Dec 10, 2025 Ethics Review Commission

[00:00:03]

FREE CHAIR OF THE CITY OF ETHICS, CITY OF AUSTIN, ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION.

I CALL THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION MEETING TO ORDER.

IT IS DECEMBER 10TH, 2025 AND IT IS

[CALL TO ORDER ]

ROOM NUMBER 1 1 1, 1 A AT 48 15 MILLER BOULEVARD, AUSTIN, TEXAS, 7 8 7 2 3.

UH, WE HAVE TWO VACANCIES AT THIS TIME.

I WILL GO AHEAD AND CALL THE ROLE.

UH, I'M HERE.

CHAIRMAN POEY, VICE CHAIR SHARKEY.

HERE.

COMMISSIONER FIGUEROA.

PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER KEEL? HERE.

COMMISSIONER KING? HERE.

COMMISSIONER LUNDGREN.

HERE.

COMMISSIONER LOWE.

HUB.

NO, SHE'S GONE.

COMMISSIONER MCGOVERN HERE.

AND, UH, COMMISSIONER PRETI IS NOT ABLE TO MAKE IT.

UM, JUST FOR EVERYONE'S, UH, INFORMATION.

COMMISSIONER PRETI HAD TO RESIGN BECAUSE OF OTHER, UH, OTHER THINGS IN LIFE THAT DEMANDING HER TIME, BUT WE HAVE HAD SOMEONE APPOINTED TO TAKE HER PLACE.

SHE HAS NOT FINISHED THE ORIENTATION AND TRAINING YET.

WE HOPE THAT THAT WILL BE DONE BY JANUARY.

UH, WE HAVE A QUORUM.

NO ONE IS ATTENDING VIRTUALLY.

NEXT IS PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

NO ONE HAS SIGNED UP.

RIGHT, MS. BEEZ? ALRIGHT.

UM, AGENDA ITEMS. ITEM ONE ON THE

[1. Approve the minutes of the Ethics Review Commission Regular Called meeting on September 24, 2025. ]

UM, I LOOKED THEM OVER.

THEY LOOKED OKAY.

UH, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS TO APPROVING THE MINUTES HEARING? NO OBJECTIONS.

THE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.

THE NEXT THREE ITEMS ON THE AGENDA

[2.Set and adopt the revised Ethics Review Commission regular meeting calendar for 2026. ]

UH, I BELIEVE YOU ALL HAVE A COPY OF THE CALENDAR IN FRONT OF YOU.

THREE OF THE DATES THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY APPROVED THE DATES FOR JULY, NOVEMBER, AND DECEMBER.

TURN OUT NOT TO BE GOOD.

WE HAVE TENTATIVE NEW DATES FOR THOSE THREE MONTHS.

JULY 15TH, NOVEMBER 18TH, AND DECEMBER 16TH.

THEY ARE TENTATIVE BECAUSE WE WON'T KNOW TILL JANUARY WHETHER WE CAN GET A MEETING ROOM FOR THOSE PARTICULAR DATES.

UM, BUT, UH, IF I WELL COULD THE CHAIR WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE NEW CALENDAR WITH THOSE THREE TENTATIVE DATES.

SO MOVED.

COMMISSIONER KEEL.

MOVED.

DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND.

WE HAVE COMMISSIONER LUNDGREN SECONDING IT.

UM, ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR? ALL OPPOSED, UNANIMOUS.

I HAVE JUST A QUESTION.

YES, SIR.

DO I HAVE TO GET SOMETHING TO SPEAK? YEAH, I HIT THE LITTLE BUTTON THERE AT THE BOTTOM.

I DON'T HAVE A LITTLE BUTTON.

OH, IT'S GONNA WORK.

IT'S A HOT MIC.

THERE YOU GO.

EXCELLENT.

HOT MIC.

CAREFULLY WHAT YOU SAID.

UM, ARE THE OTHER LOCATIONS AT THE CITY HALL, THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN DETERMINED? USUALLY THEY ARE HELD AT ST.

HALL.

RIGHT.

BUT DO WE, DO WE KNOW IF THESE ARE AT CITY HALL, THE ONES THAT ARE, THE OTHER DATES IN BLACK ARE USUALLY ALL HELD AND RESERVED FOR CITY HALL.

THE DATES IN RED ARE TYPICALLY THE DATES THAT ARE, UM, NEVER AVAILABLE YEAR ROUND.

OKAY.

THE PROBABILITY IS 98% .

SO, CHAIR, IF I MAY? YES.

MS. WEBSTER.

CAROLINE WEBSTER.

LAW DEPARTMENT.

UH, JUST TO EXPAND UPON THAT A LITTLE BIT.

SO NOVEMBER 11TH WE HAD, YOU HAD SET A DATE, A MEETING FOR THAT DATE.

