Tag Archives: Austin City Council

The Waller Creek Debacle – Why Can’t The City Talk To State Officials?

3 Replies

By Bill Oakey – June 18, 2014

This morning we awoke to this cheerful news from the Austin American-Statesman, regarding the botched location of the Waller Creek intake facility:

“A major design flaw in the city of Austin’s $149 million Waller Creek Tunnel project could cost between $15 million and $45 million to fix and delay part of the project by one to four years.”

A few weeks ago the City Council was informed that this facility was being constructed in a corridor that blocks a view of the State Capitol building that is prohibited by State law.  Their initial reaction was to issue a legal contract for up to $1.8 million, under the bizarre assumption that the City could possibly blame this problem on the engineers and contractors working on the project.  And they assumed the worse case scenario on correcting the problem – that the facility would have to be redesigned.

This morning the Statesman reported that the City’s Planning Commission saw no conflict with the Capitol view restrictions at a 2011 meeting when the facility was being permitted.  And it turns out there is already an existing State building and a tree that blocks the Capitol view in question.   None of this information was presented to the City Council, at least not in public session, when they sprang for the $1.8 million legal contract.

Now It’s Time for the City to Work With State Officials

It shouldn’t seem like too much of a stretch that the City and State officials could get together quickly and sort out this fiasco.  We were told when this first came up that waiting until January for the Legislature to convene was not a good option.  Well, would waiting one to four years and spending between $15 million and $45 million to redesign the intake facility be a better plan?

Perhaps it would in the view or our current City Manager.  But now the City Council has an opportunity to step in and take control of the situation.  Perhaps even a few of us citizens could write to our State Representatives and our State Senator and ask them for some help.  This thing should have never been allowed to get so far out of hand.  If the State Library and Archives building and a big oak tree are already in the same Capitol view corridor, then isn’t there some way that State officials could help our dysfunctional City staff here?

It will be interesting to see what the City Council does next.  Here’s a question.  Why wasn’t the City Planning Commission advised of the Capitol view obstruction during the permitting process?  And even last month when the City Council heard about it, why did they hire expensive lawyers instead of trying to work things out with a few phone calls and a couple of meetings with State officials?  If Legislative approval is required for an exemption, why not discuss the possibility and assess the situation before incurring millions of dollars of taxpayer expense?

Let’s Support Eliza May For City Council District 8

Leave a reply

By Bill Oakey – June 16, 2014

As many of you may know, I am privileged to serve as the Campaign Treasurer for Eliza May, who is running for Austin City Council in District 8. We need Eliza May on Council. Here is why I am asking you to support Eliza.

Eliza has a distinguished history of public service, dating back over 25 years to her days as a Legislative Aide.  She is the person who helped me the most on the Over-65 School Tax Freeze and the Truth In Taxation bills that passed in the Legislature.  I have always admired her ability to tackle complex affordability issues with dedication and attention to details.

Over the years since then, she has continued to serve in many positions with integrity and distinction, including her stint as President of the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She chaired the A.I.S.D. Bond Oversight Committee where she ensured that the money approved was spent on projects approved by the voters.

With our new 10-1 City Council structure, we are going to need candidates with the experience and vision to hit the ground running next January.  Eliza has committed to supporting several important affordability reforms, including the ones below followed by her thoughtful comments.

– A general homestead exemption for Austin homeowners.  “A homestead exemption would provide immediate tax relief.  We need to take action as soon as possible to help allow people to stay in their homes.  The City Council has the same authority as the County to provide a homestead exemption.  It can be phased in over a few years, to ease the transition for the City Budget.”

– A comprehensive audit of all City Departments.  “We need to find ways to make City offices run more efficiently.   And we can learn from other Texas cities how to make improvements.  My goal is to put more resources where we need them and cut back in areas where there is waste or duplication.”

