ATX PULSE 8/19/24: Search Underway for Missing Diver at Lake Travis; CM Kelly Calls Budget 'Fiscal Irresponsibility'; 13 Charter Amendments Set for Nov Ballot // Schloss to be Highest Paid NCAAB Coach

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Today’s Weather: H: 103° / L: 78°. Extreme heat today (heat advisory until tonight). Latest forecast from Fox 7 Austin’s Zack Shields here.

TOP NEWS

“Downtown Austin Alliance talks budget impacts,” KXAN’s Nabil Remadna — “The Austin City Council just signed off on a $5.9 billion budget, the largest yet in city history. Some of that money will also go towards sheltering people experiencing homelessness and for programs to improve downtown safety.

Downtown Austin Alliance senior vice president Bill Brice talked with KXAN about the funding and how it will impact downtown Austin.

“Addressing problems like homelessness and public safety take coordinated systems and creative approaches,” Brice said. “Council allocated more than $2 million to shelter, to help bolster up shelter, $2 million to permanent supportive housing operations, but also $400,000 to fund outreach downtown through a pilot started by the Downtown Austin Alliance, its called HEART.”” KXAN

THE BLOTTER

~ “Austin man charged with murder after deadly North Austin shooting,” CBS Austin’s Stephanie Becerra – “Austin police arrested and charged a man with murder in connection to a deadly shooting in North Austin last month.

Police say 35-year-old Joshua Williams shot and killed 34-year-old Joshua Kozak on July 10, 2024, at approximately 3:35 p.m. at 8501 Dryfield Drive.

Surveillance video shows Williams hopping backyard fences to escape.

Court documents reveal he concealed the gun under a vehicle as he was running away.

Williams remains in the Travis County Jail facing multiple charges including first-degree murder and evading arrest.” CBS Austin

~ “Search underway after cliff diver goes missing at Lake Travis,” KVUE’s Jeff Bell – “A recovery mission is underway at Lake Travis after a swimmer went missing on Saturday evening.

First responders searched the lake for a man who jumped off a cliff into the water and didn't resurface, according to the Pedernales Fire Department and the Travis County Sheriff's Office.

Rescue teams were called to the 19500 block of Lakehurst Loop area around 5:50 p.m. Crews from Pedernales Fire Department, Travis County ESD No. 6, Travis County ESD No. 1, Austin-Travis County EMS, Travis County STAR Flight and the Travis County Sheriff's Office responded to the call.

Rescue swimmers went into the water, but after an extensive search, the investigation was turned over to the Travis County Sheriff's Office around 6:37 p.m. The TSCO Lake Patrol searched until nightfall.” KVUE

CITY HALL

~ “Austin City Council’s lone ‘no’ vote on the budget calls it ‘fiscal irresponsibility’,” KVUE’s Michael McCardel – “The Austin City Council just approved and adopted its largest budget ever at $5.9 billion. 

For context, the city of Dallas’ proposed budget is $4.97 billion. Despite its budget being a billion dollars less than Austin's Dallas has nearly 350,000 more residents. 

Austin City Council Member Mackenzie Kelly was the only person to vote against the budget. 

Kelly says $5.9 billion is a glaring example of fiscal irresponsibility at a time when residents are struggling. 

“I hear every day from constituents who tell me that they can barely afford to buy groceries at this time and that an additional tax burden on them would be problematic,” the District 6 Council Member told us on Inside Texas Politics. 

According to the Austin American Statesman, the typical homeowner will likely see a $188.02 increase in their property tax bill, while water customers’ bills will increase $74.52 annually. 

That doesn’t include a jump in energy bills and user fees for various services. 

Add it all up, and even the city of Austin says the typical ratepayer will see an increase of $361.92 a year. 

“By the napkin math that I did just this morning, the average homeowner is going to end up paying $1,137 in property taxes, which is more than $100 a month of what they’ve paid previously. That is a lot of money,” Kelly said. “ KVUE

2024

~ “Council formally authorizes November election with 13 proposed charter amendments,” Austin Monitor’s Amy Smith – “City of Austin voters will face a loaded ballot in November, with 13 charter amendments to be decided as well as a full slate of political races to elect a mayor and five City Council members.

