BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 11, 2022)
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[BG Podcast]
Episode 154: A Conversation with Jason Alexander, Chief of Staff to the Austin City Manager
Today’s episode (154) features Jason Alexander, City of Staff to the Austin City Manager.
Appointed in January 2022, Jason has a nearly 18‐year career with the City, which in addition to the City Manager’s Office, includes Parks and Recreation, Human Resources, Emergency Medical Services, and the Fire Department.
Jason and Bingham Group CEO A.J. discuss the role, a first for City Manager Spencer Cronk (but not new for the city, Jason's path to the public sector and journey to his current role.
As Chief of Staff, Jason is responsible for the administrative functions of the City Manager’s Office, and provides leadership and oversight to the City’s Equity, Innovation, Sustainability, and Resilience Offices.
Austin operates under a “Council-Manager” system of government. In this model, the Mayor and City Council are responsible for all legislative functions of the City. They appoint a professional City Manager who operates much like a CEO in private-sector businesses and who is tasked with carrying out City Council’s legislative and policy objectives. -> EPISODE LINK
[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]
‘We are worth more than 14 cents’: Austin medics say city’s raise offer is a ‘slap in the face’ (KXAN)
Negotiating new pay for the first time in four years, Austin’s emergency medical services department is being offered a 14 cent raise by the city.
That’s not enough, according to the Austin EMS Association, which says many medics are upset and contemplating quitting.
The association took to Twitter on Friday to express their frustration – even changing their handle to “WorthMoreThan14Cents”.
Selena Xie, president of the association, said medics are currently paid a starting wage of $19.56 per hour.
The association asked for that base pay to be increased to $27 per hour – and they believe the city’s counter offer of $19.70 per hour falls short… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Security lines at Austin's airport have been crazy long. TSA is sending in the cavalry. (KUT)
Austin, which has quickly gone from an aspiring international city to a bonafide destination for international travelers, has an airport problem.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport has struggled to keep pace with its pandemic-era bounce-back, leading to security lines stretching out of terminals, flight cancellations and even a blockade of abandoned rental cars late last month.
Now, the Transportation Security Administration is sending in 15 additional officers, along with more canine units, to speed up queues. Thirty-five extra agents already had been sent to Austin to help out.
The deployment comes after pleas to TSA from U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Austin) and ABIA's Chief Executive Jacqueline Yaft.
Doggett couldn't provide details as to when the additional staff would be onsite, saying only that he was coordinating with TSA Administrator David Pekoske and airport officials.
"There clearly is a lot more that needs to be done, if we are going to maintain this as an international city," he said. "We have got to have a more welcoming presence at our airport ... and ease the considerable discomfort and missed flights that so many people have been having."… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Analysis of code changes for Project Connect extended until December (Austin Monitor)
City staff will need until December to determine the full scope of processes and city regulations that will have to be changed to accommodate the planning and construction of the components of the Project Connect transit plan. City Council had originally instructed the city manager to have a plan for needed code amendments complete by this month, but the scope of the project and the many departments potentially involved in the review has raised the need for more time.
In a memo released last week, Assistant City Manager Gina Fiandaca said the city code is largely oriented around vertical, site-specific development instead of the horizontal, linear nature of the light rail lines, subway tunneling and other large-footprint pieces of Project Connect. Fiandaca said she anticipates all the required code changes will be accomplished with one comprehensive ordinance for Council consideration, and assured the extension of the current analysis won’t impact the planning and engineering work currently taking place to deliver the many transit improvements by their intended deadlines.
“To deliver the full evaluation of code and ordinance development in response to the city resolution, as well as follow the required code amendment process, a postponement to December 2022 is necessary. This time will also further allow staff to continue work with community stakeholders as we build our recommendations, and the extension to December 2022 will not impact the Project Connect timeline,” the memo reads in part… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
19-acre waterfront redevelopment plans clear first Austin City Council hurdle (Community Impact)
Plans that would transform nearly 19 acres of lakefront property off South Congress Avenue into a new mixed-use campus earned the first of three City Council votes needed to make the project a reality April 7.
The rezoning of 305 S. Congress Ave., currently home to the Austin American-Statesman, came before council this spring after moving through city staff and commission reviews over recent months. The so-called Statesman PUD, or planned unit development, as proposed features 1.65 million square feet for residences, 1.5 million square feet of offices, 150,000 square feet of retail space and a 275-room hotel.
The 3.52 million square feet of commercial space centers around a series of high-rises stretching as high as 525 feet above Lady Bird Lake alongside new public roadways and acres of waterfront parkland.
