BG Reads | News You Need to Know (April 7, 2022)
[MEETING/HEARINGS]
TODAY:
[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]
Affordable housing takes center stage in Statesman PUD debate (Austin Monitor)
City Council Member Kathie Tovo revealed during Tuesday’s work session that she will be seeking a major change to the proposed planned unit development on the former Statesman site on Lady Bird Lake.
The Planning Commission unanimously approved plans for the site, which is currently proposed to include 1,378 residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, 1.5 million square feet of offices, and a 275-room hotel at 305 S. Congress Ave.
Tovo told her colleagues she is going to ask Council to approve a requirement for 10 percent affordable rental housing on the site as opposed to the Planning Commission and staff recommendation of 4 percent.
Tovo said the South Central Waterfront Plan envisioned a total of 2,142,900 square feet of development on the site and suggested 4 percent on-site affordable housing. However, she said the proposed PUD exceeds that by about 3,515,000 square feet, worth an estimated $840 million more than what the smaller plan projected.
Since developers are asking for considerably more entitlements, Tovo said she thought it was reasonable to ask for 10 percent affordable units for people earning 60 percent of the median family income and 5 percent ownership units for those earning 80 percent of the MFI. She said those numbers would be in line with the PUD ordinance.
She also said it was important that people have access from the Congress Avenue Bridge to the park that will be part of the development. As currently configured, Tovo said, people wanting to visit the park would have to go through the development to get there.
Tovo said she would also like to see the developer participate in the Better Builder Program for its workers, and if the hotel is approved, to work with UNITE HERE, the union representing hotel workers.
Council Member Chito Vela has been arguing in favor of a cash contribution from the developer to the city’s affordable housing fund in lieu of building on-site affordable housing… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
San Marcos City Council adopts strategic initiative priorities for 2022-26 (Community Impact)
San Marcos City Council unanimously adopted strategic initiatives and priorities for the next few years at its April 5 board meeting.
Interim City Manager Stephanie Reyes said the new goals and priorities were discussed as part of the council’s envisioning session held Jan. 13-14. The sessions produced priorities, including workforce housing, sustainability, COVID-19 response, community safety, economic development and two areas of focus—an assessment of community assistance and developing an equity policy.
“In addition to the initiatives, you included the assessment of community assistance as an area of focus, discussed developing an equity policy and clarified that strategic initiatives are for the next three to five years,” Reyes said. “After the visioning session, we had an extensive list of initiatives, including those from previous years that were on the list. In order to organize these initiatives, we reached out to our department directors to provide feedback regarding the amount of time they anticipate it would take to complete if it is a core service and whether it will require additional resources.”
Goals on the city’s draft strategic initiative document are broken down by category and a timeframe in each category of short-term, 12-18 months; intermediate, 18-36 months; and long term, completed in over 36 months.
Under the area of workforce housing, for instance, the document identifies “encouraging mixed-income communities within new development” as a short-term goal; “determine if the city can provide an incentive or assistance, i.e. financing, to get vacant lots utilized” as an intermediate goal; and “draft an ordinance targeting geographic locations and nonprofit homebuilders for appropriate zoning when permanently affordable for-sale housing is constructed” as a long-term goal… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Trump, others coming to Austin for ‘American Freedom Tour’ (KXAN)
The “American Freedom Tour” is coming to Austin.
Headlined by former President Donald Trump, the event is scheduled for May 14 at a venue to be determined, according to the event’s website.
Along with Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Mike Pompeo, Dinesh D’Souza and Mark Lamb are scheduled to speak.
Tickets for the event range from a $15 virtual option to “Presidential” tickets that costs almost $3,000. Limited “Patriot” seats are available by calling (888) 977-2024… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
Austin Energy seeks to bridge revenue gap through changes to service costs (Austin Monitor)
Austin Energy customers can anticipate changes to their bills in the near future, as the utility gears up to revise its base rate charges by 2023.
Russell Maenius, vice president of finance, and Tammy Cooper, vice president of communications, spoke to City Council’s Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee on Tuesday to propose a timeline for the update, planning to return to Council with final recommendations by late November.
“It’s no secret that revenues are down and costs are up,” Maenius said. “This is due to the changing landscape for electric utilities overall, as well as specific challenges unique to Austin.”
In the seven years since Austin Energy last took stock of its customer base, the number of users has increased by 18 percent. “That means over that seven-year period, we have added 80,000 customers and invested nearly $2 billion in infrastructure,” Maenius said.
