BG Reads | News You Need to Know (September 23, 2021)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
Work Session of the Austin Council (9.28.2021 at 9AM)
Regular Meeting of the Austin City Council (9.30.2021 at 10AM)
[BINGHAM GROUP]
***NEW*** BG Podcast Ep. 146: District Organizing with Austin Justice Coalition
A.J. speaks with Austin Justice Coalition (AJC) reps João Paulo Connolly and Rockie Gonzalez about the launch of its new grassroots organizing strategy, District Organizing: Project Engage (DOPE). DOPE is a plan mobilize and build community power at the Council district level. The conversation covers the impetus and vision of the program, and how Austinites can engage. Show link here. with Austin Justice Coalition (AJC) reps João Paulo Connolly and Rockie Gonzalez about the launch of its new grassroots organizing strategy, District Organizing: Project Engage (DOPE). DOPE is a plan mobilize and build community power at the Council district level. The conversation covers the impetus and vision of the program, and how Austinites can engage. Show link here.
CEO A.J. recently sat down with Voyage Austin for an interview on his path to lobbying and founding Bingham Group. Check it out here.
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
Austin taps interim Chief Joseph Chacon as its next police chief (KUT)
Joseph Chacon, who has been serving as interim Austin police chief since April, has been nominated to take on the position permanently, City Manager Spencer Cronk confirmed Wednesday.
The decision is still pending approval from City Council at its meeting next week.
Chacon, who has been with the Austin Police Department for more than 20 years, was named interim police chief after Austin Police Chief Brian Manley stepped down in March.
“I am extremely excited and humbled by this amazing opportunity,” Chacon said in a statement. “Austin PD is at a critical juncture, and I am honored that the city manager is showing the trust in me to lead this amazing organization. I will be engaging our department employees and our community to make sure we are moving forward in the best way possible.”
Chacon began his law enforcement career in 1992 with the El Paso Police Department before APD hired him six years later. He has been with the department ever since, working as a sergeant in the Homicide and Internal Affairs units and overseeing the Austin Regional Intelligence Center, a 10-county law enforcement surveillance and data-sharing partnership. Chacon eventually became an assistant police chief, a role he held before being named interim chief.
Chacon was selected for the permanent job over two other finalists, Dallas Police Department Assistant Chief Avery Moore and Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Emada Tingirides. Dozens of other candidates from across the country applied for the job.
“After hearing from so many of you, and following an extensive and rigorous recruitment process, I’m confident interim Chief Joseph Chacon is the right person to lead our city’s police department to achieve results, build trust and transparency, and accomplish equitable public safety outcomes for all Austin residents and visitors,” Cronk said in a statement.
At a time when community groups are calling for police reform, this is the second time Cronk has chosen an Austin police veteran to lead the department. Cronk nominated Manley, who had been with the department for nearly three decades, to serve as police chief in 2018.
In March, more than a dozen criminal and racial justice organizations signed a letter urging Cronk to nominate someone from outside APD to the interim chief role while he searched for a permanent replacement for Manley.
Some members of these same organizations on Wednesday questioned the logic of choosing someone from within the department to make changes.
“It’s very unclear to what extent Chief Chacon has the ability (and) willingness to make any substantive changes to the way policing’s done,” Chris Harris, policy director at the Austin Justice Coalition, told KUT.
At a news conference to discuss Chacon’s nomination, Cronk said he did not set out to choose an internal candidate for the top job.
“The process played it out and this was the right person for the job,” he said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
PARD needs more funding, audit update shows (Austin Monitor)
Since audits in 2016 and 2017, the Parks and Recreation Department has taken actions to address the management of its resources as well as cash handling problems. However, according to a follow-up report by the Office of the City Auditor, the city’s “funding priorities may continue to constrain the department’s ability to effectively offer its current wide range of services.”
Members of the Council Audit & Finance Committee heard new details at Wednesday’s committee meeting about the major challenges the parks department is dealing with in managing the many programs and functions it oversees. Committee members also heard about progress the department has made in some areas, particularly cash management.
Audit manager Katie Houston told the committee that PARD staff implemented policies to decrease the amount of cash employees are required to handle. In the initial audit, auditors found several issues that increased the risk that PARD could have been missing some revenue. In their status report, auditors found that PARD has revised its policies and the department now maintains a single list of all cash handlers, and ensures that those employees receive cash handling training every year.
PARD has also collaborated with the Transportation Department to increase the number of pay stations that accept cash and credit cards at city pools. Although Barton Springs is the only pool currently charging for entry, four of six municipal pools reviewed by auditors confirmed that pay stations had been installed on the premises. In addition, PARD has developed a phone app called ATX Swims, allowing swimmers to pay for entry on their phones.
