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[Budget News Conference]
AFTERNOON, AND THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY.I'M CITY MANAGER TC BROAD NEXT.
AND EARLIER TODAY, UH, I HAD THE HONOR OF PRESENTING, UH, MY PROPOSED BUDGET TO THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, UH, AS WELL AS THE MAYOR.
AS FEDERAL FUNDS HAVE PROVIDED THROUGH THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT, THEY EXPIRED AND OR ARE EXPIRING SALES TAX COLLECTIONS, ESSENTIALLY FLAT.
AND THE FULL EFFECT OF THE PROPERTY TAX CAPS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS APPROVED BY THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE HAVE COME TO FRUITION.
HARSH REALITIES HAVE SET IN ON MUNICIPALITIES AROUND THE STATE, AND AUSTIN IS NO EXCEPTION TO THAT.
THE $5.9 BILLION PROPOSED BUDGET AIMS TO PRIORITIZE CRITICAL NEEDS IN THIS COMMUNITY, UH, ALSO SETS A CAUTIONARY TALE FOR HOW WE NEED TO APPROACH OUR INVESTMENTS GOING FORWARD.
AND NOW MORE THAN EVER, LISTEN TO AUSTIN AS IT RELATES TO FOCUSING ON HOW TO PRIORITIZE OUR LIMITED RESOURCES.
THIS BUDGET FOCUSES ON AND HAS AN AUSTIN FOCUSED APPROACH TO IT.
IT'S ALSO FOCUSED ON FRONTLINE RELATED EFFORTS AROUND OUR STAFF, UH, AND THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE, AS WELL AS FUTURE FOCUSED, UNDERSTANDING THE NEW FINANCIAL REALITIES AND UNCERTAINTIES AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE CITY'S HISTORY, WE'RE PRESENTING AND SHARE TODAY WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, A TWO YEAR BALANCE BUDGET THAT ALLOWS US TO HAVE A MUCH MORE LONG-TERM VIEWPOINT AS WE APPROACH FUNDING IN THE CURRENT YEAR TO ENSURE THAT WE CAN SUSTAIN, UH, THE EFFORTS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING IN THE 2025 BUDGET, UH, THROUGH THE 2026 BUDGET.
AND SO I'M HOPEFUL, UH, THAT WE'LL HAVE A VERY LENGTHY DISCUSSION THIS YEAR ON WHAT THAT FUTURE LOOKS LIKE AND BEGIN TO REALLY PRIORITIZE WITH OUR COMMUNITY AND THE COUNCIL, HOW WE'LL MOVE FORWARD, UH, IN THESE TIMES WHERE RESOURCES ARE STRAINED.
AND I'D LIKE TO INVITE, UH, ED VINO, OUR CFO AND OUR BUDGET OFFICER, UH, CARRIE LANG, UH, TO THE PODIUM, UH, TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PROPOSED BUDGET AND ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE SPECIFICALLY.
UM, SO I WOULD JUST, UH, UH, SPEAK FURTHER TO WHAT THE CITY MANAGER SAID ABOUT SOME OF THE FISCAL CHALLENGES.
NOT ONLY AUSTIN IS FACING, BUT CITIES ACROSS TEXAS ARE FACING, UM, IN THE WAKE OF, UM, A LOWER PROPERTY TAX, UH, UM, LIMIT, WHICH IS OUR CURRENT REALITY.
AT A 3.5% INCREASES, YOU'RE SEEING, UM, CITIES ACROSS THE STATE NEEDING TO CUT THEIR BUDGETS, NEEDING TO REDUCE SERVICES IN ORDER TO LIVE WITHIN THAT LIMITATION.
HERE IN AUSTIN, WE'RE BLESSED WITH A, UH, ROBUST AND STRONG ECONOMY.
UM, AND WE'VE HAD VERY CONSERVATIVE FISCAL PRACTICES IN THE PAST THAT, UM, HAVE ALLOWED THAT, UH, ALLOWED US TO AVOID THAT.
UM, WHILE WE HAVE VERY LIMITED FUNDS TO ADDRESS NEW FUNDING PRIORITIES, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN THE FUNDING PRIORITIES THAT OUR COUNCIL, UM, IN ALIGNMENT WITH COMMUNITY PRIORITIES HAVE PUT IN PLACE OVER THE, THE LAST DECADE.