City Council last week ordered a Nov. 5 general election, which will include a special election for the proposed amendments to the city charter. Travis County, the Austin Independent School District and other nearby jurisdictions will also have ballot items for voters to decide in addition to the presidential election.

What’s not on the city ballot was a controversial proposal to increase the number of signatures required for voter-initiated ordinances. That proposal, widely opposed by grassroots activists, failed to gain a motion when Council finalized the propositions in July.

In addition to the mayor’s race, voters will choose Council members in Districts 2, 4, 6, 7 and 10. Districts 7 and 10 are open seats, with winning candidates succeeding outgoing Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool and Council Member Alison Alter.

The proposed charter amendments, starting with the letter C, will appear on the ballot as follows:

Proposition C: Shall the City Charter be amended to clarify that the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission (ICRC) is independent of City Council control, allow the ICRC to review City districts after changes to the City’s boundary lines, provide an effective date for the redistricting plan adopted by the ICRC, increase the number of individuals in the pool of potential appointees to the ICRC, clarify the method and timing of filling vacancies on the ICRC, and allow City staff to communicate with the ICRC outside of a meeting as long as such communication is in compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act?

Proposition D: Shall the City Charter be amended to delete language providing that the City Council shall meet at least once each week?

 Proposition E: Shall the City Charter be amended to delete language requiring the City Council to determine its rules and order of business by ordinance?

 Proposition F: Shall the City Charter be amended to clarify the meaning of the term “election” and to provide that the campaign contribution and expenditure limits shall be modified each year by January 1st instead of with the adoption of the budget?

 Proposition G: Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that initiative elections and citizen-initiated charter amendment elections must be held on the next available November election date that occurs in an even-numbered year and that allows sufficient time to comply with other requirements of law?

 Proposition H: Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that a petition for an election to recall a City Council Member other than the Mayor must contain valid signatures of at least 15% of the qualified voters of the respective Council district, instead of the current 10%, and to clarify that the affidavit on the recall petition must be signed by a petition circulator rather than by a person who signed the petition?

 Proposition I: Shall the City Charter be amended to provide that the City Council appoints and removes the City Attorney?

 Proposition J: Shall the City Charter be amended so that the time frame for the automatic resignation provision for municipal court judges is the same as that provided in the Texas Constitution for other officials?

 Proposition K: Shall the City Charter be amended to ensure that City financial practices are consistent with generally accepted accounting principles, reflect current practices for appropriations for department-level work programs, and reflect best practices in contract execution authority and competitive bidding procedures consistent with state law for local government procurement, and also be amended to increase the annual amount of contracted expenditures the City Manager may approve without Council approval?

 Proposition L: Shall the City Charter be amended to remove appointees and employees of the office of the City Auditor from the classified civil service?

 Proposition M: Shall the City Charter be amended to remove the requirement that an individual must submit an affidavit to provide notice to the City of a claim of death, personal injury, or damaged or destroyed property, and to align the claim notice deadline with state law?

 Proposition N: Shall the City Charter be amended to make non-substantive corrections of typographical errors, punctuation, and sentence structure, and to change or remove language that is moot or unenforceable because it has been superseded by state law or by a final court order?

 Proposition O: Shall the City Charter be amended to remove the restriction that officeholders must wait until after leaving office in order to solicit and accept political contributions to pay unpaid campaign expenses or to reimburse campaign expenditures made from personal funds and to impose contribution limits on such officeholders?

Proposition O includes language amended by Pool to ensure that the contribution limits that apply to candidates would also apply to officeholders who raise funds to pay off campaign debt while in office.

The last day to register to vote is Oct. 7. Early voting is set for Oct. 21-Nov. 1.” Austin Monitor

OTHER NEWS

~ “West Lake Hills approves $1.3 million bid for drainage, paving projects,” Community Impact Austin’s Kameryn Griesser – “Over $1.3 million in road improvements is planned for West Lake Hills this fall.

