Feb 11, 2026 Technology Commission

[CALL TO ORDER]

[00:00:05]

IF AV IS READY.

OKAY.

UH, GOOD EVENING EVERYONE CALLING TO ORDER THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION.

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH.

I HAVE THE TIME AT 6:35 PM UH, WE ARE COMING TO YOU LIVE FROM AUSTIN CITY HALL IN THE BOYS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, UH, MAY WATCH AND FOLLOW ALONG, UM, ON A TXN LIVE.

WE DO HAVE, UM, UH, A FEW MEMBERS COMING TO US VIRTUALLY.

UM, SO I'LL GO AHEAD AND START OFF WITH THE ROLL CALL, UH, FIRST PHYSICALLY IN THE ROOM, AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO, UM, OUR MEMBERS JOINING US VIRTUALLY.

ONCE AGAIN, MY NAME IS STEVEN APODACA AND I AM REPRESENTING DISTRICT TWO.

GO TO MY LEFT.

NICK EASTWOOD, REPRESENTING DISTRICT EIGHT.

BEN COMBY, REPRESENTING DISTRICT SEVEN, NEIL RIVI REPRESENTING DISTRICT 10.

AND GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.

UH, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, REPRESENTING DISTRICT FOUR.

THANK YOU.

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST, COMMISSIONER ANGA.

COMMISSIONER ANGA, REPRESENTING DISTRICT NINE.

THANK YOU.

UH, SO WE DO HAVE QUORUM.

UH, I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

UH, AT OUR LAST COMMISSION MEETING BACK IN, UH, DECEMBER, WE SKIPPED JANUARY'S MEETING.

UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND GIVE, UH, MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION JUST, UH, SHORT TIME TO DO A FINAL REVIEW OF THOSE MINUTES.

AND THEN, UM, HAPPY TO HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.

I MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.

COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, DO WE HAVE A SECOND? SECOND MOTION PUT FORWARD BY COMMISSIONER HERITAGE? SECONDED BY, UH, COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD.

ANY MORE DISCUSSION ON THAT? DOES DON'T THINK SO.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ACCEPTING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY AYE.

AYE.

AYE.

AYE.

GREAT.

AND I SEE, UH, COMMISSIONER FROCK HAS JOINED US AS WELL.

WELCOME, COMMISSIONER FROCK.

[2. Update presentation on the City of Austin website redesign project by the city’s CTM department (Jessica King, Chief Communications Director, Communications & Technology Management)]

AND THEN WITH THAT, I'LL MOVE US INTO OUR SECOND AGENDA ITEM, AND THAT IS AN UPDATE ON THE REDESIGN TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.

UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE FOLKS HERE FROM, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, ENGAGED IN THAT PROJECT, SO I WILL TURN IT OVER TO THEM.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO TAKE IT AWAY.

GOOD EVENING EVERYONE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING TIME TO HEAR AN UPDATE FROM US TODAY.

I'M YASMINE WAGNER FROM COMMUNICATIONS AND ENGAGEMENT ROXANNA FROM AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY SERVICES.

SO WE ARE EXCITED TO, UM, GIVE YOU GUYS AN UPDATE ON WHAT IS GOING TO BE A SIGNIFICANT PROJECT FOR THE CITY, AND THAT IS RE-IMAGINING, UH, THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE THAT AUSTINITES HAVE WHEN THEY INTERACT WITH THE CITY, SPECIFICALLY THROUGH AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV.

SO, UM, STARTING OFF, I WANT TO GIVE YOU GUYS A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON, UM, HOW THIS CAME TO BE, WHAT OUR DISCOVERY PROCESS HAS BEEN, WHAT OUR VISION IS FOR THIS WORK.

AND IN DOING THAT, UM, STARTING TO THINK ABOUT WHAT OUR END GOAL IS.

AND THAT IS WE RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS A NEED TO CONTINUE MODERNIZING THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DIGITAL EXPERIENCE.

WE NEED TO PROVIDE A PROVI, UH, A UNIFIED ACCESSIBLE, FUTURE READY PRESENCE BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THAT AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV SERVES AS THE DIGITAL FRONT DOOR TO CITY SERVICES FOR AUSTINITES.

WHAT WE HAVE ENCOUNTERED UP TO THIS POINT IS, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN THE SITE AND CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE THE SITE THAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE ENDED UP IN A PLACE WHERE WE HAVE REACHED THE CAPACITY OF WHAT AND CAPABILITIES OF WHERE OUR CURRENT CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SITE CAN DO.

AND SO THAT IS LIMITING OUR ABILITY TO MAKE FUTURE FACING PROGRESS.

SO WITH THAT, UM, TAKING A LOOK AT KIND OF WHERE WE'VE EVOLVED FROM IN 2012, UH, WAS WHEN THE CURRENT AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV SITE LAUNCHED.

UM, EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE SEEN SINCE THEN HAS BEEN INCREMENTAL TECHNICAL SITE UPDATES WE HAVE MADE, UH, MAKING SURE THAT IT'S MAINTAINED AND UPDATED AS NEEDED FOR STABILITY FOR THE LATEST, UM, VERSIONS.

EVERYTHING ELSE.

WE'VE ALSO CONDUCTED CONTINUOUS MONITORING, TESTING, DISCOVERY OVER TIME.

SERVICE USABILITY AND ACCESSIBILITY IMPROVEMENTS HAVE BEEN A CORE TENANT FOR US.

AND CONTENT REFINEMENT CONTINUES TO BE SOMETHING WE FOCUS ON.

BUT WITH ALL OF THAT, AGAIN, WE'RE KIND OF BUMPING UP AGAINST WHAT WE CAN DO WITHIN THAT FORMAT.

SO THAT LEADS US TO WHAT WE BEGAN IN 2024, WHICH IS, UM, PUTTING TOGETHER A DXP OR DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

[00:05:01]

UM, WE'RE TARGETING A LAUNCH OF SPRING 2026, AND SO THIS WILL GIVE YOU GUYS A LITTLE BIT OF AN UPDATE ON WHAT TO EXPECT WITH THAT COMING UP.

SO ALL OF THIS WAS KICKED OFF FOR US BY A LONG PERIOD OF FOCUS DISCOVERY.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT COMPILES A LOT OF INTELLIGENCE AND DATA THAT WE'VE COMPILED OVER MANY YEARS.

WITH THE ONSET OF THE DXP PROGRAM, WE WERE ABLE TO TAKE A MUCH DEEPER DIVE INTO LOOKING AT EVERYTHING FROM COMPETITIVE AND TECHNICAL ANALYSIS, UM, USER INPUT, UH, BRINGING IN A LOT OF DATA THAT WE HAVE AROUND USER BEHAVIOR ANALYTICS, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, SPENDING TIME WITH OUR STAKEHOLDERS AND OUR LEADERSHIP TO UNDERSTAND THE VISION FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND WHERE WE'RE TRACKING THE SERVICES AND INNOVATION.

SO ALL OF THAT HAS PUT TOGETHER A THREE-PRONG APPROACH AROUND DELIVERY WITH STRATEGY, DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY, ALL BEING CORE ASPECTS.

WITH ALL OF THAT DISCOVERY THAT GLEANED A LOT OF INSIGHTS FOR US THAT HAVE INFORMED THE APPROACH.

UM, SO THE FIRST BEING LOOK, FEEL, AND FUNCTIONALITY, UM, WE RECOGNIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, OUTDATED AND CONSISTENT, UH, APPEARANCE WEAKENS, BRAND RECOGNITION.

IT ALSO, YOU KNOW, ERODES USABILITY AND TRUST IN THE SITE AS WELL.

