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December 9, 2025

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 After a year of uncertainty, economists say conditions are likely to improve in 2026 (KXAN)

🟪 Waymo will recall software after self-driving cars passed stopped school buses in Austin and beyond (KUT)

🟪 As Southwest considers expansion, city of Austin looks to draw airline with incentives (KXAN)

🟪 Facing future water shortages, Williamson County invests in $500K study to find solutions (KUT)

🟪 Texas launches plan to open Turning Point USA chapters in every high school (Texas Tribune)

🟪 US Supreme Court turns away appeal of Texas library book ban (Reuters)

🟪 Crockett launches Texas Senate bid, shaking up Democratic primary (The Hill)

READ ON!

[FIRM NEWS]

[Blog] Austin 2026: The New Rules of Economic Development at City Hall

Learn more about Bingham Group’s new practice — and review all of our services here: binghamgp.com/services

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

🏛️ City Manager Executives and Advisors Staff Visual Chart

🏛️ City of Austin Org Chart (as of July 2025)

ℹ️ 2025 Essential Resources for Navigating the City of Austin

[AUSTIN METRO NEWS]

✅ After a year of uncertainty, economists say conditions are likely to improve in 2026 (KXAN)

Dozens of business and civic leaders attended the annual Austin Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Outlook event, hoping to get a clearer picture of what to expect in 2026.

Ray Perryman, president and CEO of The Perryman Group, served as a keynote speaker for the event. He told KXAN before his talk that he expects 2026 to be more stable than 2025.

“For a while here, I think there was a lot of uncertainty, a little bit of slowdown in the economy,” Perryman said. “But I do think that by the middle of next year, you will start to see things begin to turn around.”

“[Tariffs] cause uncertainty,” he continued. “I think you’ll see some of the tariff rates begin to come down, because it simply is not sustainable in the way it was set up.”

Perryman pointed to several major forces shaping the economy going into the new year: tariffs, immigration policy and rapidly expanding industries such as artificial intelligence… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Waymo will recall software after self-driving cars passed stopped school buses in Austin and beyond (KUT)

The autonomous ride-hailing service Waymo plans to file a voluntary software recall after several reports that its self-driving taxis illegally passed stopped school buses.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened an investigation in October in response to "a media report involving a Waymo AV [autonomous vehicle] that failed to remain stopped when approaching a school bus that was stopped with its red lights flashing, stop arm deployed, and crossing control arm deployed."

WXIA-TV in Atlanta aired video in September that showed a Waymo vehicle driving around a school bus.

The NHTSA website also includes a letter from the Austin Independent School District, saying the district has documented 19 instances of Waymo vehicles "illegally and dangerously" passing the district's school buses. The letter, signed by the district's senior counsel, says in one instance the Waymo vehicle drove past the stopped bus "only moments after a student crossed in front of the vehicle, and while the student was still in the road."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ City, Austin firefighters reach new tentative labor agreement (Community Impact)

The city and Austin Firefighters Association have once again reached a tentative agreement for a four-year labor deal, weeks after approval of a previous version was temporarily put on hold due to concerns over a separate union-backed ballot measure.

More than two months after the conclusion of labor negotiations between the city and AFA, which represents most Austin firefighters, talks were restarted to clarify some outstanding issues raised after the initial draft agreement was announced in September. Two days of bargaining Dec. 4-5 resulted in a new tentative deal between both sides that now heads to final approval by AFA's membership and City Council.

The original contract framework provided for firefighter pay increases over the coming years as well as changes to recruitment and promotion processes aimed at growing and maintaining the Austin Fire Department force. The deal also set up the "Austin Schedule," a new staffing format to reduce firefighters' weekly hours once implemented… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ As Southwest considers expansion, city of Austin looks to draw airline with incentives (KXAN)

Thursday, Austin city council is expected to vote on a potential incentive program with Southwest Airlines that could help the airline expand its footprint at the Austin airport.

“As the company meets growth plans, it seeks to expand facilities and operations infrastructure to support new flight capacity and employment growth. Southwest, on its mission to
find a suitable site for the business expansion, has pinpointed Austin as a potential viable location. However, there are multiple sites in competition, and therefore, is exploring State and Local incentives along with other cost drivers to make its selection,” council documents said.

Thursday, Austin city council will vote on whether it will allow the city to move forward with pitching the airline an incentive program that would encourage the airline to hire locally, shift money toward child care and further Southwest’s involvement in the city of Austin’s newly created infrastructure academy.