CITY IS CLOSED NOVEMBER 11TH.

SO THAT WAS JUST A MISTAKE BASICALLY.

AND THEN THE OTHER TWO DATES, UM, THE ONE IN MID, WHAT IS IT? IS IT JULY? JULY? UH, THAT'S WHEN COUNSEL HAS ITS BUDGET MEETINGS AND HEARINGS.

AND SO WE CAN NEVER GET A ROOM FOR THAT.

AND THEN THE ONE IN DECEMBER, I DON'T KNOW WHY IT'S REALLY HARD TO GET A MEETING A, A CITY HALL ON THAT DATE.

I DON'T KNOW WHY IT IS, BUT IT PROVES ALWAYS TO BE PROBLEMATIC.

AND SO WE JUST THOUGHT LET'S GO AHEAD AND, AND ADDRESS THAT AND HOPEFULLY FIND, 'CAUSE WE'RE HOPING IF, IF THE, IF WE CAN, IF YOU ALL ADOPT THIS, THEN, THEN WE'LL PUT THIS IN AS THE REQUESTED SCHEDULE.

AND SO HOPEFULLY WE'LL GET CITY HALL BECAUSE THAT'S OBVIOUSLY FIRST CHOICE.

AND,

[00:05:01]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CALENDAR? OKAY, THE NEXT ITEM IS,

[3.Declare a vacancy in the office of secretary and hold emergency election to fill the vacancy.]

TER NEEDED TO, UH, RESIGN.

HE, UH, HE WAS WORKING OVERSEAS A LOT AND COULDN'T EVEN GET ACCESS TO THE CITY EMAIL, SO HE HAD TO RESIGN.

HE WAS OUR SECRETARY.

UH, WOULD ANYBODY VOLUNTEER TO BE OUR SECRETARY? THE DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY ARE BASICALLY TO REVIEW THE MINUTES.

UH, YOU WOULD RECEIVE THEM A COUPLE DAYS BEFORE OR MEETING, REVIEW THE MINUTES AND BE PREPARED TO PROPOSE ANY CORRECTIONS OR MODIFICATIONS.

AND, UH, THAT'S IT.

WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO PERFORM THAT FUNCTION? HAVING NO VOLUNTEERS? WE'LL PUT THAT ON NEXT MONTH'S AGENDA.

UH, THANK YOU.

WE COULD VOLUNTEER THE NEW MEMBER TAKING FREDDY'S PLACE.

YEAH, WE COULD GO AHEAD AND PUT HER IN THAT ROLE.

NO, I'M KIDDING.

.

UM, YEAH, WE'LL SEE.

AND MAYBE, MAYBE WE'LL HAVE THERE, THERE ARE TWO VACANCIES OTHER THAN, UH, THE FACT THAT COMMISSIONER FREDDY HAS TO RESIGN.

UH, SHE WAS GONNA COME TONIGHT, BUT THEN SHE COULDN'T.

BUT SHE, UH, A REPLACEMENT HAS BEEN APPOINTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL.

UH, NEXT AGENDA

[4.Potential changes to the membership of the Working Group to Review ERC Complaints Process (Members: Low, Materne, and Preddy)]

BUT COMMISSIONER UR AND COMMISSIONER PRETI HAVE HAD TO RESIGN.

SO COMMISSIONER LOWE WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HAVE SOME COLLEAGUES TO JOIN HER IN THAT, UH, ON THAT WORKING GROUP.

UH, WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO VOLUNTEER TO BE PART OF COMMISSIONER FIGUEROA? THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WOULD ANYONE ELSE LIKE COMMISSIONER GIBBON? WONDERFUL.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UH, DO I NEED TO APPROVE? CAN YOU TO APPROVE THAT? I CAN'T REMEMBER.

UH, SO WHEN TECHNICALLY UNDER THE CITY CODE, THE CHAIR APPOINTS THE MEMBERS.

I MEAN, OFTEN YOU ALL HAVE DISCUSSED IT AND, AND TALKED ABOUT IT.

I MEAN, YOU COULD TAKE A VOTE ON IT IF YOU WANTED TO, BUT IT'S ALL TECHNICALLY, I'LL JUST SAY THE CHAIR HEREBY APPOINTS COMMISSIONER FIGUEROA AND COMMISSIONER MCGOVERN TO THE WORKING GROUP TO REVIEW, UH, ERC COMPLAINTS PROCESS.

OKAY.

WORKING GROUP UPDATES,

[5. Update from the Working Group to Review and Revise ERC bylaws. ]

THAT WORKING GROUP COMPRISES MYSELF, VICE CHAIR SHARKEY AND COMMISSIONER KING.

UH, WE DID MEET AND THROUGH THAT MEETING AND SOME SUBSEQUENT EMAILS, WE CAME UP WITH SOME PROPOSED REVISIONS OF THE BYLAWS.