UH, ACCESSIBILITY IS SOMETHING, UM, THAT HAVING THAT ABILITY TO, I'M SORRY, MY GLASSES ARE NOT, NOT DOING ME RIGHT, TO FULLY, UM, ADHERE TO STANDARDS IS SOMETHING THAT'S CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR US.

AND WE DO NOT WANNA CREATE ANY BARRIERS TO AUSTINITE BEING ABLE TO ACCESS SERVICES, A MOBILE RESPONSIVE DESIGN, UH, KNOWING THAT, UH, A MAJORITY OF OUR USERS ACCESS THE SITE ON THEIR PHONE, BEING ABLE TO HAVE AS HIGH OF A QUALITY OF EXPERIENCE WITHIN A MOBILE FORMAT AS THEY ARE ON A A COMPUTER IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT.

GOVERNANCE AND CONTENT, MAKING SURE THAT TOOLS, GOVERNANCE, EVERYTHING IS IN PLACE TO ENSURE WE'VE GOT, UM, AS EFFICIENT AND AS CLEAR OF A PUBLISHING PROCESS TO GET SPEED INFORMATION TO THE USER AS POSSIBLE.

SITE STRUCTURE, INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE WAY, FINDING ALL OF THOSE NAVIGATION PIECES IN GETTING, UH, THE USER TO THE CONTENT THAT THEY NEED AS EFFICIENTLY AND CLEARLY AND AS INTUITIVELY AS POSSIBLE IS SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN A CORE TENANT.

AND THEN RECOGNIZING, UM, WHERE WE CURRENTLY STOOD WITH OUR TECHNICAL LIMITATIONS.

YOU KNOW, WE HAD AN AGENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND INTEGRATION THAT WAS REQUIRING, UH, MUCH MORE TIME, UH, AND WORKAROUNDS TO BE ABLE TO REALIZE THE BASIC STABILITY AND UPGRADES THAT WE NEEDED TO.

SO WITH THAT, I'LL HAND OFF TO, UH, ROXANNA TO TALK ABOUT THE PLATFORM FRAMEWORK AND HOW WE CAN DO THAT DECISION.

YEAH.

SO IN ORDER FOR US TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THE VISION OF ACE AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, WE NEEDED A MODULAR SCALABLE TECHNOLOGY AND A UNIFIED DIVINE DESIGN SYSTEM FOR CONSISTENCY AND GROWTH.

SO WE KIND OF, UM, FLIPPED THINGS ON THEIR HEAD A LITTLE BIT, CHANGED THE WAY WE LOOKED AT THINGS.

AND NOW WE ARE LOOKING AT THE SITE BEING BUILT AROUND PEOPLE, NOT CONTENT.

MAKING SURE THAT THE STRUCTURE REFLECTS AUSTINITES GOALS INSTEAD OF WHAT INTERNAL DEPARTMENTS LOOK AT AS ORGANIZATION, RIGHT? THAT WE WANT TO SUPPORT FAST AND CONSISTENT UPDATES.

UH, WE USED TO HAVE SLOW AND UNEVEN CONTENT AND TECHNICAL UPDATES.

ALL OF THAT HAS BEEN ADDRESSED.

AND SO THAT IS SUPPORTING A USER-CENTERED DESIGN FOUNDATION.

WE'RE IMPLEMENTING, AGAIN, AROUND AUSTINITES NEEDS AND ON FOR ONGOING IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR CURRENT NEEDS.

BUT, UM, IN THAT WE'RE ALSO MAKING SURE THAT IT'S EASY TO FIND AND USE SERVICES, YOU KNOW, NAVIGATION SEARCH, LIKE YASMINE SAID, MOBILE SUPPORT.

AND THE BIGGEST THING IS MAKING, MAKING SURE WE'RE FUTURE READY RATHER THAN BACKING OURSELVES INTO A CORNER.

WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT OUR FUTURE READY DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY WILL ALLOW, UH, DELIVER ACCESSIBILITY, PERFORMANCE CONSISTENCY, UM, WITH ALIGNMENT AND EVOLVING STANDARDS.

SO WHAT DOES THAT DXP REALLY GET FOR US? UM, EVOLVING BEYOND THE CURRENT CMS? UM, THE CURRENT CMS IS A STANDALONE CMS, IT FOCUSES ON PAGES.

UH, RESIDENTS STILL HAVE TO NAVIGATE ACROSS SYSTEMS TO COMPLETE TASKS WITH THE DXP OR THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE.

IT'S GONNA FOCUS ON THE EXPERIENCE.

IT'S CONNECTING CONTENT SERVICES, SEARCH AND TOOLS AND THE FLOW THAT'S BUILT AROUND THE RESIDENTS NEEDS.

UM, IT'LL GET US BETTER SERVICE CONNECTIONS.

IT IS BUILT FOR IMPROVEMENT.

WE'RE NOT WEDGING A ROUND PEG INTO A SQUARE HOLE OR VICE VERSA.

AND IT WILL SCALE WHAT THE CITY'S NEEDS FOR NEW SERVICES AND INTEGRATIONS AS OUR COMMUNITY EVOLVES.

HAND

[00:10:01]

YES.

SO GETTING INTO DESIGN AND AUTHORING AND THINKING ABOUT THE TOOLS THAT, OH, EXCUSE ME.

GETTING INTO DESIGN AND AUTHORING AND THINKING ABOUT HOW WE'RE ABLE TO STREAMLINE TOOLS SO THAT WE CAN SIMPLIFY THAT CONTENT CREATION AND GET, UH, OUR INTERNAL USERS THAT ARE CREATING AND PUBLISHING THAT CONTENT, ABLE TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO AUSTINITES AS QUICKLY AND AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE.

SO WITH THAT, WE UM, CONSIDERED SOME CORE DESIGN PRINCIPLES THAT WE'VE CARRIED THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS WITH US.

WE WANT A SITE THAT IS STREAMLINED AND RESPONSIVE, UM, HAS TO BE PREPARED AND READY FOR MOBILE FRIENDLY DESIGN AND SMOOTH NAVIGATION AS A USER MOVES THROUGH IT UNIQUE AND PERSONABLE.

WE KNOW THAT AUSTIN, WE'VE GOT AUSTIN PRIVACY UNIQUE CITY.

WE WANT OUR SITE TO REFLECT THE INNOVATION AND UNIQUENESS OF BOSTON AND OUR TONE AND OUR VOICE AND OUR CHARACTER.

WE WANT A SITE THAT'S INTUITIVE AND DELIGHTFUL.

IT SHOULD BE A PLEASANT EXPERIENCE TO MOVE THROUGH THE CITY SITE ACCESSIBLE AND INCLUSIVE.

WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE TO MEET THE NEEDS OF EVERY SINGLE USER THAT COMES TO THAT SITE BY MEETING, UH, WCAG A, A STANDARDS AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT ACCESS IS EQUAL.

UM, AND THEN FLEXIBILITY EXTENSIBILITY, MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT A SCALABLE SYSTEM SO THAT WE'VE GOT A CLEAR PATTERN LIBRARY, WE'VE GOT CLEAR STYLE SYSTEMS, WE'VE GOT CLEAR CONTENT TYPES THAT ALLOW FOR EXTENSIBILITY ACROSS THE BOARD AND KEEPING IT CONSISTENT AND FRESH.

SO RECOGNIZING THAT THE SITE NEEDS TO LOOK CLEAR, MODERN, CRISP, APPROACHABLE, AND WE INCORPORATE OUR BRANDING CLEARLY AND CONSISTENCY ACROSS, CONSISTENTLY ACROSS ALL PAGES FOR A CONSISTENT EXPERIENCE.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT MANAGING CONTENT, AND I THINK I'VE ALLUDED TO IT EARLIER, WE, UH, HAVE A DISTRIBUTED CONTENT MODEL AT THE CITY.

