeasure with negative headlines about ICU capacity, sources familiar with the talks said.
Abbott spokesman John Wittman said any insinuation that the governor directed the executives to stop publishing certain data is false. “The governor’s office believes all hospitals should be reporting accurate data to the state and to the public as often as possible,” Wittman said Sunday morning. “We demanded more information to share, not less.”
The shift, in which TMC deleted charts from its online COVID-19 dashboard, also accompanied public confusion surrounding the hospitals’ ability to withstand a massive spike in cases that has followed Abbott’s May decisions to lift restrictions intended to slow the virus. Last Wednesday, 11 TMC leaders issued a statement warning that an “alarming” increase in hospitalizations soon could “overwhelm” their systems. The next morning, Abbott issued an order restricting elective procedures at hospitals in Harris and Texas’ three other largest counties, saying he wanted to ensure the facilities retained enough beds to deal with the surge of cases. Shortly after, four of the 11 TMC CEOs held a video press conference to tone down the concern they had expressed just 18 hours before. Hospital leaders wound up “unintentionally sounding an alarm bell too loudly,” Houston Methodist CEO Dr. Marc Boom said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Gov. Abbott waives law so some businesses can deliver or sell mixed drinks to go, officials say (Austin American-Statesman)
Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday temporarily waived a law so that some Texas restaurants and bars can deliver or sell mixed drinks to go, according to the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. TABC officials said Saturday that Abbott’s decision to allow limited mixed drink sales followed his executive order Friday that forced bar owners to shut down again in Austin. Abbott’s decision Friday came after a record-breaking week of coronavirus cases in Texas.
However, the new statutory waiver approved by Abbott on Saturday allows restaurants and certain bars with mixed beverage permits to sell mixed drinks if accompanied by a food order. For bars to qualify, they must have permanent food service capabilities on the premises, officials said.
“Operating during this pandemic has proved an incredible challenge for all segments of the alcoholic beverage industry,” TABC Executive Director Bentley Nettles said. “Opening up the ability for these businesses to sell mixed drinks to go will help ease the burden for many of these struggling businesses.” Under the waiver, businesses may sell drinks containing distilled spirits if mixed and sealed by the business itself, officials said. Mixed drinks to go were previously prohibited under the Alcoholic Beverage Code, but the governor’s action temporarily waives that law. Authorities on Saturday reminded residents that it’s a criminal offense to knowingly possess an open container in a vehicle, so all mixed drink sales must be in a closed or sealed container… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATION]
HHS secretary: 'The window is closing' to stop coronavirus spread (The Hill)
Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said Sunday the “window is closing” to stop the spread of coronavirus, as cases across the South and West surge.
Azar said the country is in a different situation than at the last peak of the epidemic a few months ago, noting new therapeutics and advancements of COVID-19 vaccine research, but he added that “the window is closing.”
“We have to act, and people as individuals have to act responsibly. We need to social-distance. We need to wear our face-coverings if we're in settings where we can't social-distance, particularly in these hot zones,” Azar said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” … (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The (near) cashless society arrives (AXIOS)
People have suddenly stopped using money — of the bill-and-coin variety — for fear it may spread the virus. Some worried shopkeepers have stopped accepting it, too.
Why it matters: The coronavirus may have changed our buying and payment habits forever. Online shopping is through the roof, and consumers are rushing to get "contactless" credit and debit cards, which are tapped at a merchant terminal rather than inserted or swiped… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
The Bingham Group, LLC is an Austin-based full service lobbying firm representing and advising clients on municipal, legislative, and regulatory matters throughout Texas.
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