– Better transparency and accountability for the taxpayers.  “The public deserves to know what the City is adding to the budget and how much it will cost.  It’s time to stop hiding behind the tax rate when tax appraisals are rising.  We need to inform taxpayers what the true percentage of a tax increase would be, and lower the rate when necessary to keep Austin more affordability.”

-Make City Hall more open for citizen participation.  “Citizens should not have to wait up to 6 hours to speak on agenda items and public hearings.  We must find a way to schedule topics closer to the actual time they will be heard, and allow people to come and speak after normal working hours.”

I encourage you to do three things to help elect Eliza:

1. Join her campaign and learn more about Eliza May on the website.

2. Spread the word to your friends in District 8 and on Facebook and Twitter that Eliza May needs our support!

3. DONATE to the campaign. Your early investment will make it possible to for our campaign to not only have the necessary resources to deliver our message of change and engage the residents in our community, but also to provide the support needed to address the issues our community faces. Austin is changing rapidly and these changes will affect the quality of life in District 8.

Thank you for your action in supporting Eliza May today.

Sincerely,

Bill Oakey, Treasurer

Eliza May for Austin City Council, District 8

@Elizamaydist8  Facebook.com/Elizamayforaustin elizamayforaustin.com

Victory At City Hall For Water Utility Ratepayers!

2 Replies

By Bill Oakey – June 12, 2014

Today the City Council voted unanimously not to give away $1.4 million in fee waivers that would have impacted the Water Utility.  This is excellent news, and it shows that grass roots action can make a difference.

Thanks to all of you who helped by sending emails to the City Council.  Our voices were heard!

We still have a lot of work ahead of us on the affordability battlefront.

Stay tuned…

Who Do You Know That Supports The Highland Mall To Riverside Rail Plan?

4 Replies

By Bill Oakey – June 6, 2014

Quick question – How many friends, neighbors and acquaintances do you know that plan to vote for the Highland Mall to Riverside urban rail bonds in November?

What was that…say again…?

Try asking that question the next time you are at a restaurant, a backyard gathering, a party, or a civic function.  The first thing you might hear is that they haven’t really thought enough about it.  Or, you might hear that they need to wait and see what the City Council decides to put on the ballot.

What you probably will not hear is a resounding chorus of support for the proposed rail plan and the staggering stair steps of annual property tax increases that come along with it.  (The Austin American-Statesman reported that the tax bite could raise our property taxes by 15% over the next six years).

I’ve been to enough public events over the past year to know that the kind of broad support needed to pass the rail bonds is simply not there.  The core voters who turn out for every Austin election do not have the “yes word” on their lips when the subject comes up.

What’s even more telling is how seldom the subject comes up at all.

We all hear a lot about traffic and transportation, and how Austin needs to find a way to deal with it.  But in all my discussions with various City Council candidates for the districts and the mayor’s race, not a single one has voluntarily brought up the Highland Mall to Riverside rail plan or told me that they were clamoring for it to pass.

And I will go another step further.  I’ve had numerous appointments with current City Council members on affordability issues since last year.  Not a single one of them has urged me to support the urban rail plan.  This tells me that at least some of them probably dread the fact that they are up against an August deadline to make a decision on what to put on the November ballot.  I strongly suspect that several Council members toss and turn at night, wishing that the issue would simply go away.  With the possible exception of Mayor Lee Leffingwell.

So, Where Does That Leave Austin After The Rail Bonds Fail?

That will be the subject of my blog posting on Monday.  You might be very surprised at the positive outcome that I will predict.

Huge Rate Increase Could Cripple Austin’s Water Utility

1 Reply

By Bill Oakey – May 21, 2014

If you have been recently stunned by the tax appraisal notice on your house, how would you feel about a 30% increase in your water rates next year?  And then, how about a new “drought fee” on top of that base rate increase?  As hard as that sounds to swallow, it is actually possible unless the City Council listens to citizen appeals to take other measures to help the Water Utility.