AND SO AS WE'LL TALK LATER ABOUT THE EXTERNAL USER'S NEEDS AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE VISITING THE SITE, WE ALSO HAVE TO CONSIDER THE NEEDS OF THE INTERNAL USER, WHICH FOR US IS OUR AUTHORS, OUR CONTENT OWNERS AND PUBLISHERS.

SO WE SHARE THAT OWNERSHIP ACROSS 40 PLUS DEPARTMENTS.

SO WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF CONTENT AUTHORS WITH PRIVILEGES ON THE SITE RIGHT NOW.

WHAT THAT EFFECTIVELY DOES FOR US, IT MEANS THAT THE CONTENT LIVES WITH THE TEAMS WHO ARE CLOSEST TO THE WORK WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE.

DEPARTMENTS ARE ABLE TO MANAGE THEIR OWN UPDATES WITHIN THAT SHARED SYSTEM.

SO IT CREATES A MORE EFFICIENT AND UH, QUICKER SYSTEM TO SPEED INFORMATION OUT.

UM, WE ALSO HAVE CLEAR STANDARDS FOR CONSISTENCY THOUGH, SINCE THAT IS DISTRIBUTED THAT WIDELY, UH, AROUND TEMPLATES, LANGUAGE, ALL THESE THINGS.

BUT THE OTHER THING THAT WE RECOGNIZE TOO, THAT HAS BEEN A BOUNDARY FOR US PREVIOUSLY IS THAT WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S FLEXIBILITY FOR THOSE AUTHORS AS WELL, SO THAT THEY CAN ACCOMPLISH THEIR COMMUNICATIONS GOALS WITHIN THAT STRUCTURE.

AND SO THIS NEW SYSTEM IS ALLOWING FOR US TO BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT AS WELL.

UM, AND THEN WITHIN ALL OF THAT, WE DO STILL HAVE A CENTRALIZED GOVERNANCE AND SUPPORT MODEL WITHIN, UH, ROXANNE'S AND MY DEPARTMENTS WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO SET STANDARDS, GUIDANCE, QUALITY ASSESSMENTS ACROSS THE PLATFORM AND ENSURE THAT WE'VE GOT BETTER ENGAGEMENT THROUGH UPDATES BEING TIMELY AND WELL SUPPORTED.

UM, SO RECOGNIZING THAT WE DO HAVE THAT DISTRIBUTED CONTENT MODEL, WE DO WANT CONSISTENCY, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT FLEXIBILITY IN THERE TOO.

WE'VE KIND OF APPROACHED THE, UM, THE STYLING OF THE SITE AS A LEGO BLOCK KIND OF MODULAR APPROACH WHERE EVERY CONTENT TYPE, EVERY TYPE OF INFORMATION CAN FIT TOGETHER AS A BLOCK AND BUILD TOGETHER DIFFERENT LAYOUTS, WHICH EFFECTIVELY YIELDS FOR US SIX DIFFERENT TEMPLATES.

AND SO THOSE TEMPLATES, UM, CAN FLEX AND MOVE A LITTLE BIT WITHIN THOSE DIFFERENT BUILDING BLOCKS SO THAT ACROSS 1300 PAGES, YOU STILL MAINTAIN THAT CONSISTENCY.

BUT THERE'S AN ALSO AN EASE OF USE FOR ALL OF OUR AUTHORS TO BE ABLE TO, UM, INCORPORATE THE THINGS THAT THEY NEED.

UM, EACH TEMPLATE HAS A CONSISTENT PURPOSE.

UM, THERE'S A SHARED STRUCTURE SO THAT AS THE USER MOVES THROUGH THE SITE, IT FEELS FAMILIAR.

AND THEN, UM, IT ALSO SIMPLIFIES AGAIN, UM, GETTING THINGS UP ON THE SITE IN A TIMELY FASHION SO THAT WE CAN GET AUSTINITE TO THAT CONTENT.

SO NOW TALKING ABOUT USER EXPERIENCE AND IMPACT, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE EXTERNAL FACING PIECE OF IT.

YEAH, , THAT'S TRUE.

SO, UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT, UM, SORRY, YOUR MIC.

OH, THANK YOU.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT USER EXPERIENCE AND IMPACT, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT ALL OF THE TYPES OF USERS THAT WE MAY HAVE COMING TO ACCESS OUR DATA.

AND SO IT HAS TO BE ACCESSIBLE, INTUITIVE, IT HAS TO IMPROVE THAT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT AND EFFICIENCY.

SO WHEN WE STAY ACCESSIBLE TO ALL, IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW YOU'RE CONSUMING THE DATA, IF YOU'RE USING, UH, UH, A PAGE READER OR ANY OTHER KIND OF FORM, YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO MEET THAT FOR EVERY SINGLE THING ON THE PAGE.

UM, IF YOU WENT TODAY TO GO LOOK AT THAT AND USE THE READER, THERE WERE SOME PICTURES THAT DON'T HAVE TAGGING ON THEM.

THEY'RE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT ARE AN ISSUE THAT WE HAVE REALLY HONED IN ON AND RESOLVED TO ENSURE PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO IMPART FROM

[00:15:01]

AND WE ALSO MADE SURE THAT WE'RE LANGUAGE INCLUSIVE.

SO THERE'S TRANSLATION FEATURES THAT SUPPORT COMMUNICATIONS WITH AUSTIN DIVERSE COMMUNITIES.

I'M LUCKY, I'M BILINGUAL.

I SPEAK ENGLISH AND SPANISH AND READ THE BOOK, SO IT'S EASY FOR ME.

BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT DON'T HAVE THAT ABILITY, AND THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO GET TO HEALTH AND SAFETY INFORMATION THAT IS CRITICAL ALONG WITH THEIR MEETING, THEIR DAY TO DAY NEEDS AS BEING A MEMBER OF THIS COMMUNITY.

SO SOME OF THE TECHNICAL BENEFITS THAT ARE GONNA SUPPORT THIS OVERALL IS MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE A MODERN AND CONSISTENT SITE WITH EASY PUBLISHING TOOLS AND A UNIFIED DESIGN.

AS YASMINE SPOKE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT HOW THE CITY CAN BE MORE EFFICIENT AND IF PEOPLE AREN'T SPINNING THEIR WHEELS TRYING TO GET CONTENT UP, THAT'S PART OF HOW WE DO THAT.

UH, WE MAKE SURE THAT IT'S RELIABLE AND SECURE BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ONUS TO OUR COMMUNITY THAT IF THEY'RE INTERACTING WITH SOMETHING, THEY KNOW IT'S SAFE AND THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THEM A SAFE PLACE TO FIND THAT INFORMATION.

IT NEEDS TO BE EFFICIENT AND SIMPLE WITH STREAMLINED WORKFLOWS, WITH UNDERSTANDABLE AND CLEAR PERMISSIONS.

AND ALSO WE ARE STAYING DATA INFORMED RATHER THAN MAKING CHANGES OR UPDATES ON A HUNCH OR A PREFERENCE, LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE BUILT-IN ANALYTICS AND, UM, THAT CAN TELL US WHAT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE ACCESSING, WHAT OUR VISITORS ARE LOOKING AT, AND HELP US TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE MIGHT NEED TO BUILD CONTENT OR CHANGE DIRECTION.

AND THEN, UM, WITH SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION, WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING TO THE RIGHT AUDIENCES.

ALL OF THIS, WE'RE DOING, UH, MEASURING SUCCESS THROUGH OUR KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS.