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S A GOOD NEWS STORY FOR THE CITY, UM, UM, THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAINTAIN, UH, THE PROGRESS WE'VE MADE IN RECENT YEARS.
CARRIE, AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS WITH THE FINANCIAL CHALLENGES THAT YOU ALL ARE TALKING ABOUT.
WHAT DID YOU ASK OF SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS IN TERMS OF TAKING A LOOK AT THEIR INDIVIDUAL BUDGETS? SO AS WE WENT THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS, WE ASKED DEPARTMENTS TO LOOK AT AND DO A, A REAL SCRUB AND LOOK AT POTENTIAL 1% REDUCTIONS.
UM, BUT WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGETS, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO REALLY BALANCE, UM, THERE WERE VERY MINIMUM REDUCTIONS, NO REDUCTIONS TO SERVICE, UM, AREAS, NO REDUCTIONS TO ANY SERVICE SERVICES GIVEN, UH, TO THE COMMUNITY.
MANY OF THE, UM, REDUCTIONS THAT WERE PROPOSED WERE, UM, MINOR REDUCTIONS SUCH AS, UM, MAYBE SOME, UM, IT, UM, OR SOME SMALL PROGRAMMING REDUCTIONS, BUT NOTHING THAT WOULD BE IMPACTFUL TO THE COMMUNITY OR TO THE SERVICES THAT WERE BEING PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENTS.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS 4% PROPOSED RAISE FOR CITY EMPLOYEES? WHERE DOES THAT MONEY COME FROM AND IS IT ENOUGH GIVEN HOW EXPENSIVE AUSTIN IS? SO, UM, AS WE WERE LOOKING AT THE, UM, PROPOSED INCREASE FOR FOR EMPLOYEES, WE WORKED REALLY CLOSELY WITH OUR HR DEPARTMENT TO IDENTIFY WHAT THAT IMPACT OR WHAT THAT INCREASE SHOULD BE.
UM, AND OUR HR DEPARTMENT ACTUALLY, UM, WORKS WITH US TO MAKE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO THAT 4% INCREASE IS BASED ON WHAT WE SEE OTHER, UM, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES PROVIDE
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ACROSS THE, ACROSS OUR, UM, PARTNER OR OUR, UM, COMPARING MUNICIPALITIES.UM, AND WE KNOW THAT IT IS, IT IS A TOUGH, UM, ENVIRONMENT FOR, UM, OUR, OUR EMPLOYEES, BUT AS WE ARE TRYING TO REMAIN MARKETABLE, UM, WE ARE PROUD OF OUR ABILITY TO GIVE THAT 4% TO OUR EMPLOYEES FOR THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
IN TERMS OF KIND OF FUNDING SOME OF THE PRIORITIES YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, CAN YOU JUST SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW Y'ALL ENDED UP SETTLING ON NUMBERS THAT WERE ABLE TO ADDRESS SOME OF THOSE, UM, BUT ALSO TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THAT TAXES AND FEES FOLKS ARE GONNA BE PAYING ABOUT 5% MORE THIS YEAR.
SO BALANCING AFFORDABILITY FOR RESIDENTS WITH WHERE YOU GOT THE CITY SERVICES TO.
SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT, UM, BALANCING THE BUDGET THIS YEAR, WE REALLY WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UM, WE AS, AS ED MENTIONED, THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE TRIED TO MAKE SURE WE COULD, WE DID NOT REDUCE ANY SERVICE LEVELS TO THE COMMUNITY.
AND SO WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE GENERAL FUND, UM, THE, THE BALANCING OF THE GENERAL FUND REALLY MEANT THAT WE, UM, LOOKED AT TAKING CARE OF EMPLOYEES FIRST.
WE LOOKED AT HOW WE COULD, UM, ALLOCATE COST TO ONE TIME.
SO MANY OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'LL SEE IN THE BUDGET, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF ONE-TIME ALLOCATIONS.
UM, WITH OUR ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS, AS THEY WERE LOOKING AT THE INCREASES TO THEIR RATES AND FEES, IT WAS FOR EXPANDED GROWTH.