On May 7th, the Austin American-Statesman published a sobering article that details the scenarios for what seems like unimaginable rate shock coming to City water customers.

“The utility plans to increase its base water rates next year, resulting in a monthly bill of $49.12 for the typical homeowner, up from $38.35 this year — a 30 percent jump.”

And that’s just the beginning.  While you are reading this, a new committee is reviewing options for calculating the new “drought fee” that would accompany the base rate increase.  Below are the five options being considered.  Be sure to keep reading to the end, because there are some ways that the City can avoid clobbering the ratepayers with such punitive and onerous rates.

Options for the Proposed Drought Fee

Option 1

Fee of $1 (Stage 3) or $2.75 (Stage 4) for every 1,000 gallons that any customer (a home or business) uses.

Fee for typical homeowner (who uses 7,000 gallons a month): $7 (Stage 3) or $19.25 (Stage 4)

Total water bill: $56.12 (Stage 3) or $68.37 (Stage 4)

Option 2

Different fees for each type of customer (single-family homes, apartment complexes, smaller businesses and larger companies/agencies) for every 1,000 gallons used.

Fee for typical homeowner: $5.18 (Stage 3) or $18.41 (Stage 4)

Total water bill: $54.30 (Stage 3) or $67.53 (Stage 4)

Option 3

Similar to Dallas’ program. For residential customers, fee would kick in only if they use more than 11,000 gallons per month. All nonresidential customers would pay a fee regardless of how much water they use.

Fee for typical homeowner: $0 (Stage 3 or Stage 4)

Total water bill: $49.12 (Stage 3 or Stage 4)

Option 4

Different fees for homes and businesses; fees also based on amount of water used.

Fee for typical homeowner: $5 (Stage 3) or $22.50 (Stage 4)

Total water bill: $54.12 (Stage 3) or $71.62 (Stage 4)

Option 5

Different, flat fee for each type of customer (single-family homes, apartment complexes, smaller businesses and larger companies/agencies).

Fee for typical homeowner in Stage 3: $4 (Stage 3) or $12 (Stage 4)

Total water bill: $53.12 (Stage 3) or $61.12 (Stage 4)

How Can the City Help the Water Utility and Avoid the Devastating Rate Shock?

Earlier this year, the City announced that there was a $14.2 million budget surplus in the General Fund.  Readers of this blog rallied to the defense of taxpayers and convinced the City Council not to spend this surplus.  I have made a proposal to the City Council, asking them to transfer the budget surplus to the Water Utility to help hold down any forthcoming rate increase.  (See the previous blog entry, “A Possible Breakthrough for the City’s $14.2 Million Budget Surplus.”)

In addition, the budget surplus should be even higher by the time the City Council begins budget deliberations early next month.  I have asked the Council to itemize the large amount of leftover funds from 900 unfilled staff positions that were funded in the current year’s budget.  Unless most of those positions have been filled since early January, then the City should have an additional surplus that could be transferred to the Water Utility.  For long-term accountability to the taxpayers, I have recommended that the City follow the policies of other cities, such as Honolulu and Portland.  These cities do not allow individual departments to stockpile large amounts of money from unfilled positions.  The danger is that the money can easily be spent for other projects.  We need better oversight of taxpayer money, and the City Council needs to exercise its authority over the budget process.

The final option that the City can use to help the Water Utility is to sell some unused and unneeded land that the was purchased by the utility.  Why should ratepayers be saddled with huge rate increases, while the hot summer wind blows over many acres of unused property that the City could sell for a handsome profit?

How Does the Fitch Bond Rating Service Feel About Our Water Rates?

The Fitch Bond Rating Service has made their position clear in their May 19th review of the Water Utility’s bonds.  Below is an excerpt from their report:

DECLINING RATE AFFORDABILITY

“Fitch considers AWU’s combined water and wastewater rates somewhat high relative to income levels of city residents, and in comparison to other large urban systems. Although rate hikes on a combined percentage basis have been fairly modest over the last several years, the city’s total monthly residential bill currently amounts to about $88, equal to an above average 2.1% of median household income.”