AND THEY'RE PRETTY STANDARD, RIGHT? UH, PERFORMANCE, UH, CORE WEB VITALS, ACCESSIBILITY, RESPONSIVENESS, RELIABILITY AND SECURITY.

AND ALSO, UM, TEST COVERAGE.

SO ALL OF THESE KEY PERFORMANCE EDUC, UM, INDICATORS, SORRY, ARE WHAT HAVE HELPED TO INFORM AND BUILD OUR FUTURE FACING ROADMAP.

AND THIS ROADMAP'S CORE IS CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT.

SO WE KNOW THAT BY DESIGN WE'VE INSTILLED THE DXP SUPPORTING REGULAR UPDATES BASED ON RESIDENT BEHAVIOR, FEEDBACK, SERVICE DEMANDS.

UM, WE CAN IMPROVE EXPERIENCES OVER TIME RATHER THAN WAITING FOR SOMEBODY TO SAY, THIS DOESN'T WORK FOR US, OR HAVING SOMETHING FAILED OR WAITING FOR A LARGE REBUILD TO MAKE A SIMPLE CHANGE.

SO AGAIN, DATA GUIDES OUR PRIORITIES THAT WAY WE KNOW WHERE RESIDENTS MIGHT BE STRUGGLING, WHERE THEY MAY BE ABANDONING TASKS OR NOT GETTING WHAT THEY EXPECT FROM A SEARCH.

AND OUR UPDATES ARE GONNA FOCUS ON THOSE REAL PAIN POINTS FIRST.

UH, RATHER THAN TELLING PEOPLE, WELL, YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE NEXT VERSION.

UM, AND ALSO OUR PLATFORM FOR ONGOING IS SET FOR ONGOING ENHANCEMENTS.

WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST IS GET A SINGLE SOLUTION AND KIND OF RODE THAT UNTIL IT WAS OUT OF DATE OR NOT MODERN.

NOW WE'RE SETTING OUR PLATFORM SO THAT WE CAN HAVE NEW TOOLS AND INTEGRATIONS AND ROLL THOSE OUT INCREMENTALLY AS IS NEEDED.

AND SO WE CAN PROVIDE THIS VALUE WITHOUT DISRUPTING EXISTING SERVICES.

'CAUSE THAT, THAT'S ANOTHER HISTORICAL ITEM, RIGHT? WE HAVE TO STOP THIS SO WE CAN DO THAT.

NOW.

WE'RE, UM, MAKING CHANGES AS THE BUS IS ROLLING, SO TO SPEAK.

SO REALLY THE ROADMAP IS WHAT IS SUPPORTING OUR EVOLVING RESIDENT EXPECTATIONS.

UM, WE ARE LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE AND STAYING FUTURE FACING RATHER THAN SAYING IT'S OKAY FOR NOW, OR IT'S WORKING NOW.

WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GROW WITH IT AND NOT HAVE A, UM, FORKLIFT NEEDED TO GET US TO THE NEXT STAGE.

SO WITH THAT, I THINK YASSIN AND I HAVE COVERED THE INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE FOR YOU TODAY.

UM, WE AGAIN EXPECT THE SITE TO MAR TO LAUNCH THE END OF MARCH.

THIS SPRING, YEP.

YEP.

THIS SPRING.

SO, UM, WE REALLY FEEL LIKE WE'RE MAKING A LOT OF GREAT HEADWAY.

WE'RE HAPPY TO SHARE WITH YOU AND ANSWER QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.

YEAH.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, UH, FOR ALL THE DETAIL THERE.

I AM CURIOUS, UM, YOU HAD MENTIONED, UH, YOU DID COMPLETED STAKEHOLDER INTERVIEWS, UH,

[00:20:01]

I'M CURIOUS WHAT OUTREACH WAS DONE TO, UH, THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE CITIZENS TO UNDERSTAND WHAT SOME OF THEIR NEEDS DESIRES ARE FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE? YEAH, AND WE HAVE CONDUCTED, UH, QUITE A BIT OF VISA RESEARCH NEEDS TESTING TO ENSURE THAT BOTH INFORMING THE DESIGN OF THE SITE AS WELL AS TESTING, UH, THE SITE IN ITS CURRENT STATE, UM, MAKING SURE THAT IT'S READY FOR LAUNCH.

SO THAT HAS INCLUDED EVERYTHING FROM MAKING SURE THAT WE'VE GOT A CLEAR REPRESENTATION FROM DIFFERENT READING LEVELS, DIFFERENT, UM, LANGUAGES SPOKEN, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE FOLKS THAT USE ADAPTIVE TOOLS TO VISIT THE SITE ARE ABLE TO VISIT AS WELL.

AND SO WE'VE TRIED TO GET A GOOD, STRONG REPRESENTATION OF AUSTIN AS IT REALLY IS AND THE PEOPLE THAT ARE USING THE SITE EVERY DAY.

MM-HMM .

AND WHAT WAS THE FORMAT OF THAT INPUT? JUST TO OUTTA CURIOSITY? WE'VE DONE A LITTLE BIT IN PERSON.

WE'VE DONE A LOT THROUGH ONLINE SERVICES AND TOOLS BECAUSE THE ONLINE SERVICES AND TOOLS ALLOW US TO BE ABLE TO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE SELECTING FOR THAT DIVERSITY OF COMMUNITY THAT WE'RE SEEKING TO HAVE A BROAD SUITE OF INPUT FROM.

MM-HMM .

OKAY.

AND ARE THERE ANY, UM, ANY, UH, PREVIEWS OR TEMPLATES THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH THE COMMISSION? REALLY EAGER TO, TO SEE WHAT, WHAT THE REBRAND AND THE REFRESHES IS GONNA LOOK LIKE? I'LL LOOK A SNEAK PEEK.

YES.

.

YEAH.

YEAH.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE REST OF THE COMMISSION? UH, I HAD A COUPLE QUESTIONS I WROTE DOWN DURING YOUR PRESENTATION, AND BY THE WAY, I KNOW BIG WEBSITE REDESIGNS ARE A HUGE TASK, SO DEFINITELY APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK YOU'VE BEEN PUTTING INTO THIS.

UM, I GUESS FIRST ONE IS, IS EVERYTHING GOING TO BE MOVED TO THE NEW SITE TEMPLATES ON LAUNCH, OR ARE THERE STILL PARTS THAT ARE GONNA BE ON THE OLD DESIGN? YEAH, AND, UM, SO A BIG PART OF LEADING UP TO THIS WHEN WE STARTED THIS DXP PROCESS WAS WE RECOGNIZED THAT THE CURRENT SITE WAS REALLY BLOATED.

WE HAD, YOU KNOW, A HUGE NUMBER OF PAGES THAT MANY OF WHICH WERE OUTDATED, THAT WERE SLOWING PEOPLE BEING ABLE TO GET TO WHAT THEY NEEDED.

SO A HUGE EFFORT THAT WENT IN BEFORE THAT WAS A CONTENT CLEANUP.

SO WE HAD PAIRED OUR SITE DOWN FROM, IT WAS 14,000 PAGES TO ABOUT 1300.

SO THAT WAS A BIG, UH, FORMAT GOING INTO IT.

UM, AND, UM, I APOLOGIZE, I JUST LOST MY TRAIN OF THOUGHT.

WAS I, PLEASE REPEAT THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION FOR ME.

OH, I WAS JUST, WAS CURIOUS.

I MEAN, IS IS THE TRANSITION BRINGING EVERYTHING TO THE NEW TEMPLATES, OR ARE THERE STILL PIECES THANK YOU.

MIGRATION.

SO THAT WAS LEADING UP TO MY NEXT PART ABOUT MIGRATION.