SO IF THEY HAD GROWTH IN THEIR, UM, IN THEIR CUSTOMER BASE, THEY HAD TO ADDRESS THAT GROWTH.
AND SO MANY OF THOSE INCREASES WERE TO ADDRESS THAT GROWTH IN CUSTOMER BASE.
SO THE FIVE PER 5% INCREASE WAS ACROSS ALL RATES AND FEES, INCLUDING THE PROPERTY TAXES.
WE REALLY TRY TO TAKE A LOOK AT ALL OF OUR RATES AND FEES AS WELL AS OUR PROPERTY TAX BILL TO TRY TO BE AS AFFORDABLE AS POSSIBLE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE TOTAL FEES, UM, AND BILLS FOR OUR COMMUNITY OVERALL.
UM, EVERY YEAR THERE'S USUALLY SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UH, POTENTIAL INCREASES TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, AND THIS YEAR IT'S LOOKING LIKE THERE'S ABOUT AN 18.2 MILLION INCREASE.
AND I WAS JUST HOPING YOU COULD SHARE KIND OF HOW YOU LANDED ON THAT NUMBER AND, UH, WHAT THAT YEAH.
SO, UM, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, UM, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, UM, THEY HAVE THE SECOND LARGEST NUMBER OF CIVILIANS IN THE GENERAL FUND.
THEY HAVE ABOUT 600, UH, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES.
AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THOSE INCREASES, SO THOSE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES RECEIVE WAGE INCREASES, THAT 4% WAGE INCREASE, UM, THERE IS THE INSURANCE INCREASE THAT ALL EMPLOYEES RECEIVE, UM, THE COST OF INSURANCE, UM, TO ALL EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND SO THAT, THOSE INCREASES AS WELL AS, UM, SOME OF THE INTERNAL SERVICES COSTS THAT GOES ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS.
AND SO, SO THAT REFLECTS SOME OF THE INCREASES IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET.
UM, THERE IS THE, UH, LEGACY, UH, LIABILITY PAYMENT FOR THE POLICE RETIREMENT SYSTEM THAT REFLECTS, THAT'S REFLECTED IN THEIR POLICE, UM, DEPARTMENT INCREASES.
AND SO THOSE ARE THE INCREASES THAT ARE, ARE THE RESULTS OF THAT $18.2 MILLION INCREASE YOU SEE IN THEIR BUDGET.
UM, ON THE TOPIC OF THE RESERVE LEVEL, UM, KNOW THAT YOU SET THIS BUDGET WITH THAT KIND OF 17% LEVEL FOLLOWING UP ON LAST YEAR.
UM, SURE, WE'RE GONNA HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT IN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, BUT COULD YOU JUST SHARE POSSIBLE POSITIVES OR NEGATIVES OR JUST WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE IF THAT NUMBER WERE TO CHANGE? SO THE CITY'S POLICY, UM, WE, WE, UM, PROPOSED A BUDGET BASED ON THE CITY'S FINANCIAL POLICY OF 17%.
AND, UM, WE WILL RELY ON THE LEADERSHIP OF THE COUNCIL TO DETERMINE WHERE WE, WHERE WE LAND AT THE END OF THIS, UH, UH, THE APPROVED BUDGET.
UM, IT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION TO GO FORWARD WITH THE, WITH THE POLICY RE WITH THE POLICY OF 17%.
IT'S, IT'S NOT JUST THE RESERVE POLICY, BUT WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR RESERVES, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD THINGS LIKE, UM, HURRICANE OR, UH, WINTER STORM MAURA, WINTER STORM URI ALLOWS US TO RESPOND TO THOSE KINDS OF DISASTERS.
UM, WHEN, WHEN WE HAD COVID, IT ALLOWS, IT ALLOWED US TO, TO RESPOND TO THAT.
AND SO WE RELY ON THOSE RESERVES HEAVILY AS WE HAVE THESE KINDS OF, UM, UNPREDICTABLE THINGS HAPPEN ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY.
AND SO THE RESERVES ARE IMPORTANT IN, IN ALLOWING THE, THE CITY TO HAVE A RESPONSE MECHANISM.
