Another Day, Another Hearing

In a long day dominated by the second public budget hearing and a lengthy but inconclusive “Concept” conversation, City Council set the "maximum” property tax rate – at the new rollback rate of .4609 – approved an airport lease … and that was the day’s work.

Budget illustration for Concept Menu (Courtesy of City of Austin)

Somewhere around 7pm, Council decided to set a “hard stop” for the day’s discussions at 8pm, and more or less managed to do so (they adjourned just about 8:15). The day’s public budget hearing (the first was held Aug. 20) adjourned a few minutes after 4pm, so they stayed four hours to discuss – but not yet winnow – the “Concept Menu” on which they’ve listed millions in potential increases, cuts, or reconfigurations of the proposed budget. Some members were still trying to comprehend the meaning of the newly certified, burgeoning tax roll: Wednesday’s announcement ("Found Money," Aug. 26) that an additional $4.9 billion in unanticipated property value meant that not only could the property tax rate decline, but actual tax bills as well, while still meeting the city’s projected FY2016 expenses.

No decisions were made – and indeed Mayor Steve Adler began by suggesting no decisions be made until next week – so the discussion moved through rough categories of the proposals listed on the Concept Menu, and members suggested where they might stand on this or that category. (After a couple of hours of desultory conversation, District 2 Council Member Delia Garza lamented that she still had “no idea” where people stood on most of the proposals.)

One reason for that uncertainty is that the Concept Menu lists both apples and oranges – that is, serious proposals that will be closely considered and others which Council members have listed largely because of constituent requests or “for discussion purposes” only. It’s not yet clear which is which. Elsewhere it’s been reported that the list, for example, could cost in excess of $70 million or cut more than $90 million – but those calculations obscure the actual situation, which is that the proposals differ widely in intention and earnestness.

Of the serious list:

• Employee wages: A majority of Council appeared to support a pay raise for civilian employees (public safety employee pay is determined by contract), although its precise size and structure remain in doubt, and the same situation occurs with living wage and benefits for part-time/temp employees;

• EMS work week: Sentiment seemed to support a 42-hour work week (meaning 15 additional FTE’s) – if fully enacted, estimated cost: $1.7 million;

• APD body cameras: There is also substantial support for body cameras for police officers on patrol, but the potential costs (at least $7 million for the first year) are daunting;

• Health and Human Services: Strong support for increased funding, less certain is the $6.7 million request from HHS nonprofits; much depends on other expenses.

That’s a highly selective list, but we should know more on Tuesday, when Council’s "work session" agenda is also posted for potential action on the Concept Menu. Several members said they would be spending the weekend trying to firm up their various proposals and perspectives.

In the accomplished official business, in addition to granting a long-contemplated and much-dithered airport lease for an expanded South Terminal (three additional gates), Council set the maximum tax rate (higher than which they will not go) at 46.09 cents per $100 valuation (aka the “rollback” rate, beyond which would require a public rollback election). That’s the traditional practice, in order not to tie Council’s hands before actually making budgetary decisions, but it passed only 8-3. D6 CM Don Zimmerman, D8 CM Ellen Troxclair, and D10 CM Sheri Gallo attempted to set the maximum rate at what is now the city manager’s “proposed” rate – that is, what would fund the budget as currently drafted, without further amendments – and that motion failed as well, 8-3.

Those three CM's have previously indicated a preference for additional reductions; it seems reasonable to anticipate quite a few more 8-3 votes, as budget deliberations proceed.

City Council next meets Tuesday, 9am, for what is nominally a budget “work session,” but along with a couple of miscellaneous items, the “concept list” is posted for possible action. The public budget hearings are closed. For more on the budget deliberations, follow the Daily News and see next week's print edition.