UH, BUT THEN I WAS, UM, NOTIFIED BY, UH, MS. WEBSTER FROM THE LAW DEPARTMENT THAT THE CITY IS CURRENTLY REVISING THE TEMPLATE THEY USE SO THAT WE SHOULDN'T RUSH INTO THINGS UNTIL THERE'S A TEMPLATE AVAILABLE.

PARDON? SOON CITY.

SO THE CLERK'S OFFICE ACTUALLY DID ADOPT THAT TEMPLATE OH.

RECENTLY.

AND CITY COUNCIL PASSED AN ORDINANCE TO ALLOW CITY COUNCIL TO MAKE THOSE CHANGES ACROSS THE BOARD FOR EVERY BOARD AND COMMISSION.

SO THEY'RE GETTING READY TO SEND AN EMAIL OUT TO ALL THE LIAISONS ABOUT THAT.

AND THEN SOME OF THE CHANGES YOU ALL HAD PROPOSED ARE IN THAT THEY HAVE BEEN, THEY WILL HAVE BEEN MADE.

AND SO THERE'S JUST A FEW OTHER THINGS THAT ARE KIND OF SPECIFIC TO THE ERC THAT YOU WOULD STILL MAYBE WANT TO WORK ON.

BUT, BUT SO THAT, SO I'M ANTICIPATING I DIDN'T WANNA JUMP THE GUN, SO I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THE CITY CLERK TO SEND SOMETHING OUT.

UM, BUT IF THEY'RE NOT GONNA SEND IT OUT SOON, I'LL PROBABLY JUST GO AHEAD.

I, I'LL I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND SEND IT TO YOU ANYWAY SO THAT YOU ALL, SO THAT YOU WORKING GROUP HAS IT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

I THINK THIS WAS AN INSIDE JOB.

MS. WEBSTER WAS THE ONE ASSIGNED TO FOR THE CITY TO DO REDO THE CITY TEMPLATE.

ALRIGHT.

UM, SORRY, CAN YOU CONFIRM WHO SECONDED ITEM ONE, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES? UH, COMMISSIONER KEEL.

I MOVED, I BELIEVE.

MOVED IT AND COMMISSIONER LUNDGREN SECONDED IT? YES.

UM, DOES ANYBODY WISH

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

UM, IF I HEAR NO OBJECTIONS, I WILL ADJOURN THE MEETING.

DO WE, DO WE NEED A MEETING IN JANUARY?

[00:10:01]

RIGHT.

AND THERE ARE NONE.

THERE ARE, THERE ARE NONE IN THE WORKS.

UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PENDING COMPLAINTS RIGHT NOW, UH, FOR YOU ALL TO SET A HEARING ON.

THE ONLY THING I'LL MENTION AS FAR AS THE NEXT MEETING IS CONCERNED IS THERE IS A PROVISION IN THE CITY CODE ABOUT IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN, OH, WELL, ACTUALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, I WAS GONNA SAY MORE THAN THREE CANCELED MEETINGS, UH, IN A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME THEN THAT THE CLERK HAS TO NOTIFY COUNCIL ABOUT IT.

BUT SINCE WE'LL BE IN A NEW YEAR, ACTUALLY I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD, AND WE'VE HAD THIS MEETING IN BETWEEN THE OTHER TWO COUNCILS.

SO ACTUALLY I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD WE, THAT WOULD TRIGGER THE, UM, THE, THE CITY CLERK'S AUTOMATIC ACTION TO NOTIFY OF A BOARD COMMISSION NOT MEETING.

SO JUST A THOUGHT WITH THAT IN MY, YEAH, FOR CERTAINLY IF WE HAVE ANY COMPLAINANTS OR RESPONDENTS THAT ARE MEETING OUR ACTION, THAT WOULD BE ONE THING.

RIGHT.

BUT WHAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS IS, UM, MS. BETHE AND I WILL DISCUSS ABOUT A WEEK AHEAD OF THE MEETING WHAT'S ON THE AGENDA.

AND FOR THE TWO PREVIOUS ONES TO THIS, I DECIDED WE DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO MEET.

UM, BUT WE HAD TO MEET TONIGHT BECAUSE YOU CAN'T HAVE THREE IN A ROW.

YEAH.

CANCELED.

SO WE'LL SEE HOW IT GOES IN, UH, IN JANUARY AND SEE IF WE GET ANY COMPLAINTS OR ANYTHING ELSE THAT WE, THAT, THAT REQUIRES OUR ATTENTION.

UNDERSTOOD.

ALRIGHT, UH, THEN I'LL SAY AGAIN, ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS TO ADJOURNING HEARING? NO OBJECTIONS.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

MERRY CHRISTMAS.