“The Rating Outlook for the series 2014 bonds and outstanding parity water and wastewater revenue bonds is revised to Negative from Stable.”

Now, we just have to wonder…Is anybody down there at City Hall listening…?

City Council To Host Citizens Forum – Saturday May 31st

1 Reply

By Bill Oakey – May 20, 2014

Austin taxpayers have a rare opportunity to let their voices be heard at a special Citizens Forum hosted by the City Council.  We are only about 10 days away from the start of Budget Season.  So, we need to let them know that “holding the line” does not mean keeping the tax rate within a fraction of a penny of where it is now.  We need full accountability on what the true budget surplus is, including the original $14.2 million plus the money left over from all those vacant staff positions.  And we should ask them to use that surplus to cover the revenue shortfall in the Water Utility – instead of passing a gigantic rate increase that would do nothing to encourage conservation.

My suggestion is to bring your tax appraisal notices to the forum.  Bring your utility bills and your property tax bills.  Let the City Council know that “business as usual” will not be tolerated in the upcoming budget.

We have Council Member Kathie Tovo to thank as the sponsor of this Citizens Forum.  Last month, she was the recipient of the AustinAffordability.com “Above and Beyond” award.   Below you will see her picture with the award, followed by the official announcement of the Saturday forum.  You and your neighbors and friends can contact the City Clerk’s office (512-974-2210), and make plans to fill the Council Chambers on May 31st with a resounding message on affordability.  Let’s tell them with a unified voice that the current spending path is simply not sustainable.

Kathie Tovo With "Above and Beyond" Award

Kathie Tovo With “Above and Beyond” Award

CITY COUNCIL TO HOST CITIZEN FORUM SATURDAY, MAY 31

Forum will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 31, 2014.

The Austin City Council will host a three-hour Citizens Forum, 9 a.m. Saturday, May 31, 2014, at Austin City Hall (301 W. Second St.).

Council invites the community to come and speak directly about any topic or issue they feel the Council needs to hear about or address.

“City Hall and city government should be accessible to everyone,” said Council Member Kathie Tovo. “Austinites with daytime jobs and those with children cannot always make it Downtown during the week to make their voices heard. I’m committed to creating opportunities for everyone to be able to address the Council on issues important to them.”

Tovo’s co-sponsors agree that having a weekend meeting could be more accessible for some people who cannot attend the regular Thursday Council sessions.

“We recognize there is a need for alternative opportunities for all constituents of Austin to be able to be heard by their City representatives, and I look forward to hearing from new voices as a result of this Citizens Forum,” Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole said.

“We all recognize that attending Council meetings on Thursdays isn’t possible for everyone who works and has a family, but might want to come speak on an issue,” Council Member Mike Martinez said. “We should be taking steps like this to ensure that every citizen has the opportunity to address Council and make their voices heard.”

There are two ways residents can sign up to speak:

  • General Citizen Communication:  There are 20 slots available under General Citizen Communication and require registration in advance of the meeting. Sign up begins May 9 either by contacting the City Clerk’s office at (512) 974-2210, in-person at City Hall or by email at citizens.communication@austintexas.gov. Pre-registration closes May 23. These registrations will be posted on the agenda and citizens will be asked to provide a topic in advance to allow Council to engage in a full discussion of the topic. The same rules regarding registration during regular council meetings apply.
  • Open Citizens’ Communication: Participants may register using the City’s Speaker Sign-up kiosks located in the lobby of City Hall.  Participants may also register in person beginning at Noon on Wednesday, May 28 through the day of the forum. The number of speakers is limited by the noon meeting deadline or until all the speakers have spoken. Council will only be able to listen to these topics and not engage in a dialogue with the citizens.