SO WE DID HAVE, UM, A MIGRATION PROCESS WHERE ONCE WE HAD CALLED DOWN THAT CONTENT AND VALIDATED IT, THEN WE'VE DONE AN AUTOMATED MIGRATION PROCESS TO THE NEW SITE.

UH, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF WORKING WITH ALL OF OUR CONTENT OWNERS TO VALIDATE THE MIGRATION WAS HANDLED SUCCESSFULLY.

SO, SO WE WON'T LOSE ANY OF THE CORE PIECES OR HAVE TO START OVER ON EVERYTHING, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO PUT IT TOGETHER IN A WAY THAT IS MORE INTUITIVE FOR THE USER AND HAS THE MOST ESSENTIAL INFORMATION THERE.

BUT WHAT WE DID ENSURE THAT WE LEFT BEHIND WAS ANYTHING THAT WASN'T ACCESSIBLE.

SO LIKE, IF WE KNEW THAT THERE WERE PIECES OF CONTENT THAT NEEDED TO BE REPLACED BECAUSE THEY DON'T SUPPORT THAT, WE DIDN'T BRING, I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW WE DIDN'T BRING THE UGLY STUFF WITH US.

WE MADE SURE TO ONLY BRING THINGS IN THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO, UM, BE TRANSITIONED OR REPLACED.

OKAY.

THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD.

I, I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT ARE THERE GONNA BE LIKE REDIRECTIONS IN PLACE SO PEOPLE HAVE LINKS TO OLD PIECES OF WEBSITE? WE'LL BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THOSE STILL BE VALID? YEAH, AND WE'VE TRIED TO, UH, WHEREVER POSSIBLE PRESERVE THAT NAVIGATION SO THAT, SO THAT PEOPLE WILL WON'T STRUGGLE.

THERE MAY BE A FEW THINGS JUST AS WE ARE REALLY COMPLETELY REBUILDING A NEW SITE THAT MAY HAVE LITTLE HITS THERE AND THERE, BUT WITH THE IMPROVED ABILITY OF SEARCH THE INDEXING OF SERVICES, UM, A LOT BETTER, UM, METADATA AND TAGGING OF CONTENT, IT'LL BE A LOT EASIER FOR USERS TO FIND THOSE THINGS RATHER THAN HAVING TO RELY ON A BOOKMARK TO GET TO 'EM.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

GOT IT.

JUST A GENERAL ONE FOR ME.

I WAS JUST CURIOUS, UM, IN YOUR RESEARCH, WHAT WERE THE PAGES THAT WERE MOST USED OR HIT AND HOW DID YOU, YOU, YOU WERE SAYING THAT YOU WERE KIND, PRIORITIZING I GUESS THE SERVICE ASPECT OF IT.

SO I'M CURIOUS HOW THAT ENDED UP IN THE DESIGN.

YEAH, AND A GREAT QUESTION, AND I APPRECIATE YOU ASKING THAT.

'CAUSE WE, UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'VE ACTUALLY ACTIVELY WORKED ON FOR A LONG TIME.

SO IF YOU GO TO THE CITY'S CURRENT HOMEPAGE AND YOU SEE THE SERVICES ON THE HOMEPAGE, THOSE ARE OUR TOP VISITED SERVICES.

UM, OFTENTIMES WE WILL PROMOTE A SERVICE THERE THAT WE KNOW IS VERY TIMELY.

YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S SOMETHING LIKE COVID TESTING OR YOU KNOW, OR FLOOD RELIEF OR THINGS LIKE THAT THAT WE KNOW IS, IS VERY TOPICAL AND TIMELY NEEDED, WE'LL PUSH IT UP.

BUT, UM, OTHERWISE WE RELY VERY HEAVILY ON ANALYTICS AND, UM, COMPLETION OF TASKS AS WELL.

OKAY.

YEAH.

IS THE, IS IT JUST A BASIC SEARCH FEATURE ON THE SITE OR IS THERE LIKE A CHAT INTEGRATION? I'D BE EXCITED.

I'M EXCITED THAT WE ARE WORKING

[00:25:01]

UM, WHEN IT COMES IN THE SPRING, WE WON'T HAVE IT ON THERE YET BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T HAVE PROBLEMS WITH HALLUCINATION OR, UM, EVEN SOMETHING THAT FEELS AS WELL, LANGUAGE TRANSLATION ISN'T SIMPLE, BUT THERE ARE NUANCES TO LANGUAGE THAT CAN BE VERY, UM, CONFUSING TO PEOPLE.

SO I KNOW ACE HAS WORKED REALLY HARD TO CREATE, UH, LIBRARIES AND DICTIONARIES THAT TAKE IN COLLOQUIALISMS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

SO WE'RE TRYING TO BE VERY, VERY, UM, DILIGENT ABOUT ENSURING WE WON'T HAVE MISINFORMATION OR MISUNDERSTANDINGS BY A CHAT BOT THAT WE MIGHT PUT OUT FOR THOSE COMMISSIONERS ONLINE.

UM, I'M ALMOST CERTAIN ONE OR MORE OF THOSE FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS FOR YOU.

I'LL GIVE THEM JUST A MOMENT TO COME ONLINE.

MAYBE NOT.

I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.

GO AHEAD.

WERE THERE ANY UPDATES TO LIKE THE PERMITTING PROCESS AND HOW EASY IT WAS TO SEE, LIKE APPLICATION STATUS OR LIKE IF ANYTHING WAS MISSING? LIKE HAVE YOU WORKED WITH SOME OF THE INTERNAL CITY DEPARTMENTS TO TRY TO STREAMLINE THE ACCESS TO INFORMATION TO THE APPLICANTS OR THINGS LIKE THAT? YEAH, I, I THINK WE HAVE BEEN SETTING THE FOUNDATION FOR PERSONALIZATION, UM, SO THAT PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO COPY INFORMATION OVER AGAIN, REENTER INFORMATION, GET THAT DONE.

BUT IN GETTING THE DXP SOLID AND READY IN THAT LEGO FORM THAT, UH, YASMINE WAS TALKING ABOUT, WE'VE POSITIONED OURSELF TO BE ABLE TO GET THERE AS NEXT STEPS BECAUSE YOU BRING UP A GREAT POINT PERMITTING, BUT THERE'S OTHER THINGS OUT THERE THAT WE GO TO DIFFERENT PLACES LIKE UTILITIES AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.

SO IT IS A VISION TO, TO BRING IT ALL COHESIVELY TOGETHER AND MAKE IT JUST EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO TRANSACT ON THE SITE ALTOGETHER.

MM-HMM .

AND ALSO TOO, IN THE TIME LEADING UP AND KIND OF BEGINNING GETS PAPERWORK, ONE OF THE REFINEMENTS THAT WE'VE WORKED REALLY HARD TO MAKE HAS BEEN AROUND SERVICE DESIGN AND, UM, NAVIGATION THROUGH SERVICE DESIGN FOR THE USER.

AND SO I THINK IF YOU START TO LOOK AT SOME OF OUR SERVICES ON THE SITE, AND YOU WILL SEE THAT DONE IN A MUCH MORE ROBUST WAY WITHIN THE NEW DXP, UM, YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE IS A MUCH MORE INTUITIVE PATH GUIDING A USER THROUGH THAT, THAT SERVICE NAVIGATION, RATHER THAN HAVING TO GO THROUGH A MORE CONVENTIONAL OLDER SCHOOL MODEL OF FIGURING OUT YOUR WAY AROUND AND FINDING THE RIGHT FORM AND THAT KIND OF THING.

AND, UH, JUST ANOTHER QUESTION FOR YOU.

SO FOR OTHER SITES, LIKE IF I GO TO AUSTIN ENERGY, IS THAT GONNA BE A COMPLETE LIKE, REDESIGN, REBRAND? IS THERE GONNA BE A TIGHTER CONNECTION TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE AS WELL? YES.