At an Aug. 14 meeting, the city approved a contract with Alpha Paving to complete over a dozen paving and drainage projects as part of the 2023-24 street maintenance plan.

The details

The projects span throughout the city, with a special focus on residential areas with substandard roads.

According to city documents, improvements include the following:

• Mill and overlay: grinds up existing asphalt and replaces it with new pavement

• Crack seal: fills up cracks in the road’s surface

• Surface preservation: treatment applied to the road to prevent or slow further deterioration

A handful of projects also involve the improvement of stormwater drainage systems to prevent large puddles and pooling water, said Jennifer Bills, the director of building and development services.

The funding

The street maintenance plan is funded through the city’s street maintenance sales tax, a 0.5% tax applied to all taxable purchases made in the city, according to the city’s website. The tax was approved by voters in 2021 and will need to be reapproved in 2025 to stay in effect.

Prior to the tax, the city had no dedicated revenue system in place to consistently fund road maintenance, according to previous Community Impact reporting.

The street maintenance plan is separate from the $11.8 million bond package approved in 2021, which includes larger road projects within the city.” Community Impact

~ “New ‘first of its kind’ veteran resource hub to open soon in Dripping Springs,” KXAN’s Sam Stark – “Kathryn Chandler said after moving to Dripping Springs, she noticed a lack of spaces for veterans to meet and connect. 

“My father being a Vietnam veteran, I was like, ‘Let’s do this,’” she said, “I mean, we owe this to these guys.” 

She and others in the veteran community started fundraising for the Patriots’ Hall of Dripping Springs five years ago. Now, after raising $8.4 million, it is nearing completion. 

“This community stepped up and funded this,” Chandler said. “[Veterans] are so cherished here. We just want to give them all the tools they need.” 

And after its ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 3, veterans in Dripping Springs will have access to many new tools at the Patriots’ Hall of Dripping Springs. 

Chandler said the facility is intended to support the military-to-civilian transition and provide education, employment opportunities, camaraderie and mental health support.” KXAN

SPORTS

~ TEXAS BASEBALL: “Jim Schlossnagle contract details: Big third year will make Texas Longhorns skipper highest-paid NCAA baseball coach,” KXAN’s Billy Gates — “Once Jim Schlossnagle hits the third year of his proposed contract as the Texas Longhorns head baseball coach, he’ll become the highest-paid coach on the diamond in the entire country.

According to the agenda book for the upcoming University of Texas System Board of Regents meeting Aug. 21-22, Schlossnagle will make a relatively modest $1 million base salary for the first two years of his seven-year contract and make a massive leap to $2.86 million to start the third year. That will stay flat through the end of his contract on June 30, 2031.

He’ll make less of a base salary in his first two seasons at Texas than at Texas A&M, where he made $1.3 million in his first two years with the Aggies, with a $500,000 raise in his third year. …

If Schlossnagle hits all of his incentive bonuses, it’ll add $500,000 to his pay. If the Longhorns win the Men’s College World Series under his watch, he’ll pocket an extra $300,000 and if he’s named the SEC coach of the year he gets an extra $50,000. If he wins national coach of the year, he’ll get another $50,000. The same bonus amount goes for each regular season conference title and conference tournament title.” KXAN

AUSTIN CULTURE

~ BAKERY: ”One of Austin’s top pastry chefs finally opens creative solo bakeshop” Culture Map Austin

WHAT TO DO TONIGHT

~ LIVE MUSIC: Barry Manilow: The Last Austin Concert (Moody Center). Doors at 6pm, show at 7pm. Tix $19 and up here.

~ LIVE MUSIC: Russell Crowe’s Indoor Garden Party with the Gentlemen Barbers and Lorraine O’Reilly. Stubb’s (downtown). Doors at 7pm. Limited tix here.

COOL JOB ALERT

~ Legislative Director: State Rep. Gina Honjosa (D-Austin). Salary commensurate with experience. Info / apply here.