In Review - Austin City Council’s First Half of 2024 (Part 1)
In Review - Austin City Council’s First Half of 2024 (Part 1)
We’re almost to the end of the annual City Council late spring/summer hiatus. With plenty of important work ahead, we’re taking a look back at some of the bigger and perhaps overlooked measures City Council and staff have taken in the first half of 2024.
T.C. BROADNAX NAMED CITY MANAGER
Austin City Council ended more than a year without a permanent city manager by hiring T.C. Broadnax in April. Broadnax previously served as city manager of Dallas after a strained relationship with the mayor and some council members, which hampered city operations. Before Dallas, he held city manager positions in Tacoma, Washington, and served as assistant city manager in San Antonio for six years.
Broadnax was chosen over Sara Hensley, Denton's city manager since March 2022 and a former Austin Parks and Recreation director. Broadnax’s hiring means interim city manager Jesús Garza will likely retreat into an advisory role within city hall.
Despite his contentious time in Dallas, Austin city leaders are confident in Broadnax's abilities. Council members cited positive feedback from references in Dallas and Tacoma as strong reasons for his selection, along with his deep background in addressing public safety and homelessness in Dallas, where he coordinated a coalition that helped over 2,700 unhoused individuals.
Council members are optimistic about Broadnax's potential to address the city's homelessness issue, with over 5,500 people experiencing homelessness, and to manage public safety challenges, including the search for a new police chief amid APD staffing shortages. Broadnax's compensation package includes a $470,000 base salary, a $5,000 monthly housing allowance for six months, relocation assistance, a cellphone stipend, and an executive allowance.
In addition to the police chief search and working with community leaders to address the homelessness problem in Austin, Broadnax has identified the negotiations for a long-term police contract and the passage of the next city budget as major priorities in the near term.
POLICE PAY APPROVED, WITH CONTRACT AWAITING
In February, City Council attempted to settle its ongoing turmoil with Austin Police Department (APD) by approving an ordinance extending pay and benefits for police officers, continuing from last year's provisions. The ordinance includes additional pay for longevity, field training, bilingual skills, mental health certification, and other stipends.
With the Austin Police Association (APA) refusing earlier in the year to return to the bargaining table to negotiate a new long-term contract, the ordinance also offered new incentives to encourage the APA to negotiate. Those incentives included $15,000 for cadets in future APD academy classes, and a $2,500 lump sum payment provided if an agreement is reached by July 18, payable after October 1.
Opponents of the ordinance suggested city funds should address issues like homelessness, arguing that police would lack incentive for contract negotiations if pay and benefits were already assured. Supporters, including representatives from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Austin Alliance, emphasized the critical police force shortage.
Prior to the vote, Interim Austin Police Chief Robin Henderson highlighted the department's high attrition rate and its unsustainability with the city's growth, expressing relief after the ordinance's approval. The police had been without a contract for a year following Council's rejection of a previous agreement due to pending voter resolutions on police oversight.
The contract negotiations will happen alongside the city’s search for a new police chief, to serve as a permanent replacement for interim chief Robin Henderson. The list of 32 candidates brings a variety of experience levels and draws from a handful of larger and mid-sized metros.
A list of up to half a dozen semifinalists is expected to be delivered by the search firm soon. Broadnax has said he is aiming to have an employment contract for the new chief in front of Council to approve by late July or early August.
CLIMATE INITIATIVES WEIGHED VERSUS BUDGET CONCERNS
With the city grappling with a budget deficit of over $13 million for the 2025 fiscal year, a long-term need that has received much attention is how to pay for a series of expensive environmental initiatives favored by many members of City Council.
Among the four primary categories of need:
Carbon Emissions ($455 million):
Austin Resource Recovery transfer station
Electric vehicle (EV) charging network
Weatherization and EV charging programs for low and moderate-income customers
$40 million in matching funds for federal clean energy/resiliency grants
Water Quality, Quantity, and Land ($1.1 billion):
Acquisition of 20,000 acres of land
Tree canopy assessment
Citywide green infrastructure plan
Expansion of the Austin Civilian Conservation Corps
Community Resilience ($233 million):
Decker Lake dam improvements
Climate and health investments
Community programs for fire resilience, water use reduction, and battery storage
Improvements to Falwell Lane, access to key city facilities
City Operations ($90 million):
Unified city facilities operation, maintenance, and improvement plan
Resilience, electrification, and energy/water use-reduction initiatives
Advanced decarbonization of city fleet and communitywide EV infrastructure
Council Member Ryan Alter (District 5) has emphasized the need to prioritize projects with immediate impact, especially those eligible for federal matching grants. Water conservation, land acquisition, and incentives for efficient water and electricity use are top priorities for him.
Alter and other council members support a bond package to fund land acquisition, bike network expansion, urban trails, stormwater resilience, and other projects, while some projects may be funded through utility rates or the General Fund.
City staff are developing proposals, analyzing costs, and identifying the impact on taxes, rates, and fees. A "climate fee" is being considered to provide dedicated funding for environmental projects.
While debate over the larger initiatives continues, Council is keeping attention on resolutions for lower-carbon-footprint concrete in city construction projects and urged federal action to reinstate funding for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. And in March, Council passed ambitious water reuse requirements for new developments.
ADOPTING AGRIHOODS
In May, City Council voted to target Northeast Austin for the development of "agrihoods," combining small farms with affordable homes. This initiative, driven by Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison (District 1), aims to bring agricultural land use closer to residential areas, particularly in her district.
The resolution directed the city manager to identify obstacles to agrihood development, find best practices, and explore zoning needs and potential state or federal aid. A proposed pilot program in the new Northeast Planning District will test the creation and sustainability of agrihoods.
Harper-Madison stressed the need to expedite zoning and planning processes to facilitate the development of small farms mixed with housing.
The city is losing nearly 17 acres of farmland daily to development, particularly in the Eastern Crescent region, which includes central East Austin, Colony Park, Del Valle, Dove Springs, Montopolis, and Rundberg. This region is known for its fertile soil and affordable land prices.
The initiative aligns with the city's draft five-year food plan, addressing the need for more local food production, as currently only 1% of food consumed locally is produced in Austin. Proponents emphasize the benefits of accessible fresh food in areas lacking full-service grocery stores.