“A key part of what we’re doing with this potential agreement with Southwest is that … it will be a performance based incentive package where they are focused on hiring Austinites,” Austin Mayor Kirk Watson explained… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Facing future water shortages, Williamson County invests in $500K study to find solutions (KUT)

Williamson County is working with local cities and other water providers to study the area's long-term supply needs. Representatives from the county and several cities, including Cedar Park, Georgetown, Leander and Round Rock, recently came together to form the Williamson County Water Group.

"The county is not a water provider, and we're officially not in the water business," said Williamson County Judge Steve Snell. "But I think we can provide leadership in that conversation as we bring our cities and our water providers together to create a better future for Williamson County."

The group's first task includes helping oversee a recently approved $500,000 study, which is intended to assess the county's long term water and infrastructure needs.

"We can't do anything without water," Snell said. "We all need to work together and use our expertise."

Snell likened the new county-led coalition to the Brushy Creek Regional Utility Authority — a partnership between the cities of Cedar Park, Leander and Round Rock to treat and distribute water from the Lower Colorado River Authority… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ Texas launches plan to open Turning Point USA chapters in every high school (Texas Tribune)

Texas has launched a partnership with Turning Point USA to create chapters of the right-wing organization on every high school campus in the state. 

Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Turning Point USA Senior Director Josh Thifault revealed the initiative during a news conference at the Governor’s Mansion on Monday. They did not outline any plans that would require schools to initiate the clubs, but Abbott said that he expects “meaningful disciplinary action” to take place against “any stoppage of TPUSA in the great state of Texas.” 

“Let me be clear: Any school that stands in the way of a Club America program in their school should be reported immediately to the Texas Education Agency,” the governor said, referring to the name of the high school clubs. 

The announcement comes after Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath, who stood behind Abbott at Monday’s gathering, privately met with Thifault in early November to discuss expanding the organization’s presence in the state’s schools, which was first reported by The Texas Tribune. Four days after that meeting, Patrick said he would commit $1 million in campaign funds to help bring the project to fruition… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Crockett launches Texas Senate bid, shaking up Democratic primary (The Hill)

Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a rising star within the Democratic Party, on Monday launched a bid for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-Texas) hotly contested seat.

“There are a lot of people that said, ‘You got to stay in the House. We need our voice. We need you there.’ And I understand, but what we need is for me to have a bigger voice,” Crockett said during a campaign launch event. 

Crockett entered the primary field Monday evening, releasing a campaign video — a 45-second clip with audio of President Trump critiquing her — on the social media platform X and linking to her official campaign website.

“I’m done watching the American dream on life support while Trump tries to pull the plug. The gloves have been off, and now I’m jumping into the ring. I’m asking for your support to be the next United States senator from the greatest state of Texas,” she said on Monday.

Her decision shakes up an already competitive primary that drew multiple well-known figures in the party. Former Rep. Colin Allred (D), who previously ran against Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) for his seat and was challenging Cornyn, dropped his bid earlier Monday, effectively clearing the way for a primary showdown between Crockett and another rising Democratic star, state Rep. James Talarico (D)… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ US Supreme Court turns away appeal of Texas library book ban (Reuters)

The U.S. Supreme Court in a free speech case on Monday opted not to hear an appeal by a group of residents of a rural Texas county of a judicial decision allowing local officials to remove 17 books that these officials deemed objectionable from public libraries.

The justices let stand a lower court's decision allowing the removal of books including ones dealing with themes of race and LGBT identity, from its public library system. The lower court rejected the argument made by the plaintiffs that removing the books was unlawful under the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment protections against government abridgment of free speech… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Trump administration announces $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers (NPR)

The Trump administration announced $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers in the wake of this year's tariff hikes on Monday, primarily targeting farmers who grow crops such as soybeans and corn.

The move was outlined during a White House roundtable event, featuring farmers affected as well as Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

Trump touted the program in relation to the revenue the government is taking in as a result of his sweeping tariff program and also referenced his popularity among farmers.

"What we're doing is we're taking a relatively small portion of that, and we're going to be giving and providing it to the farmers in economic assistance. And we love our farmers," he said. "And as you know, the farmers like me, because, you know, based on, based on voting trends, you could call it voting trends or anything else, but they're great people."… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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