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BG Reads 2.29.2024

BG Reads 2.29.2024

🗞️ Bingham Group Reads - February 29, 2024

February 29, 2024

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Bingham Group Reads

Presented by:

February 29, 2024

Today's BG Reads include:

🟣 Budget ‘headwinds’ could force tough Council decisions headed into summer

🟣 The YIMBYs come to town, and City Council joins them

🟣 New Austin workforce academy to support $25B in infrastructure improvements

Read on!

Click on the BG Logo for this week’s Austin public meeting times and agendas.

[CITY HALL]

The Austin City Council convenes at 10AM for its Regular Meeting.

[BINGHAM GROUP]

✅ BG Blog - City of Austin org chart red line (as of 2/9/2024)

✅ BG Podcast EP. 239 - On this episode we wrap up the week of February 19, 2024 in Austin politics, and discuss the week ahead.

Topics include:

🟣 The City of Austin cancels $2million review of Austin's homeless strategy

🟣 Austin Council Meeting (2.29.2024) items of note

LISTEN ON: SoundCloud, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

Budget ‘headwinds’ could force tough Council decisions headed into summer (Austin Monitor)

City Council members received an early look at some of the difficult budget decisions they could face this summer thanks to an expected decline in sales tax revenue and the end of federal funding related to the American Rescue Plan Act.

The presentation from budget and finance staff at Tuesday’s work session was also a preview of the midyear budget review and five-year forecast that Council will receive in March.

City CFO Ed Van Eenoo said the 4 percent sales tax growth the city baked into this year’s budget could lead to a shortfall of around $15 million if the current trend of flat sales taxes continue through the end of the budget year. He also noted that Council will have to begin deciding how to adjust service levels in a number of departments and programs once the remainder of the $188 million received through ARPA is spent by the end of 2026.

Interim City Manager Jesús Garza noted the combination of a slowdown in sales tax growth after years of double-digit increases and the falloff in federal aid in some ways returns the city to a pre-Covid financial climate.

“ARPA has provided a distortion of what we can afford in terms of a run rate,” he said. “If we have an ability to spend $20 million on a program because that’s in our run rate, it’s in our base budget. But ARPA came in and we added $40 million to that … when that $40 million goes away, all you can afford is $20 million.”… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Watch the Work Session Discussion (Item B2) Here.

Austin City Council clears way for future redevelopment of The Domain (Community Impact)

As The Domain pushes forward with multi-million dollar renovation projects to update its building facades and outdoor spaces, action taken by Austin City Council in February will allow the future redevelopment of roughly 46.7 acres in the shopping center.City Council approved a rezoning development request on Feb. 15 allowing taller, denser buildings within The Domain. The change is expected to allow for additional shopping, residential, hotel, industrial and office space in the future for portions of the center, according to city documents.

The recent amendment does not impact condominium areas within the shopping center, city documents show... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

New Austin workforce academy to support $25B in infrastructure improvements (Austin Business Journal)

As Austin preps for more planes, trains and automobiles, city leaders and industry professionals aim to establish a workforce academy to ensure Austinites will be equipped to meet the demands of generational improvements — such as the I-35 revamp and a new train system — in the years ahead.

City Council is set to vote on a resolution on March 7 that would direct staff to plan the creation of the new workforce development program and maximize Austin’s ability to secure federal funding to support the initiative. The effort comes as $25 billion is set to be invested in infrastructure projects throughout the city in the coming years.

The new jobs created through the program would ensure that more of the funds invested in this coming wave of big projects — including a 10-mile light rail route, expanded gates and a new concourse at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and the transformation of I-35 through the center of the city — will remain within Austin's economy.

The effort is described as a dual-bladed strategy aimed at supporting the city's planned improvement projects while uplifting locals and connecting them with stable jobs. The new academy would focus on skilled trades, including electrical work, plumbing and carpentry, along with professional drivers for the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

See, Item 20 on Council’s 3.7.2024 Agenda

The YIMBYs come to town, and City Council joins them (Austin Chronicle)

Politics around housing in Austin have undeniably shifted over the past year – away from policies that restrict new housing units and toward more liberal approaches that allow the market to produce more supply.

And this week brought a new signifier of that shift: the large presence of Austin’s City Council at YIMBYtown 2024, the annual gathering of pro-housing advocates, wonks, and elected officials from across the nation that was held Feb. 26-27 on the University of Texas campus. Yes in My Backyard is not just a movement to push for more housing in cities across the United States – it is a movement founded expressly to push back against the Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) ideology that has dominated housing policy in American cities for generations.

It’s noteworthy that seven Council members and the mayor decided to participate – CMs Natasha Harper-Madison, Vanessa Fuentes, Chito Vela, Ryan Alter, Leslie Pool, Paige Ellis, Zo Qadri, and Mayor Kirk Watson (along with staffers from various Council offices). It’s difficult to imagine many Council members – let alone a majority of them – attending a YIMBYtown conference even five years ago when the 2018 Council class was heralded as the most pro-housing ever, but neighborhood and homeowners associations still had outsized influence on land use policy... (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[TEXAS NEWS]

“I’ve made no secret of my intentions”: Cornyn poised to launch bid to succeed McConnell as Senate GOP leader (Texas Tribune)

This could be John Cornyn’s moment.

After years serving among the top — but not the very top — of Senate Republican leadership, Texas’ senior senator has a chance at the job he has long wanted: Senate Republican leader. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell announced his plans to retire from the post Wednesday after 17 years leading his party.

