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Presented By

November 18, 2025

✅ Today's BG Reads include:

🟪 Navigating Central Texas Land Use: A New Practice at Bingham Group

🟪 Austin City Council Work Session @9AM: Agenda + Livestream Link

🟪 Austin will finalize millions in budget cuts this week after voters reject tax rate increase (KUT)

🟪 Austin City Council faces showdown over public safety cuts (Austin American-Statesman)

🟪 FAA lifts ground delay for Austin airport arrivals due to staffing issues (CBS Austin)

🟪 First responders working to make autonomous vehicles safer in Austin (KVUE)

🟪 FEMA to Texas? Disaster agency mulls move to Lone Star State (Politico)

🟪 Homeland Security missions falter amid focus on deportations (New York Times)

READ ON!

[FIRM NEWS]

Bingham Group is proud to announce the launch of our Land Use & Entitlements Practice, expanding our ability to support clients navigating policy, development and permitting challenges across Central Texas.

The practice is anchored by Senior Consultant Anaiah Johnson, who brings two decades of land development and urban planning experience, including senior leadership at the City of Austin’s Development Services Department and private-sector entitlement management for one of the nation’s largest homebuilders.

For nearly nine years, Bingham Group has represented clients ranging from Central Texas–based firms to national and international companies before municipal governments in the region.

With this new practice, we now provide integrated support across both the political and technical aspects of moving land use policy and development projects forward.

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

[CITY OF AUSTIN]

• MEETINGS: 

  • Today @9AM // Austin Council Work Session: Agenda + Livestream (ATXN 1)

     

• Memo Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Revised Budget Recommendation

• FY 2025-2026 Amended Budget Recommendation

🏛️ 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]

✅ City announces timeline for 2026 proposed amended budget (City of Austin)

The Proposed Amended FY26 Budget Timeline:

• Tuesday, Nov. 18: City Council Work Session and Budget briefing. Online speaker registration will open on Friday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. Online speaker registration closes on Monday, Nov. 17 at 12 p.m. In-person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting.

• Wednesday, Nov. 19: City Council Work Session and public hearing on the Proposed FY26 Amended Budget. Online speaker registration will open on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 10 a.m. Online speaker registration closes on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 12 p.m. In-person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting.  

• Thursday, Nov. 20: City Council to consider action on Proposed FY26 Amended Budget.  Online speaker registration will open on Monday, Nov. 17 at 10 a.m. Online speaker registration closes on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 12 p.m. In-person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting.

• Friday, Nov. 21: Special called meeting on Proposed FY26 Amended Budget, if needed. Online speaker registration will open on Tuesday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. Online speaker registration closes on Thursday, Nov 20 at 12 p.m. In-person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting.

• Monday, Nov. 24: Special called meeting on Proposed FY26 Amended Budget, if needed. Online speaker registration will open on Friday, Nov 21 at 5 p.m. Online speaker registration closes on Sunday, Nov 23 at 12 p.m. In person speaker registration closes 45 minutes before start of the meeting… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin will finalize millions in budget cuts this week after voters reject tax rate increase (KUT)

Despite an unexpected delay, the Austin City Council still plans to adopt a revised budget by the end of the week. The city must adjust its annual budget after voters earlier this month rejected a property tax rate increase known as Proposition Q.

Prop Q would have generated an additional $110 million. After its failure, the City Council was set to begin making changes to balance the budget at a meeting last week. But attorneys Bill Aleshire and Rick Fine filed a complaint against the city, alleging officials did not give residents proper notice.

The agenda for last Thursday's meeting included a start time, location and one agenda item describing a discussion on the 2025-26 budget. But Aleshire said a new state law requires the city to attach a copy of the proposed budget and a taxpayer impact statement. He said the city could also add a “clearly accessible” link to the proposed budget on its website… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ FAA lifts ground delay for Austin airport arrivals due to staffing issues (CBS Austin)

The Federal Aviation Administration has lifted the ground delay for arriving flights at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Monday evening, officials said. The airport said normal FAA operations have resumed.

The ground delay affects arrivals into the airport, according to the FAA. Departing flights could also experience delays.

The FAA cited staffing issues as the reason for the delays.

The ground delay will be in place from 4:30 p.m. to 9:59 p.m. CT… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Austin City Council faces showdown over public safety cuts (Austin American-Statesman)

As the Austin City Council begins deliberating over a new austerity budget proposal Tuesday, public safety spending has become a major flashpoint.