UM, BUT AS WE CONTINUE THESE DISCUSSIONS, WE'LL RELY ON COUNCIL AND WE'LL TRY TO LEAD COUNCIL AND, UM, COME UP WITH THE BEST SOLUTION FOR THE NEXT, UH, FISCAL YEAR AND A ADDRESSING THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND COUNCIL AND FINALIZING WHAT THE RESERVES WILL BE.
UM, JUST WANTED TO ADD TO THAT RESPONSE.
UM, 'CAUSE PART OF WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING ON THIS BUDGET IS IT'S NOT ALWAYS JUST ABOUT THE BUDGET.
IT'S ABOUT WHERE WE'VE COME FROM AND WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING OVER TIME TO GET TO WHERE WE ARE.
UM, AND OF COURSE, WE'VE BEEN FUNDING A LOT OF NEW PRIORITIES
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AND INITIATIVES AND, AND WE'RE MAINTAINING THOSE.ONE OF THE PRIORITIES WAS TO INCREASE OUR RESERVES AS WE'VE SEEN MORE NATURAL DISASTERS, WHETHER IT BE THE PANDEMIC OR THE ICE STORM OR THE SNOW STORM.
UM, AND UNDER A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT REVENUE CAP WHERE WE HAVE LESS FLEXIBILITY ON OUR TAX LEVY, UM, WE HAVE INCREASED OUR RESERVES.
WE'VE GONE FROM 12% TO A 17% RESERVE OVER THE, THE LAST DECADE.
AND SO I DON'T EVER WANNA LOSE SIGHT OF THE FACT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT 16.7 VERSUS 17 IS, IS KIND OF WHAT COUNCIL'S DISCUSSION IS.
THE POLICY IS 17, SO THAT'S WHAT STAFF'S GONNA PROPOSE AS A BUDGET, BUT WE CAME FROM 12 AND OVER THE LAST DECADE, WE'VE SIGNIFICANTLY BOLSTERED OUR RESERVES TO BE IN A BETTER POSITION TO HANDLE DISASTERS THAT MIGHT COME OUR WAY.
IT SEEMS SALES TAX REVENUE REMAINS FLAT LIKE IT IS NOW.
AT WHAT POINT IS THE CITY GONNA NEED TO START REALLY MAKING SOME HEAVY CUTS TO ITS BUDGET? I, I DON'T THINK WE, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOULD PRESUME ANYTHING THERE.
I DON'T THINK WE SHOULD DEFAULT TO THE IDEA OF CUTS.
IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT SALES TAXES.
YOU KNOW, IT IS A CHALLENGE THE SALES TAXES GROW AT, AT KIND OF A HISTORIC NORM OF MAYBE FOUR TO 5% INSTEAD OF THE 20% THAT THEY'VE BEEN GROWING AT.
THAT DOES MAKE BALANCING A BUDGET MORE CHALLENGING.
YOU KNOW, PROPERTY TAXES ARE ABOUT HALF OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUE THAT'S CAPPED AT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT.
SO, YOU KNOW, ALL IN OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUES MIGHT GROW BY THREE AND THREE QUARTERS, 4% PER YEAR, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT IN A HIGH INFLATIONARY PERIOD, LIKE RIGHT NOW WHEN WAGES ARE GOING UP 4% TO MAINTAIN OUR COMPETITIVENESS AND WE'VE SEEN INCREASES ABOVE 4% AND HEALTH INSURANCE COSTS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT DOES MAKE IT A, A CHALLENGE.
BUT, UM, ONE THING ABOUT AUSTIN'S ECONOMY IS IT NEVER, UH, CEASES TO SURPRISE.
I THINK EVERYBODY, UH, I'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY FOR 15 YEARS AND I'VE SEEN THE SKYLINE DOTTED WITH CRANES FOR 15 YEARS AND THEY'RE STILL THERE.
I COUNTED 'EM ON MY WAY IN TODAY.
THERE'S STILL EIGHT OR NINE CRANES UP IN THE SKYLINE, UH, THIS YEAR, UH, SOMEWHAT SURPRISINGLY GIVEN, UM, THAT THAT DEVELOPMENT IS DOWN SOMEWHAT, UH, WE SAW A HISTORIC HIGH FOR OUR NEW CONSTRUCTION VALUE.