During the original audit, the audit staff found that PARD’s internal process for allocating resources was not only ineffective, but did not provide what auditors called “a basis for strategic department-wide decision-making.” They cited external factors including aging infrastructure, funding constraints and “pressure to provide many different low-cost programs to a large, varied customer base.” Auditors also found a large backlog of facility maintenance service requests and that maintenance was not being performed on a timely basis.
One of PARD’s biggest problems has been the lack of a comprehensive program management system. Parks Director Kimberly McNeeley told the committee she had been disappointed to learn that there was not an affordable off-the-shelf software product that they could use. As a result, the department has been working with the city’s Office of Performance Management and the Communications and Technology Management Department in developing such software. A parks department spokesperson told the Austin Monitor the department is currently using Excel spreadsheets, but they can only look at one facility at a time using that method.
Although PARD staff has presented options to Council for making high-cost services such as aquatics more sustainable, auditors said Council has not allocated sufficient funding for the plan. Noting that Council allocated $40 million of bond money for improvements to Givens, Northwest and Montopolis pools and for the development of a new aquatics center at Colony Park in 2018, that amount is inadequate. According to the audit, the Aquatic Master Plan says that “the capital costs necessary to improve the entire aquatics system range from $152 million-$193 million. It will likely cost the city at least $8 million-$10 million per year for the next 20 years to implement all recommended improvements.” Auditors noted that, of course, the parks department will probably not be able to generate that amount of funding from new or current revenue sources.
Council Member Alison Alter, who chairs the committee, told her colleagues the audit report confirms that the parks department does not have the resources necessary to meet the needs of a growing city. “I think what this document does is really underscore that we have work ahead of us to increase our financial allocation for PARD and I really don’t think that business-as-usual is going to work anymore.” She said she had worked to find new ways to expand PARD funding, adding, “I intend to invest energy in finding new ways to increase funding.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin regains all pandemic job loss, San Antonio nearly misses top 10 best performing metros in the country (Community Impact)
Standing at 1,142,500 jobs in August, the Austin metropolitan statistical area surpasses the total nonfarm payroll jobs the area had during the last pre-pandemic month.
In February 2020, the total nonfarm payroll jobs in the Austin MSA was 1,142,400, according to a report from the Austin Chamber of Commerce. The Austin MSA includes Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis and Williamson counties. Comparing the top 50 major metros in the country to where they stood in February 2020, Austin ranks as the fourth best performing metro, and San Antonio is ranked 11th. From July to August, the unemployment rate dropped from 4% to 3.8% in Austin and 5.4% to 4.8% in San Antonio. Even though the Austin MSA is recovering from spring 2020 pandemic job losses, seven industries have added jobs while five industries have fewer jobs since February 2020, according to the report.
“The continued decrease in the unemployment rate and the positive job growth is good news for Texas,” said Texas Workforce Commission Chair Bryan Daniel in a press release. “The demand for middle skills jobs—those requiring less than a bachelor’s degree but more than a high school diploma—continues to grow, and TWC is committed to ensuring the state's workforce has the tools needed to succeed in these high-demand jobs."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Gov. Greg Abbott adds property tax relief, bail to special session agenda (Texas Tribune)
Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday added property tax relief and a constitutional amendment addressing bail changes to the third special session of the year.
"These two additional agenda items are crucial to improving the quality of life for all Texans," Abbott said in a statement. "I look forward to working with my partners in the Legislature to pass these additional items that will lower property taxes and keep Texans safe."
Abbott's new priorities come as the Legislature is already set to grapple with redrawing the state's political maps for the next 10 years, regulating what teams transgender student athletes can play on and dictating whether COVID-19 vaccines should be mandated. Lawmakers will also determine how to spend $16 billion in federal COVID-19 relief funds and whether to pass a bill that would protect dogs from being tethered without adequate shelter and space — a bill Abbott vetoed earlier this year… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Teacher Retirement System’s board approves massive HQ relocation plan (Austin Business Journal)
A plan to move the Teacher Retirement System of Texas headquarters from downtown Austin to the Mueller mixed-use community was unanimously approved Sept. 17 by the organization’s board of trustees. The vote means the governmental entity's executive director is authorized to enter into negotiations for a purchase-sale agreement for the Alpha and Bravo buildings of the Mueller Business District. The negotiation is expected to last a few weeks.
The multibillion-dollar pension fund manager announced plans in August to shift operations from 1000 Red River St. to 457,000 square feet across two buildings at 1900 Aldrich St. in Mueller, a mixed-use community at Austin’s former airport, a few miles northeast of the Central Business District. “I believe it is prudent to make this move now and take advantage of returns from Austin’s booming commercial real estate market,” TRS Executive Director Brian Guthrie said in a statement. “A new headquarters building will position TRS for success in serving our members in the coming decades.” 1900 Aldrich is part of the Mueller Business District developed by Shorenstein Properties LLC. After the Alpha and Bravo buildings, a third phase of the Mueller Business District could add another 350,000 square feet, according to marketing material produced by Aquila Commercial, which handles leasing… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
U.S. Reps. Michael McCaul and Henry Cuellar defend Border Patrol treatment of Haitian migrants (Texas Tribune)
Days after thousands of Haitian migrants trying to seek asylum overwhelmed the Del Rio bridge at the Texas-Mexico border, U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar and Michael McCaul pushed for border policies that deter migrants and defended the actions of the United States Border Patrol.