YEAH.

SO CURRENTLY, UM, THE WORK OF THE DXP RIGHT NOW FOR OUR INITIAL LAUNCH WILL ENCOMPASS, UM, EVERYTHING FROM AUSTIN TEXAS.GOV THAT'S CURRENTLY THERE, THAT INCLUDES ALL DEPARTMENTS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF AUSTIN ENERGY CURRENTLY HAS A SEPARATE SITE AND AUSTIN LIBRARY DOES AS WELL.

SO THOSE SITES, UH, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED AS YOU KNOW, IN THE FUTURE MM-HMM .

HOW TO BRING THEM INTO THE DXP, BUT FOR THE INITIAL LAUNCH WILL NOT BE PART.

OKAY.

FAIR ENOUGH.

OKAY.

ANY FINAL QUESTIONS FROM ANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS? WELL, UH, WE MIGHT HAVE QUESTIONS OFFLINE, SO, UM, OH, COMMISSIONER FROCK, GO AHEAD.

YEAH, I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION, UM, BUT I DID JUST WANNA SAY THAT IT'S VERY, I'M GETTING A LITTLE BIT OF FEEDBACK FROM GONNA TRY AGAIN.

OKAY.

YEAH, THAT'S BETTER.

UM, YEAH, SO I JUST, UM, WANTED TO SAY IT'S VERY CLEAR HOW MUCH RESEARCH HAS GONE INTO THIS, UM, AND HOW MUCH, UM, PLANNING HAS GONE INTO MAKING THIS A BETTER USER EXPERIENCE, MORE ACCESSIBLE USER EXPERIENCE, UM, WHICH IS AWESOME TO SEE.

AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTA THE PRESENTATION, UM, THAT Y'ALL SHARED TODAY.

EXCITED ABOUT IT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.

THANK YOU.

WE APPRECIATE IT.

AND IF WE DO HAVE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, CAN WE REACH OUT TO THE TWO OF YOU DIRECTLY OR PLEASE DO.

GREAT.

OKAY.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR COMING IN PERSON AND ENJOYED THE PRESENTATION AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE LAUNCH IN THE SPRING.

THANK YOU.

GOING AHEAD

[3. Updates to the Technology commission bylaws in accordance to ordinance 20251120-008 (Dan Martinez, Business Process Specialist, Austin Economic Development)]

UM, DAN, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TURN IT OVER TO YOU.

HOWDY COMMISSIONERS.

UH, THIS IS GONNA BE PRETTY QUICK.

JUST WANTED TO INFORM Y'ALL OF THIS CHANGE, UM, SINCE YOU GUYS DID WORK SO DILIGENTLY ON LAST UPDATE TO THE BYLAWS.

I DIDN'T WANT Y'ALL TO BE SHOCKED WHEN THE FORMAT LOOKED A LITTLE DIFFERENT WHENEVER, UH, YOU GUYS GO TO CHECK 'EM OUT.

UM, BUT THERE WAS, UH, AN ORDINANCE THAT CAME DOWN FROM THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE, UH, INFORMING US ABOUT A COUPLE OF EDITS THAT NEEDED

[00:30:01]

MOST OF THEM ARE JUST, UH, KIND OF, UH, GRAMMATICAL OR CHANGING SOME OF THE STATEMENTS TO READ BETTER OF FLOW SMOOTHER.

UM, BUT THERE ARE SOME SIGNIFICANTLY EDITED PORTIONS AND I JUST WANTED TO CALL OUT SOME OF THE LARGER ONES.

UM, I'LL GO AHEAD AND, AND, UH, JUST COVER WHICH SECTIONS WERE, UH, DID RECEIVE JUST LIGHT EDITS, UM, CHANGES TO LIKE ONE OR TWO LINES THAT DON'T NECESSARILY IMPACT THE WORK OF THIS COMMISSION.

UH, BUT ARTICLE TWO, UM, ON PURPOSE AND DUTIES ARTICLE THREE ON MEMBERSHIP, UH, ARTICLE THREE, UH, D ARTICLE THREE F UH, ARTICLE FIVE A, UM, ARTICLE SIX A, ARTICLE SIX B AND ARTICLE SEVEN J GOT SOME OF THE SMALLER EDITS.

UM, JUST CHANGING SOME OF THE WORDING AROUND, UM, AS WELL AS SEVEN D.

UM, OR ACTUALLY I SHOULD COMMENT ON THIS ONE, UH, UH, SECTION, UH, SEVEN OH, UM, WHAT WE WERE INFORMED TO REMOVE ENTIRELY.

AND THEN, UH, SECTION EIGHT, ARTICLE EIGHT, UH, COMMITTEES AND WORKING GROUPS.

THIS ALSO RECEIVED AN EXTENSIVE OVERHAUL.

UM, THERE WAS SOME EDITS TO, UH, THE FORMAT THAT THIS COMMISSION HAD IT, UH, UNDER, UM, BEFORE IT USED TO READ THAT THIS COMMISSION WILL, UH, HAVE, UH, NO, UH, WORKING GROUPS AND THEN ALL, AND WE WERE ABLE TO BYPASS THE ADDITIONAL, UH, TEXT THAT WAS NEEDED FOR THAT PORTION.

UM, BUT NOW THEY'VE WORKED THAT BACKWARDS.

SO ALL OF THE LAWS OR ALL THE BYLAWS REGARDING, UH, WORKING GROUPS APPLY TO THIS COMMISSION AS WELL.

BUT THEN AT THE VERY END IS WHERE WE ADDED THAT NOTICE THAT THIS COMMISSION WILL HAVE NO WORKING GROUPS.

SO THINGS ARE THE SAME, BUT THERE'S JUST A HUGE CHUNK THAT HAS BEEN INCLUDED ON THIS.

UM, AND THEN, UH, THERE WERE ALSO SOME SMALLER EDITS TO ARTICLE, UH, 10, UM, AND THEN WE ADDED ONE, UH, STATEMENT TO ARTICLE 10, UM, JUST KIND OF, UH, CLARIFYING THAT, UH, EDITS TO THE BYLAWS THIS TIME AROUND WERE, UH, REQUESTED BY ORDINANCE 20 25, 11 20 DASH OH OH EIGHT.

UM, BUT YEAH, UM, NOTHING TOO SUBSTANTIAL.

NOTHING HAS CHANGED ABOUT, UH, HOW THIS, UH, COMMISSION WILL WORK OR, UH, ANY OF THE, UH, PURPOSES OR DUTIES THAT YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN, UH, IN CHARGED WITH.

UM, JUST SOME MINOR FORMATTING, UH, CHANGES, UM, THAT WE WANTED TO MAKE YOU AWARE OF.

UM, BUT YEAH, PLEASE LEMME KNOW IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS.

DAN, CAN YOU EXPAND ON, UM, THE CHANGES TO THE WORKING GROUP SECTION? CORRECT? YES.

UM, SO ON OUR PREVIOUS VERSION, AS I STATED, UH, WE WERE ABLE TO BYPASS THAT WHOLE SECTION JUST BY SAYING, UM, THIS COMMISSION HAS NO, UH, WILL HAVE NO, UH, COMMITTEES.

I'M SORRY.

UM, AND SO WE HAD TO ADD, UM, SOME MORE CONTEXT.

SO WHAT WAS ADDED WAS THIS, UM, SO ALL OF, UH, SUBSECTION A WAS REMOVED AND THEN RECHANGED AND RENUMERATED, UM, WITH THE NEW SECTION A READING, EACH COMMITTEE MUST BE ESTABLISHED BY AN AFFIRMATIVE VOTE.