For both General Citizen Communications and Open Citizens’ Communications, speakers have three minutes, and no time can be donated to be used by someone else.

Travel Resources:

The address for City Hall is 301 W. Second Street.  The following Cap Metro routes offer downtown service: 3, 4, 17, 22 or 801. Find schedules and complete route information at capmetro.org or by calling 512-474-1200. Get step-by-step travel directions for using Capital Metro routes with Trip Planner.

A Major Challenge For The Austin City Council: It’s Time To Double Down On Affordability

1 Reply

By Bill Oakey – May 11, 2014

The new City Council candidates have begun talking themselves and hearing from citizens about fresh ideas, bold reforms, and a new perspective that comes with district representation.  But affordability is one issue that should not be kept on ice until next January when the new Council gets sworn into office.

Many indications have come to light that the players in the upcoming budget cycle are not on track to deliver meaningful affordability-related results.  Below you will see the problems.  We need action on both short term and longer term efforts.

The City Manager Does Not “Get” Affordability

City Manager, Marc Ott, sent a memo to “Department Directors” this past January 10th.  Entitled, “FY 2015 Budget Planning,” some of its pronouncements do not bode well for taxpayers.  Direct quotes from the memo are included, along with my observations.

1. “In light of this renewed focus on affordability, we will institute new guidelines for the submission of unmet service demands. For the fiscal year 2015 budget cycle, unmet service demand requests in the General Fund will be limited to those that can be funded by new or increased fees or those that are of such high priority that your department would recommend reallocating existing resources to address them.”

Observation – The only type of fee that would help the typical taxpayer would be a user fee that is only paid by the person using a particular service.  The memo does not specifically address this type of “user fees.”  But every standard utility charge and every single add-on fee paid by Austin utility ratepayers has been jacked up for the upcoming budget in the Financial Forecast released by the City on May 8th.  (See Page 8).  These increases total up to $11.03 per month for a “typical homeowner.”

2. The City Manager continues to flaunt the highly misleading use of the term “tax rate” to refer to changes in your property taxes.  In this memo, he took the added step of dressing up his message in all capital letters:

“Accordingly, I have but one pronouncement for next year’s budget: NO INCREASE IN THE PROPERTY TAX RATE.”

Observation – The City Manager knows DARNED WELL that your property taxes will go up significantly if your tax appraisal went up a lot.  That’s true even if the tax rate stays the same, or goes down 7/10 of a cent, as the latest City Financial Forecast now suggests.  The overall taxable value of Travis County residential property went up an estimated 8%, as reported by the Austin American-Statesman.  Many homeowners will hit the 10% appraisal cap.

3. The January memo addresses the issue of hundreds of staff vacancies.

“As of the end of December, there were more than 900 vacant non-uniformed positions across City departments. This represents a City-wide civilian vacancy rate of 9.7%.”

Observation – This problem tends to continue on a year-round basis.  Last year on August 1st, the Austin Business Journal reported that the City had 934 vacancies, with only 76 of them advertised to be filled.  The implications of these perpetually unfilled positions are huge.  All staff positions, or FTE’s as they are officially called, are funded by the annual budget.  If hundreds of them go unfilled, what happens to the money that was budgeted for them?  How many of them could be cut, so that taxes could be lowered?

In April of 2013, the City Council of Honolulu put a stop to the staff practice of controlling millions of dalliers for vacant positions.  Council Member Ann Kobayashi took action to move the funds to a provisional account, as she explained to KITV.  “So it doesn’t become like a slush fund for the departments, and it’ll be even more transparent,” said Kobayashi. “The taxpayer can see what vacant positions have been filled, and where the money is.”

How Can the City Council Double Down on Affordability?