Council's April discussion resulted in a vote in favor of the PUD plan on first reading only with more remaining questions and final details still to be worked out for the required second and third readings before city officials. Much of the conversation centered on the scale of the community benefits offered by developers Endeavor Real Estate Group and the Cox family, including how the project could support the housing, mobility and recreational needs of the public in addition to future residents of the luxury condominiums or apartments on-site.
“I think this is a tremendous opportunity for the city of Austin," District 9 Council Member Kathie Tovo said. "I have a keen interest in seeing it move forward in a way that it really becomes a community asset.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Council approves social services funding despite anticipating tightest budget in years (Austin Monitor)
The pressures of anticipated budget constraints loomed large over City Council’s discussion of funding social services last Thursday.
The conversation followed Council’s approval of Austin Public Health’s request for $6,727,158 across 17 15-month contracts with youth services providers, with four additional 12-month extension options totaling $5,577,331. Of particular concern was a direction put forth by Mayor Pro Tem Alison Alter, which separately requested $282,821 in funding to restore after-school care at Austin Independent School District to approximately 1,500 children at risk of losing services.
“It could easily be as we’re moving into the budget season, we face the tightest budget (we’ve) seen in eight years on the dais,” said Mayor Steve Adler, who asked that the record reflect he would not be voting on the item. “Reading this direction, it’s kind of initiating a mid-cycle budget amendment, which as a Council we’ve generally tried not to do.”
Alter’s direction seeks to revive AISD’s Prime Time program, which provides free after-school enrichment from 3 to 6 p.m. at 25 elementary schools across the district. The program has relied heavily on city support since 2012, when cuts from other funding sources threatened to eliminate it entirely. Pandemic stressors such as staff shortages and district-wide enrollment decreases have compounded these needs… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Fort Worth mayor reveals in wide-ranging interview she's preparing for major changes (WFAA)
The owners of Sundance Square, Ed and Sasha Bass, have new plans for the once-popular downtown shopping and dining district that has spiraled to empty storefronts and uncertainty. On Sunday’s Inside Texas Politics, Mayor Mattie Parker was asked whether she has spoken to the Bass’ about the future of this downtown centerpiece. “I have,” Mayor Parker said. “I’ve spoken to them several times about it. I’ve also talked to and worked very closely with the leadership of Downtown Fort Worth, Inc.” When asked what the Bass’ told Parker, the mayor said: “They have a new vision for Sundance Square. They’re trying to execute on that. You shouldn’t want me to, nor do I have any control over private business. I think the number one factor right now is communicating whatever that vision may be to residents and visitors downtown and refocusing those efforts. Am I frustrated? Sure. Because I get a lot of questions about this. But I also have to have faith that private businesses, specifically Mr. Bass who has been an incredible visionary for downtown Fort Worth and the entire community, are allowed some time to let that vision come to fruition.”
Mayor Parker, who also told Inside Texas Politics she will seek re-election, said Fort Worth is also preparing for two major events next month. The first is the murder trial of former Fort Worth police officer Aaron Dean, who is charged with murder in the shooting death of Atatiana Jefferson. The 28-year-old woman was playing video games in October 2019 with her 8-year-old nephew. Dean was dispatched there to check on the house after a neighbor noticed the front door open late at night. Dean walked into the backyard unannounced to investigate. Jefferson, inside her own home and unaware that anyone had called police to her home, grabbed her gun and had gotten up to look out the window when she was shot by Dean, according to police. Jefferson died at the scene. An arrest warrant stated three times that Dean did not announce that he was a police officer when he walked around the house. The trial will be “a difficult several weeks for the community,” Mayor Parker said. She was also asked whether the city has contingency plans in place for civil unrest that might arise from the trial… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Biden nominates Steve Dettelbach for top guns post (The Hil)
President Biden will nominate Steve Dettelbach, former federal attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
“His leadership and his record of innovation in fighting crime and violence make him ready from day one to aggressively and creatively address these pressing issues at the Director of ATF,” senior administration officials said.
Dettelbach served as U.S. attorney for seven years after being nominated in 2009 by President Obama, who was his classmate at Harvard Law School. He currently is co-leader of white collar investigations at national law firm BakerHostetler.
Biden has not been able to fill the ATF post since the start of the administration. He pulled the nomination of David Chipman after he did not receive enough support in the Senate in September.
“We will be working hard to ensure that Steve Dettelbach receives the fair hearing and confirmation that he deserves,” administration officials said. “He should be a non-controversial candidate because he has a long record of working in law enforcement and for the public safety of the people of Ohio and of the American people”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)