UM, B READS, THE BOARD CHAIR SHALL APPOINT A BOARD MEMBER.

AS THE COMMITTEE CHAIR C READS, A MAJORITY OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF APPOINTED COMMITTEE MEMBERS CONSTITUTES A QUORUM.

D IS EACH COMMITTEE SHALL MEET ON A REGULARLY SCHEDULED BASIS, OR AT LEAST QUARTERLY.

E IS, EACH COMMITTEE SHALL MAKE AN ANNUAL REPORT TO THE BOARD AT THE, UH, JANUARY BOARD MEETING.

AND THEN F IS COMMITTEE MEETINGS MUST BE POSTED IN ACCORDANCE TO THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 5 51.

UM, AND, UH, LEMME SEE.

YES.

AND THEN THE NEW SUBSECTION H UM, IT, WE WERE, UH, TASKED WITH CHANGING IT TO THE, UH, TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING COMMITTEES, OR IF YOU HAVE NO COMMITTEES, THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION CURRENTLY HAS NO COMMITTEES.

SO BASICALLY ALL THEY DID WAS ADD BACK IN ALL THE COMMITTEE LANGUAGE THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN ABLE TO BYPASS.

UM, AND, UH, THEN WE JUST ADDED THAT STATEMENT THAT YOU ALLOWED US TO BYPASS IT TO AT THE VERY BOTTOM.

UM, BUT SINCE THIS COMMISSION HAS NO, UH, COMMITTEES AT THE CURRENT MOMENT, AND I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY PLANS TO ESTABLISH, I THINK WORKING GROUPS IS THE CURRENT FOCUS, UM, THIS WON'T IMPACT THE WORK AT ALL.

OKAY.

THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.

SO IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS JUST CLARIFICATION ON HOW COMMITTEES WOULD BE FORMED MOSTLY.

MOSTLY IF WE EVER WANTED TO DO THAT, YES.

AND I CAN FORWARD THESE EDITS OVER TO THE COMMISSION JUST TO LET Y'ALL KNOW WHAT HAS BEEN CHANGED MM-HMM .

UM, OR THE EDITS THAT WERE REQUESTED OF ME FROM MY END.

AND THEN I'LL ALSO SEND THE UPDATED, UH, BYLAWS TO Y'ALL AS WELL AFTER THIS MEETING.

AND THEN WHEN DO THOSE BECOME EFFECTIVE? I'M NOT TOO SURE.

WE DIDN'T GET, UH, A POSTING DATE.

UM, AND I, I SENT THEM OUT.

I, I WANNA SAY PRIOR TO THE PREVIOUS MEETING.

SO SOMETIME IN, UM, LATE DECEMBER IS WHEN THIS CAME DOWN.

UM, LEMME DOUBLE CHECK.

IT LOOKS LIKE THEY'RE ON THE WEBSITE NOW AS, YEAH, AS OF JANUARY 30TH.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

? UH, I DID NOT CHECK, BUT, UH, YES.

SO THOSE ARE ACTIVE NOW.

UM, AND, UH,

[00:35:01]

SO THAT WAS ANOTHER REQUEST THAT THE CITY CLERK, UH, ASKED US TO MAKE.

AND SO, UH, ALL POS OR ALL PREVIOUS ITERATIONS AND EDITS HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED ON THE, UH, CURRENT VERSION OF THE BYLAWS.

OKAY.

I DON'T SEE THAT ONE CURRENTLY ON THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE.

UM, SO IF WE, MAYBE OFFLINE, IF WE COULD JUST DOUBLE CHECK THE TIMING OF THAT FOR SURE.

I'LL FIND OUT AND I'LL INCLUDE THAT IN MY MESSAGE WITH THE UPDATED DOCUMENTS.

YEAH, I THINK THAT'D BE HELPFUL, DAN.

'CAUSE I HAVE THE, THE EMAIL FROM STEPHANIE WITH JUST THE LIST, BUT I THINK SEEING IT AGAINST OUR, IF IT'S POSSIBLE, IF THERE'S RED LINES ANYWHERE AGAINST OUR STAFF DRAFT, I THINK THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO SEE.

YES, DON'T CREATE A , BUT IF IT EXISTS, THAT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO SEE.

YEAH, I SHOULD HAVE A RED LINE VERSION, SO I'LL SEND THAT OVER AS WELL AS, UH, THE, THE PREVIOUS ITERATION AND THEN THE CURRENT ITERATION AND THEN THE, THE RED LINE VERSION.

OKAY.

THANK YOU.

OF COURSE.

THANK YOU GUYS.

OKAY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR DAN? OKAY.

[4. Update on the Grant for Technology Opportunities Program 2026 grant cycle (Jesse Rodriguez, Program Manager, Austin Economic Development)]

SO OVER TO YOU FOR CLARIFICATION.

UM, I MISREAD IT.

IT'S THE JANUARY 30TH, 2025.

SO THAT WAS A PREVIOUS BYLAW THAT OUT.

YEP.

GO AHEAD JESSE.

UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS.

I DON'T HAVE TOO MUCH TO UPDATE ON, BUT, UM, UH, I DID HAVE SOME UPDATES FOR THE G OS 2026 CYCLE, UM, SINCE Y'ALL ARE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED IN THIS GRANT.

UM, UH, WE LIKE TO UPDATE Y'ALL ON ANY, UH, SIGNIFICANT CHANGES THAT HAPPENED DURING THE YEAR FOR THE, THE GRANT OPPORTUNITY.

UM, ONE, UH, ONE, THE MAIN THING THAT WE WANTED TO BRING UP IS THAT THERE WERE, UM, DELAYS IN, IN THE INITIAL LAUNCH OF THE PROGRAM.

UH, AND, UH, SO WE ALL KNOW THAT PROP Q FAILED, IT CAUSED SOME BUDGET READJUSTMENTS, UH, THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UH, THAT CAUSED SOME, SOME DELAYS IN THE LAUNCH.

UM, FORTUNATELY NOTHING WAS, UH, IMPACTED IN TERMS OF FUNDING, BUT IT DID DELAY THE LAUNCH.

UM, AND SO, UH, THE MAIN THING I WANTED TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION IS THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A LETTER OF INTEREST PROCESS, WHICH NORMALLY WOULD HAVE LAUNCHED ON NOVEMBER 15TH.

INSTEAD, WE SKIPPED THAT PORTION OF THE PROCESS AND WENT STRAIGHT INTO THE APPLICATION PHASE, UH, WITH THE APPLICATIONS BEING DUE TODAY.

UM, WITH THAT CHANGE, UH, WE, UH, AS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, MOMENTS BEFORE THE MEETING TODAY, UH, WE HAVE ABOUT, UM, 21 APPLICATIONS THAT ARE ON FILE SO FAR.

UH, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S ANOTHER ADDITIONAL, YOU KNOW, QUEUE THAT ARE LIKELY TO COME IN BEFORE THE MIDNIGHT DEADLINE, UM, THAT IS, UH, SUFFICIENT FOR OUR, UH, MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO MOVE AHEAD WITH THE PROCESS.

UM, SO, UH, I DON'T EX, UH, EXPECT ANY EXTENSION REQUIRED FOR THE APPLICATION PHASE.

UM, UH, THE LAST NOTE, UH, JUST BECAUSE, UH, IT, IT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE THE DEADLINE TODAY, UH, AND WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT EARLIER.

UH, WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING SOME, SOME LAST DAY CHALLENGES WITH THE FORM.

UH, AND SO, UH, BETWEEN 11 O'CLOCK AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, UP UNTIL, UH, JUST BEFORE THE MEETING, WE'VE BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, FIELDING SOME, UH, SOME TECH ASSISTANCE REQUESTS WITH OUR, UH, CLIENTS.