City staff reported that the base rate for energy services has changed only twice since 1994, with the last increase dating back nearly 10 years ago in 2013. While the utility has generally remained financially stable, the last two years have seen operation costs steadily outpacing revenue, resulting in a $90 million net loss.
Though Austin Energy currently has a credit rating of AA, continuing gaps between revenue and expenditures could impact its future score and impair its ability to secure bond funding.
While these losses are due in part to rising wages and equipment costs, staff also reported that new approaches to efficiency and conservation have had an impact. Average residential summer consumption has decreased by 22 percent since 2009, with an increasing number of users failing to meet criteria for the tier 4 and 5 consumption designations… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[TEXAS NEWS]
Texas is quietly using redistricting lawsuits to launch a broader war against federal voting rights law (Texas Tribune)
Beyond the immediate legal fight over whether Texas lawmakers again discriminated against voters of color when drawing new political districts, a quieter war is being waged that could dramatically constrict voting rights protections nationwide for years to come. For decades, redistricting in Texas has tracked a familiar rhythm — new maps are followed by claims of discrimination and lawsuits asking federal courts to step in. Over the years, Texas lawmakers have repeatedly been ordered to correct gerrymandering that suppressed the political power of Black and Hispanic voters. The pathway to federal court has been through the Voting Rights Act. Key portions of the landmark law have been weakened in the last decade, but Texans of color still find a way to file lawsuits under its Section 2, which prohibits discriminatory voting procedures and practices that deny voters of color an equal opportunity to participate in elections.
Those protections are the vehicle being used by voters and various civil rights groups to challenge political maps for Congress and the state legislature drawn by Texas Republicans in 2021 to account for population growth. In what promises to be a protracted court fight, Texas will defend itself against accusations that it discriminated — in some cases intentionally — against voters of color. But tucked into the legal briefs the state has filed with a three-judge panel considering the redistricting lawsuits are two arguments that reach far beyond the validity of the specific maps being challenged. First, the Texas attorney general’s office is arguing that private individuals — like the average voters and civil rights groups now suing the state — don't have standing to bring lawsuits under Section 2. That would leave only the U.S. Department of Justice to pursue alleged violations of the act, putting enforcement in the hands of the political party in power. Second, the state argues that Section 2 does not apply to redistricting issues at all. Should either argument prevail — which would almost certainly require it to be embraced by a conservative U.S. Supreme Court that has already struck down other portions of the law — the courthouse door will be slammed shut on many future lawsuits over discriminatory map-drawing and voting practices… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
If Dallas schools superintendent Hinojosa signals run for mayor, his exit would come sooner (Dallas Morning News)
A move to run for elected office would mean an early resignation for Dallas ISD Superintendent Michael Hinojosa, according to a separation agreement between the schools chief and trustees. The unusual clause would be triggered if Hinojosa announces his candidacy or names a campaign treasurer, a move that’s required of all candidates seeking any Texas public office. His decision to step down after the end of this school year sparked speculation that he plans to challenge Mayor Eric Johnson, who will be up for reelection in 2023. Hinojosa said Wednesday that the earliest he would make a decision is November. Right now, he said he is focused on leading the district and finishing out the semester. “I haven’t made any decision about whether I’m going to run for office,” he said. The clause in the agreement is “just a protection for everybody, in case I decide to do it.”
The voluntary resignation agreement – provided to The Dallas Morning News – lays out the conditions for Hinojosa’s transition out of the district that he’s led on-and-off for more than a decade. Hinojosa will remain employed with the district through Dec. 31, according to the agreement. When the trustees hire a new superintendent – which they expect to do in early June – Hinojosa would be reassigned to the position of “superintendent emeritis.” In that role, he would help with the leadership transition and serve as an advisor to the new district leader and to the board. School board president Ben Mackey said Hinojosa’s political aspirations weren’t a major focus when hammering out the agreement. But trustees didn’t want to get caught in “any perception of any sort of conflicts,” he added… (LINK TO FULL STORY)
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Senate to confirm Ketanji Brown Jackson to Supreme Court Thursday (The Hill)
The Senate will confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to be the first Black woman on the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) locked in a deal — which requires the buy-in of all 100 senators — to hold an initial vote on Jackson’s nomination around 11 a.m. on Thursday. After that, Schumer said he expected a final vote to confirm Jackson to take place around 1:45 p.m., depending on how long senators want to speak before the vote.
“We have reached an agreement for the Senate to conclude the confirmation process of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson tomorrow,” Schumer said… (LINK TO FULL STORY)