Here are some proposals that should be considered by the current City Council:

1. Transfer this year’s $14 million budget surplus to the Water Utility.  This could help hold down any potential rate increase.  The small rate increase outlined in the City’s Financial Forecast mentioned above is just the tip of the iceberg.  A new Joint Committee On Austin Water Utility’s Financial Plan is hard at work reviewing a series of rate structure changes that will dramatically increase water rates.  Much of the need is attributed to the severe drought and the high debt cost of the poorly timed and ill advised Water Treatment Plant #4.  See my previous blog entry, “A Possible Breakthrough for the City’s $14 Million Budget Surplus.”

2. Take action on Council Member Kathie Tovo’s resolution to review special event fee waivers and consider creating a new Special Events Fund.  This would relieve taxpayers from the burden of subsidizing large public events promoted by for-profit companies.  See my previous blog entry, “Should the City Wave Goodbye to Special Event Fee Waivers?”

3. Create a new policy to strictly regulate all other City fee waivers, including those for construction, permitting, and anything else.  Fee waivers should become the exception rather than the rule, with an eye toward saving money for the taxpayers.  Full transparency on the City website for all fee waivers granted should also be part of this reform.  The first step would be to ask the City Manager for a complete list and dollar amount of all fee waivers given for the past 24 months.  See my previous blog entry, “Why Does the City Give Away Millions of Dollars in Fee Waivers?”

4. Follow the Honolulu model to establish a centralized provisional fund for staff vacancies.  In Austin, a designated staff official could handle disbursements from a provisional account, and report regularly to the City Council’s Audit and Finance Committee.  Full transparency to the taxpayers should be provided on the City website.

5. The City Council should ask for a full accounting from each City department with unfilled positions, to determine how or whether any of the budgeted funds for those positions has been spent.  The unfilled positions should be reviewed for possible cuts to help the taxpayers.  Any unspent funds should be remitted back to the General Fund or to a centralized fund that can be overseen by the City Manager and City Council until the upcoming budget process is complete.

6. The City should conduct a review of all unused and unneeded City-owned land.  These real estate holdings should be considered for possible sale, so that the citizens can realize some value from them.  The proceeds can be used to fund City services and City enterprises, thus holding down taxes and utility rate increases.  Shoring up the financial positions of our reserve funds and our enterprise funds could improve our bond ratings and lower the interest payments on our debt.

7. Finally, the City Council should consider holding one or more Affordability Work Sessions to consider these and other ideas for bringing meaningful tax, utility and fee relief to homeowners, renters and businesses.  Any long-term affordability strategies that Council Members, staff members, and other citizens in the community can put forth now will go a long way towards helping the new Mayor and City Council that takes office early next year.

Does Anybody Know a Rocket Scientist? We May Need Their Help

2 Replies

By Bill Oakey – May 7, 2014

Nobody ever said that fighting City Hall was easy.  I just happen to be bold and / or crazy enough to try.  The victories are few, but very sweet.

This time I’m asking for a little help – from a rocket scientist.

Here’s the deal.  One of my proposed reforms has languished for nearly 30 years.  Everybody should get one proud notch on his belt in a lifetime.  So, here’s how I’d like to earn mine.

Win a reform of the City Council agenda process, so that citizens don’t have to wait six hours to speak at public hearings.

I lost that battle in 1987.  But I stood my ground and fought valiantly, sitting in the Council chambers waiting hours for my turn to speak on the proposal.  The Metro section headline in the next morning’s paper read, “Agenda Reform Proponent Kept Waiting.”

And I’m still waiting, nearly 30 years later.

So, I’m ready to call in a rocket scientist for help.  Perhaps she could measure the trajectory of each weary citizen as they navigate the voyage to and from the City Hall restrooms.  Or, she could track the velocity of the motorized wheelchairs that disabled citizens move about during their extended stays into the wee morning hours.

Maybe she could even stand beside me and help propel me to my proudest City Hall victory of a lifetime.  It would indeed be a sweet victory.  Not really for me, but for the next generation of City Hall visitors who want to participate in making Austin the best place to live.