BUT, UM, UH, WE ARE ALLOWING EMAIL SUBMISSIONS TO ME AND DAN, SO IF ANYBODY HAS BEEN HAVING PROBLEMS, UH, THEY CAN EMAIL, UH, THE APPLICATIONS AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT THEY, THEY'RE IN, UH, CONSIDERATION.

SO, UH, THOSE ARE THE MAIN UPDATES THAT I HAVE.

I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.

UM, BUT YEAH, THAT'S EVERYTHING.

[6. Grant for Technology Opportunities Program Core Pathway Review Panelist and Ex-Officio position selection and confirmation (Part 1 of 2)]

UM, COME BACK TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE AND MOVE US STRAIGHT INTO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER SIX, SINCE, UM, WE HAVE AN ACTION AS A COMMISSION TO COMPLETE THIS TONIGHT.

UM, OVER TO YOU, DAN.

YEAH.

ALRIGHTY.

UM, I BELIEVE MOST OF Y'ALL HAVE BEEN THROUGH THIS PROCESS, IF NOT THROUGH GTOP S CORE, THEN IT MAY HAVE BEEN FOR, UH, ONE OF OUR OTHER PATHWAYS.

UM, BUT, UH, BASICALLY WHAT WE'RE REQUESTING IS THAT DECOMMISSION LOOK THROUGH THE, UH, PACKET OF APPLICANT'S FOR THE GTOP S REVIEW PANEL, AND THAT, UM, YOU GUYS MAKE THIS SELECTION OF EIGHT REVIEW PANELISTS TO, UH, ASSIST WITH THAT, UH, REVIEW EFFORT.

UM, I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'RE ALL BUSY,

[00:40:01]

UM, BUT THE WAY IT'S GONNA WORK IS KIND OF, UH, LIKE A RANKING SYSTEM.

SO WE'RE GONNA GO AROUND THE ROOM AND WE'RE GONNA ASK YOU ALL TO RANK THEM FROM BEST TO WORST.

UM, AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA USE THAT PLACEMENT OF BEST TO WORST TO MAKE, UH, A TALLY.

AND THEN, UH, WE'RE GONNA AVERAGE THE SCORES THAT Y'ALL SUBMIT TO FIND THE FINAL SELECTION.

UM, I DO REQUEST THAT AS YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THESE DOCUMENTS AND, UM, READING THEM THAT YOU, UH, KEEP A SCORE, OR NOT A SCORE, BUT, UH, ASSIGN A, A PLACEMENT TO EACH APPLICATION, UH, OR ONCE YOU'RE DONE REVIEWING THEM.

SO IF, LET'S SAY, FOR APPLICANT ONE, UM, IF THERE YOU'RE, YOU'RE WORST SCORING, THEN WHEN WE'RE DOING THE SCORE READOUT, YOU'RE GONNA BE, YOU'RE GONNA SAY APPLICANT ONE 10, APPLICANT SIX, NINE, AND THAT'S HOW IT'S GONNA WORK.

UM, I'LL GIVE ANOTHER REMINDER RIGHT BEFORE WE JUMP INTO THAT.

UM, BUT I, YOU KNOW, THAT PROCESS IS PRETTY EASY.

UM, BUT YES, THE, THE REVIEW PANEL PROCESS IS SET TO START, UH, SOON.

WE'RE GONNA JUMP RIGHT INTO IT.

UM, WE'RE GONNA SPEND THIS WEEK, UM, COLLECTING ALL ALL OF THE, UH, APPLICATION DOCUMENTS AND, UH, MAKING A PACKET.

AND THEN WE'RE GONNA JUMP RIGHT INTO AN ORIENTATION.

UM, THE Y'ALL SELECTION WILL GO INTO EFFECT TOMORROW MORNING, I'M GONNA SEND OUT THE ANNOUNCEMENT EMAIL.

UM, AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'RE ALSO, UH, HOPING TO SETTLE ON AN EX-OFFICIO CHAIR, UH, FOR THE, UH, RE REVIEW PANEL.

UM, OF COURSE, I THINK BY DEFAULT THAT STARTS WITH A CHAIR APODACA, AND THEN, UM, IF HE DEEMS IT, UH, APPROPRIATE, THEN HE CAN, UH, LET ANOTHER, UH, COMMISSIONER SERVE IN THAT POSITION.

UM, BUT, UH, IT, IT IS UP TO, UH, COMM OR CHAIR APO DACA'S, UH, UH, JUDGMENT.

UM, BUT YES, THE EXOFFICIO CHAIR IS A DIFFERENT POSITION FROM A REVIEW PANELIST, YOU'RE, UH, MOSTLY THERE IN LIKE A GUIDANCE ROLE.

UM, YOU WOULD, UH, BE HELPING TO FACILITATE THE CONVERSATION, UM, FILLING IN ANY GAPS THAT, UH, KNOWLEDGE GAPS THAT THE REVIEW PANEL MAY HAVE.

UM, BUT THE ROLE IS TO KIND OF HELP GUIDE CONVERSATION.

AND AS SOMEONE WHO IS INVOLVED IN COMMUNITY EFFORTS AND TECHNOLOGY, UM, WE HOPE THAT YOU CAN HAVE THAT, UH, EXPERT OPINION ON, UM, THE THINGS THAT, UH, WE ASK, THE REVIEW PANELISTS EMPHASIZE LIKE, UH, SUSTAINABILITY, UH, IMPACT OF THE APPLICATIONS, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST KIND OF ALWAYS BRINGING THE CONVERSATION BACK TO THAT.

UM, YEAH, IT'S, IT'S RELATIVELY EASY POSITION.

YOU JUST HAVE TO COME IN AND, AND JOIN A COUPLE OF ORIENTATIONS.

UM, AND THEN ONE EIGHT DAY, OR EIGHT DAY, UM, EIGHT HOUR SESSION, UH, WHERE WE REVIEW ALL THE APPLICATIONS, UM, WITH THE ENTIRE REVIEW PANEL IN PERSON.

UM, AND, AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY FUN AS FAR AS REVIEW PANELING GOES.

UM, BUT YES.

UM, SO RIGHT NOW, UH, I THINK WE'LL JUST GIVE YOU SOME TIME TO GO THROUGH THESE UNLESS ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS OR NEEDS ANY CLARIFICATION.

SO WHAT I RECOMMEND, UH, WANNA MAKE SURE ALL COMMISSIONERS HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO GO, UM, THROUGH EACH OF THE, UH, THE APPLICATIONS.

SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL RECESS FOR 15 MINUTES.

UM, THAT SHOULD GIVE EVERYONE TIME AND THEN WE CAN COME BACK IF FOLKS NEED MORE TIME.

UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.

AND THEN, UH, WHILE WE'RE IN RECESS, UH, I THINK WE, YOU CAN, IF QUESTIONS COME UP, CAN, CAN WE CONTINUE TO ASK YOU DAN, JESSE? OKAY, YEAH, OF COURSE.

UM, SO I'LL START A TIMER, 15 MINUTES AND THEN WE CAN COME BACK AND SEE WHERE WE ARE.

RECESS, IT JUST WENT OFF.

HEY COMMISSIONERS.

WHO WANTS MORE TIME? MAYBE TWO MORE MINUTES.

I'LL GIVE FIVE MORE MINUTES.

OH MY GOODNESS.

OKAY.

UM, TO CONFIRM, IT'S LIKE WE'RE GOING APPLICANT FIVE, SIX, LIKE HOW WE'RE GRADING THEM IS FROM THE ONE TO 10 SCALE AND 10 IS LIKE THE BEST, UH, CORRECT, YES.