SO PEOPLE ARE STILL COMING TO AUSTIN, THEY'RE STILL INVESTING IN AUSTIN.
WE HAVE A ROBUST ECONOMY, UM, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO, UH, SEEK WAYS TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET WITHOUT HAVING, UM, UM, TO CUT SERVICES.
UM, BUT THERE IS LONGER TERM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT, UH, TAX RATE ELECTIONS.
THAT IS PART OF THE, UH, THE CHANGES TO TAX LAW ENVISIONED, UM, A NEED IN CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES TO GO ABOVE A 3.5% INCREASE.
AND THERE'S PROVISIONS TO ALLOW FOR THAT, THAT REQUIRES US TO GO TO THE VOTERS AND SEEK THEIR APPROVAL, UM, FOR TAX ADDITIONAL TAXES IF NEEDED TO FUND THE SERVICES THAT OUR COUNCIL AND OUR COMMUNITY ARE ASKING FOR.
SO I DON'T, I DON'T WANT TO, YOU KNOW, JUST GO RIGHT OFF.
IF SALES TAXES DON'T CONTINUE TO BE STRONG, WE'LL HAVE TO MAKE BUDGET REDUCTIONS.
I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S THE CASE.
FOLLOWING UP ON THAT, UM, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF TALK ABOUT, UM, A POTENTIAL TAX REELECTION COMING UP.
WHEN DO YOU EXPECT THAT COULD HAPPEN? ARE CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING ABOUT, IS THIS TWO YEARS AWAY, FIVE YEARS AWAY? UM, I, I, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S TWO YEARS AWAY OR FIVE YEARS AWAY.
I MEAN, THAT'S ULTIMATELY GOING TO BE A, A CITY COUNCIL DECISION.
UM, YEAH, OUR FORECAST SHOWS THAT WE ARE BALANCED AS A MANAGER SAID, DOING A TWO YEAR BUDGET.
UM, WE, WHAT WE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL TODAY IS BALANCE THIS YEAR.
YOU KNOW, WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS BEYOND THAT.
I THINK IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT TODAY.
QUESTION FOR DC UM, OBVIOUSLY AUSTIN AND DALLAS ARE VERY DIFFERENT IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT COULD YOU JUST SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO HOW YOUR FIRST BUDGET PROCESS HERE COMPARED TO WHAT YOU WERE DOING UP NORTH? SURE.
UH, WELL, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE HAD PROPOSED THIS YEAR, OBVIOUSLY, THAT WE DID, UH, WHILE I WAS IN DALLAS, UH, AGAIN, THE FIRST ITERATIONS THERE AS WELL WAS A TWO YEAR BALANCE BUDGET APPROACH.
AND SO I THINK ED AND, UH, CARRIE, UH, AND THE TEAM RALLIED AROUND, UH, SOME, UH, DESIRE TO WANT TO DO THAT, TO PROVIDE SOME STABILITY AS WELL AS SOME CONTINUITY AND UNDERSTANDING AROUND WHAT WE'RE FUNDING, UH, BOTH TO THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY, UH, SAME ISSUES AND CHALLENGES, UH, WITH PANDEMIC AND OTHER TYPES OF NATURAL DISASTERS.
AND SO AS ED STRESSED THE IMPORTANCE OF RESERVES, I THINK DALLAS SIMILARLY, UH, HAD THE SAME KIND OF OUTLOOK AND PERSPECTIVE.
UH, THINGS ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
THE ECONOMY, UH, WORKS IN EBBS AND FLOWS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY HERE IN AUSTIN.
SO I'M EXCITED ABOUT WHAT THAT HOLDS FOR US IN OUR BUDGET FUTURE.
UH, BUT, UH, WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE A HARD LOOK, UH, AT OUR EXPENDITURES.
AND IT DOESN'T MEAN SERVICE REDUCTIONS.
IT MAY MEAN JUST LOOKING AT THINGS THAT WE MAY NOT NEED TO DO ANY LONGER TO PUSH FORWARD WITH THINGS THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE HEARD WE NEED TO BE DOING MORE OF.