Cornyn hasn’t formally announced that he’ll run for the post, but he has frequently hinted at his desire to succeed McConnell. When asked about his plans Wednesday, Cornyn said: “I think today is about Mitch McConnell, but I've made no secret of my intentions.”

When asked when he thinks he would announce a run, Cornyn merely grinned… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Flames menace multiple small towns as Texas wildfire grows (Politico)

A cluster of wildfires scorched the Texas Panhandle on Wednesday, including a blaze that grew into one of the largest in state history, as flames moved with alarming speed and blackened the landscape across a vast stretch of small towns and cattle ranches.

An 83-year-old grandmother from the tiny town of Stinnett was the lone confirmed fatality. However, authorities have yet to make a thorough search for victims and have warned the damage to some communities is extensive.

Known as the Smokehouse Creek Fire, the largest blaze expanded to more than 1,300 square miles and jumped into parts of neighboring Oklahoma. It is now larger than the state of Rhode Island, and the Texas A&M Forest Service said the flames were only about 3% contained.

“I believe the fire will grow before it gets fully contained,” said Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

The largest fire recorded in state history was the 2006 East Amarillo Complex fire, which burned about 1,400 square miles and resulted in 13 deaths… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Party-switching Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson touts Republican principles on Ted Cruz podcast (Dallas Morning News)

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson says leaving his church would have caused less consternation than his switch last year from Democrat to Republican, a political conversion that rattled relatives, friends and former allies.

“I had more panicked phone calls from people genuinely concerned about what I was doing and why, how I could do this, than I would have gotten if I’d said I just don’t think I’m into this Jesus thing anymore,” Johnson said Monday during a guest appearance on the podcast of U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

Johnson announced his switch in September with a Wall Street Journal op-ed in which he argued the country’s urban centers would be best served by the kind of law-and-order, fiscally conservative approach espoused by Republicans. Cruz has a large and devoted following on the right, so his podcast offered Johnson a megaphone to conservatives as he continues to build a profile within his new party.

During the hourlong conversation with Cruz, he highlighted his support from prominent Texas Republicans and alluded to a private lunch he had last year with Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who made an unsuccessful 2024 White House bid. Johnson said he told Scott about his view that successful African Americans get ahead by working hard and following the rules, but often pretend that’s not the “winning formula” because they don’t want to appear out of touch. “We need to be more honest about what the winning formula is,” Johnson said. “And the winning formula ends up being exactly what the conservative ideology would tell you.”

Johnson characterized his party switch as inevitable after long feeling uncomfortable in the Democratic Party. He described being born in a poor West Dallas neighborhood to working-class parents, spending much of his childhood in church and absorbing messages about the importance of personal responsibility and following the rules. In contrast, he said, Democrats have pushed a message that people succeed or fail based on circumstances outside of their control, such as their race… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

One Central Texas city is the nation's first to reach 100 degrees this year. Here's where. (Houston Chronicle)

One Texas town hit 100 degrees on Monday, marking the first time any Texas city’s temperature has made it to triple digits in 2024. Dozens of other towns and cities across the Lone Star State and beyond also broke daily record highs as temperatures soared.

Fort Cavazos, previously known as Fort Hood, in Killeen reached a high of 100 degrees Monday afternoon as stout southerly winds ushered in anomalously warm weather from Texas to the U.S.-Canada border. Fort Cavazos temperatures broke the previous daily heat record of 89 degrees set in 1954 and marked the earliest date for triple-digit heat at the U.S. Army post.

Many other Texas cities, like those in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, reported highs in the lower to mid-90s. While these Texas towns are known for bringing the heat, the intensity of this winter warmth is nearly two months ahead of schedule for some. What caused this record shattering heat?… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

[US/WORLD NEWS]

A billionaire-backed campaign for a new California city is off to a bumpy start (Associated Press)

After two false starts, the billionaires behind a plan to build an eco-friendly city from scratch are behind schedule and off to a bumpy start to put their proposal before California voters this November.

Former Goldman Sachs trader Jan Sramek unveiled his closely guarded ballot initiative for the proposed community between San Francisco and Sacramento in January, a plan that envisions 20,000 homes, transit infrastructure, schools, jobs and green space for an initial 50,000 residents. He has since amended it twice to address concerns raised by Solano County and a neighboring U.S. Air Force base.

Thursday is the deadline for the county counsel’s office to give the ballot initiative a title and summary, which will allow signature gatherers to hit the streets in search of the 13,000 they need — and preferably thousands more as a cushion. The delays mean the campaign has just two months, not three, to collect signatures if they want to give elections officials the maximum time to verify them… (LINK TO FULL STORY)

Elon Musk says long-delayed Tesla Roadster coming next year (Wall Street Journal)

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said the company intends to start shipping its long-delayed Roadster sports car next year, the latest sign it is trying to inject new buzz into the brand as competition intensifies in the electric-vehicle space.

In a series of posts on his social-media platform X, Musk said Wednesday that Tesla has finished its design for the vehicle as part of a collaboration between Tesla and his rocket company SpaceX, and the vehicle would be unveiled at the end of the year.

The car will be capable of accelerating to 60 miles an hour in less than a second, which “is the least interesting part,” he said.

“Tonight, we radically increased the design goals for the new Tesla Roadster,” Musk wrote. “There will never be another car like this, if you could even call it a car.”

The original Roadster was Tesla’s first production car, released in 2008… (LINK TO FULL STORY)