“My only question is, what are [Border Patrol agents] supposed to do, just stand by and let people go by? If there was any conduct that was done that’s not according to standards, of course that’s going to be looked at,” said Cuellar, a Laredo Democrat. “We have to be careful that we don’t just automatically just blame Border Patrol. They’re trying to do their job as best as they can, and if there’s an issue, we’ll investigate.”
Cuellar and McCaul, an Austin Republican, made the comments during an interview at the 2021 Texas Tribune Festival that aired Wednesday. The interview came after images and videos of Border Patrol agents herding Haitian migrants, including one video of an agent swinging his reins toward a migrant, circulated widely on social media and drew criticism… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Mayor Turner names interim housing director after explosive corruption claims by former head (Houston Chronicle)
Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday named a new housing director one day after firing his predecessor who publicly accused him of steering affordable housing funds to a specific developer and project. Keith Bynam, who was until Wednesday the department’s deputy director for the compliance division and operations, will be interim director of the Housing and Community Development Department. Personnel records show he was hired by the city in December 1991. “He has an extensive housing background and over 30 years’ experience faithfully serving the city of Houston,” said Mary Benton, the mayor’s communications director.
Tom McCasland, who had led the department since 2016, told City Council members Tuesday that the mayor and his administration manufactured a “charade” of a competitive process to distribute Hurricane Harvey affordable housing money to a select developer. The decision, which overrode staff recommendations, meant the city would get 274 fewer units of affordable housing for about the same amount of money. McCasland provided a dense packet of emails and memos to council members as evidence of his assertions. They showed staff had recommended four projects that would use $16.2 million in Harvey relief funds to help finance 362 affordable units. Turner scrapped those recommendations in favor of one project in Clear Lake, which will use $15 million in relief money and produce 88 affordable units. A co-partner on the Clear Lake deal, Harbor Venture Group, is run by the mayor’s longtime law partner, Barry Barnes, and another partner at the firm, Jermaine Thomas. Turner left the firm when he was elected mayor in 2015… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
TikTokers Are Trading Stocks By Copying What Members Of Congress Do (NPR)
Young investors have a new strategy: watching financial disclosures of sitting members of Congress for stock tips.
Among a certain community of individual investors on TikTok, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's stock trading disclosures are a treasure trove. "Shouts out to Nancy Pelosi, the stock market's biggest whale," said user 'ceowatchlist.' Another said, "I've come to the conclusion that Nancy Pelosi is a psychic," while adding that she is the "queen of investing."
"She knew," declared Chris Josephs, analyzing a particular trade in Pelosi's financial disclosures. "And you would have known if you had followed her portfolio."
Last year, Josephs noticed that the trades, actually made by Pelosi's investor husband and merely disclosed by the speaker, were performing well.
Josephs is the co-founder of a company called Iris, which shows other people's stock trades. In the past year and a half, he has been taking advantage of a law called the Stock Act, which requires lawmakers to disclose stock trades and those of their spouses within 45 days.
Now on Josephs' social investing platform, you can get a push notification every time Pelosi's stock trading disclosures are released. He is personally investing when he sees which stocks are picked: "I'm at the point where if you can't beat them, join them," Josephs told NPR, adding that if he sees trades on her disclosures, "I typically do buy... the next one she does, I'm going to buy."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Business groups create new headache for Pelosi (The Hill)
Business groups are pressuring centrist Democrats to oppose their party’s $3.5 trillion spending package that raises taxes on corporations, with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warning it could pull endorsements for lawmakers in tough reelection races next year if they vote for the bill.
The threat from the nation’s biggest corporate lobbying group, which launched a six-figure ad campaign Wednesday targeting five centrists, puts even more pressure on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), whose caucus can only afford three defections when the sweeping legislation comes to the floor.
Corporate America has thrown its weight behind the Senate-passed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, which does not include tax hikes, while rejecting the larger spending package that invests in climate, child care and other Democratic priorities, despite Pelosi’s pledge that both bills must be passed together.
The Chamber’s new ad campaign targets Reps. Cindy Axne (Iowa), Angie Craig (Minn.), Antonio Delgado (N.Y.), Josh Harder (Calif.) and Elaine Luria (Va.), all of whom received surprise endorsements from the Chamber last year. It follows a letter from the Chamber warning that lawmakers who vote for the $3.5 trillion bill will lose the group’s backing.
“No member of Congress can achieve the support of the business community if they vote to pass this bill as currently constructed,” the letter read… (LINK TO FULL STORY)