AND THOSE CONVERSATIONS WILL NOT ONLY OCCUR, UH, DURING THESE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS AS WE ADOPT THIS
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BUDGET, BUT I'M HOPEFUL, UH, THAT THEY'LL CONTINUE WITH THE COMMUNITY AND THE COUNCIL, UH, THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.UH, AND AS WE GET TO EVERY BUDGET YEAR, AS WE TALKED ABOUT THE FORECAST, I WANNA MAKE CLEAR THAT WHILE YEARS THREE AND FOUR AND FIVE, UH, AS ED AND, AND CARRIE AND WE'VE SHARED WITH THE COUNCIL, UH, LOOK AS IF WE'RE GOING TO HAVE CHALLENGES, UNDERSTANDING THE TWO YEAR BUDGETING PROCESS WILL ALLOW US TO BRING A BALANCED BUDGET FOR THAT NOW THIRD YEAR THAT LOOKS OUT OF, UH, STRUCTURAL, UH, BALANCE INTO FINANCIAL BALANCE.
AND IT'LL DETERMINE WHETHER WE SEEK NEW REVENUE SOURCES.
UH, I KNOW YOU TALKED ABOUT TRES.
THAT IS NOT SOMETHING, UH, THAT OBVIOUSLY AS ED SHARED, WE WOULD BE PROPOSING AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
THERE ARE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS THAT WE SHOULD AND COULD BE LOOKING AT, AND THOSE WILL BE COUNCIL DECISIONS, BUT, UH, A LOT OF SIMILARITIES, UH, AND THERE ARE A LOT OF DIFFERENCES, UH, BUT ALL COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THIS, UH, STATE ARE REALLY GOING TO BE CHALLENGED GOING FORWARD.
AND WITH FEDERAL DOLLARS DRYING UP, UH, AND COMMITMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE WITH SOME OF THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS HONEST CONVERSATIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY ABOUT THINGS WE ARE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO DO, WILL WILL BE ON THE HORIZON FOR US TO HAVE THIS YEAR AND PROBABLY THIS YEAR, UH, DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS, ALONG WITH OVER THE NEXT CALENDAR YEAR.
MR. BROAD, NEXT YOU, SORRY, ECHO IN HERE.
UM, YOU KIND OF LAID OUT THE THREE PRIORITIES ON, ON HOW YOU BUILD YOUR BUDGET.
CAN YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT THAT AUSTIN FOCUSED IS AND WHAT SOME OF THOSE THINGS, UH, WHAT SOME PROJECTS FALL WITHIN THOSE PARTICULAR THEMES THAT YOU WERE SURE.
I, I THINK YOU HEARD A LITTLE BIT FROM THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AROUND THEIR FOCUS, PARTICULARLY ON, UH, RESILIENCE, UH, AND EQUITY, UH, AND ENSURING THAT PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE, UH, TODAY CAN AFFORD, UH, TO LIVE HERE TOMORROW.
UH, AS WELL AS THE COMMUNITY, UH, BUDGET THAT WAS PRESENTED.
THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS IN THAT BUDGET THAT REALLY SPEAK TO, I THINK THE VALUES AND I THINK THE INTENTIONALITY OF WHAT PEOPLE BELIEVE WE NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON.
THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE HAVE TO CHOOSE ONE THING OVER THE OTHER IN ALL CASES, BUT TRULY TRY TO BE REFLECTIVE OF WHAT WE HEAR, UH, FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS.
AND SO, AGAIN, I THINK THIS NEXT YEAR FOR ME AS WELL AS OUR TEAM, PARTICULARLY KNOWING WHERE WE'RE HEADED FINANCIALLY, WE'LL REALLY BE PIVOTING TO REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET TO THE ROOT OF A LOT OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE HAD, BUT ALSO BEGIN TO CHIP AWAY AND ADDRESS LONG STANDING ISSUES IN THIS COMMUNITY.
UH, MAYBE EVEN IN FRONT OF SOME OF THE NEWER THINGS THAT PEOPLE MAY WANT TO DO, BUT REALLY TRY TO ADDRESS, UH, HOW THE COMMUNITY SPOKE TO US IN THE PAST.
AND SO THAT'S WHAT AUSTIN FOCUSED MEANS.
THAT'S ALL WE HAVE TIME FOR, FOR TODAY, EVERYBODY.