While the three public safety unions are pushing council to infuse millions of dollars into the fire department and emergency medical services, a coalition of nearly two dozen progressive organizations is advocating for a more equitable approach so that homeless services, parks and other programs don’t have to suffer cuts amid a nagging budget shortfall. The coalition also is calling for a reduction in police spending, which it described as “one of the few viable ways” to achieve its goal. 

The wrangling began in earnest last week after City Manager T.C. Broadnax released a revised budget proposal that reduced the Austin Fire Department and Austin-Travis County EMS budgets by a combined $14 million-plus. Leaders of the Austin Firefighters Association and Austin EMS Association, along with the Austin Police Association, were quick to blast the cuts and warn they would put Austin residents at risk by slowing response times and weakening the ability of their agencies to respond to severe fires and medical emergencies… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ First responders working to make autonomous vehicles safer in Austin (KVUE)

With more autonomous vehicles driving around Austin, first responders want to make sure the cars aren’t making more problems on the road. But because of a state law preventing local government from regulating AV companies, their hands are tied.

“Frankly, this is the wild west when it comes to autonomous vehicles,” said Cpt. Matt McElearney with the Austin Fire Department. “There is a lot of leeway that they have, and enforcement is very limited on our end.”

While Cruise was operating in Austin, the cars had 53 incidents, with the largest percentage of those being near misses and the second largest category being blocking traffic. Cruise was responsible for five collisions during that time.

In the year after Cruise left Austin, incidents fell by more than half, from 54 incidents in 2023 to 21 in 2024. Just Waymo and Zoox were testing their vehicles during that time.

But as more driverless cars continue to hit the streets, incidents have gone back up this year. For 2025 so far, there have been 90 incidents, with the largest percentage of those being safety concerns. The second largest category of incidents for the year is blocking traffic.

But some riders actually feel these autonomous vehicles are safer than human drivers.

“I’ve taken so many Ubers in my life. I noticed immediately that it felt like the most cautious driver ever,” said Spin Rodriquez, an Austinite. “It’s just so, so much more aware of its surroundings than you know, you are, even if you think you’re paying attention.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ As StoryBuilt receivership trudges on, asset monetization has been slow going (Austin Business Journal)

More than half of StoryBuilt's assets have yet to be offloaded over two years after the embattled infill housing developer entered into voluntary receivership and had its development pipeline — once valued at $2 billion — put up for sale.

That means barely a dent has been made in monetizing its interests in joint ventures, and investors are in a holding pattern as they wait to recoup funds. Its receiver, Los Angeles-based Stapleton Group, has also determined that the previous $2 billion valuation for the company's overall project pipeline doesn't match reality, making it highly unlikely that StoryBuilt and its investors' financial situations will be fully corrected.

StoryBuilt is a formerly prolific Austin-based infill housing developer that operates legally as PSW Real Estate LLC. It entered receivership in August 2023 at a time when it was dealing with lawsuits from investors and condo owners and also laid off more than 100 employees.

Some of StoryBuilt's projects were taken off the books through foreclosure, but work on several others was restarted, allowing them to be completed and sold. Meanwhile, StoryBuilt's interests in joint ventures have proved difficult to sell, partly because the company's financial woes have slowed down decision-making among partners in those projects… 🟪 (READ MORE)

[TEXAS/US NEWS]

✅ FEMA to Texas? Disaster agency mulls move to Lone Star State (Politico)

The Trump administration is considering moving the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s headquarters to Texas and putting the state’s top emergency manager in charge of the agency, two former senior FEMA officials told POLITICO’s E&E News.

Moving the agency from its headquarters in Washington would create “huge challenges” coordinating with the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees FEMA and is located across town from the agency, according to one former official, who was granted anonymity so they could speak freely.

Shortly after President Donald Trump took office, White House officials interviewed Nim Kidd, head of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, to run the nation’s disaster agency. After POLITICO’s E&E News reported the interview, Kidd posted a statement on his LinkedIn account acknowledging the interview but saying, “My work in Texas is not done.”… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Harris County will implement AI to expedite permitting process for new builds (Houston Public Radio)

Citing successes in Austin and Los Angeles, Harris County leaders last week approved a two-year pilot program to use artificial intelligence to speed up the permitting process for new construction projects in the Houston area.

The AI implementation will act as a precursor for evaluating new building permits in Harris County. Officials with the county’s engineering department said it would make the process quicker, more accurate and easier for the public to use.

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Samuel Peña, who serves in the department, said the technology will be used as an automated completeness screening for permits before they go up for review in front of an actual person.

“We’re hoping that it cuts down in the number of times that we go back and forth with the applicant to make sure that it’s complete, that the application is complete before we review it,” Peña said.

County commissioners first directed the department to develop a plan for using AI software for permitting on Sept. 9. Peña during that meeting said that while permit volumes have increased about 20% in the past three years, staffing levels have remained flat… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ San Antonio leaders say shutdown is just a preview of cuts to come (San Antonio Report)

The longest government shutdown in U.S. history had an outsized impact on already vulnerable residents in Bexar County. Now that it’s over, local leaders say the panic over delayed food assistance and at-risk health care subsidies should paint a clear picture of what’s coming down the pipeline for a community consistently ranked among the most impoverished large cities. Republicans’ signature economic policy since taking control of the White House in November, signed into law by President Donald Trump in July, makes big cuts to Medicaid, environmental programs and food benefits to help pay for tax cuts, increased defense spending and border security.

“To give you an idea of the need in our community, in Bexar County, $50 million worth of SNAP benefits comes into our community every single month,” Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said on a Texas Tribune Festival panel Friday morning. “It was unprecedented for those benefits not to be forward-paid to those folks that would need it during the shutdown,” Jones said, ” … [and] what it did is give us a really good idea of, unfortunately, what the implementation of that lovely, Big Beautiful Bill is going to look like.” San Antonio famously experienced lines around the block at its food bank when residents were out of work during the COVID-19 shutdown — a situation Jones said could soon repeat if leaders aren’t careful.

On Friday, Jones and Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai were joined by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio), who had just returned from Thursday’s government funding vote in Washington. Castro was among the vast majority of Democrats disappointed to see some members of his party break with Republicans on a temporary spending measure that ended the shutdown by punting Congress’s next funding deadline to January — but didn’t make good on the goal of securing health care tax credits set to expire at the end of the year… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ Homeland Security missions falter amid focus on deportations (New York Times)

The Department of Homeland Security has diverted thousands of federal agents from their normal duties to focus on arresting undocumented immigrants, undermining a wide range of law enforcement operations in response to mounting pressure from President Trump, a New York Times investigation has found. Homeland security agents investigating sexual crimes against children, for instance, have been redeployed to the immigrant crackdown for weeks at a time, hampering their pursuit of child predators. A national security probe into the black market for Iranian oil sold to finance terrorism has been slowed down for months because of the shift to immigration work, allowing tanker ships and money to disappear. And federal efforts to combat human smuggling and sex trafficking have languished with investigators reassigned to help staff deportation efforts.

The changes have extended deep into D.H.S.’s public-safety mission, as the Coast Guard has diverted aircraft to transport immigrants between detention centers and the department’s law enforcement academy has delayed training for many agencies to prioritize new immigration officers. The Times investigation is based on previously undisclosed internal documents from D.H.S. — including statistical reports about department workloads, search warrants and arrests — obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The Times also spoke with more than 65 officials who have worked in the federal government during the current Trump administration, in addition to local authorities and others who collaborate with the department. Most of them spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters and out of fear of retribution.

The overhaul represents a striking departure for the behemoth agency that Congress created in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The Homeland Security Department was tasked with preventing terrorism, protecting the president, investigating transnational crime and responding to natural disasters, among other duties. Immigration enforcement was one of many responsibilities, but it was not envisioned as D.H.S.’s singular function. Today, the Trump administration has remade the agency into a veritable Department of Deportation… 🟪 (READ MORE)

✅ DOJ records show hundreds of immigrants arrested in Chicago had no criminal records (NPR)

Ninety-seven percent of hundreds of undocumented immigrants swept up in Chicago's recent immigration raids had no criminal record at the time of their arrest, a Department of Justice document shows.

The document, submitted by the agency late last week as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security in federal court, contains 614 names of immigrants arrested recently, most of them under the DHS's "Operation Midway Blitz," which launched in September.

The government's own documents contradict the Trump administration's narrative that its ongoing raids are targeting and arresting violent criminals who are in the country illegally or are what the agency routinely calls "the worst of the worst." It also may violate a 2022 federal consent decree that put strong conditions on making arrests without warrants or probable cause. Most of these arrests are likely to have violated these conditions, according to lawyers representing the migrants in the consent decree… 🟪 (READ MORE)

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