* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [Moderator: Patricia Fraga Corrie Stokes Austin City Auditor Jason Hadavi Deputy City Auditor] [00:00:11] WELL, HELLO EVERYONE. AND WELCOME TO THIS. EVENING'S LIVE VIRTUAL TOWN HALL MEETING ON THE CITY'S REDISTRICTING PROCESS. THANKS FOR JOINING US. AND IN THIS MEDIUM, WE'LL HAVE A BRIEF OVERVIEW BY THE CITY AUDITOR, COREY STOKES FOLLOWED BY A BRIEF QUESTION AND ANSWER PERIOD. SO WE'LL BE SPENDING THE NEXT HOUR WITH YOU AND WITH EVERYONE THIS EVENING. SO THANKS FOR JOINING. MY NAME IS PATRICIA FRAGA AND I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE CITY AUDITOR'S OFFICE FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS ON THIS VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT. AND I WILL SERVE AS TONIGHT'S MODERATOR. FIRST, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU TO OUR PRESENTERS FOR TONIGHT'S VIRTUAL TOWN HALL MEETING. WE HAVE AUSTIN CITY AUDITOR, COREY STOKES, DEPUTY CITY AUDITOR. JASON HAD DHABI AND OFFSCREEN. WE HAVE SEVERAL AUDITORS WORKING WITH US AND ANSWERING OR TAKING QUESTIONS FOR TONIGHT'S PRESENTATION. SO WE HAVE, UM, MARIA TOPI, KELSEY AND FRANCIS. SO THEY'RE TAKING YOUR QUESTIONS VIA FACEBOOK, TWITTER, OR INSTAGRAM, AND YOU CAN FIND US AT AUSTIN CITY AUDITOR. SO PLEASE, PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT OR SEND US A QUESTION FOR THE NEXT HOUR. SO WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO INTRODUCE COREY STOKES, WHO WILL GIVE YOU A BRIEF PRESENTATION ON THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS. COREY, THANKS PATRICIA. I'M COREY STOKES. I'M THE CITY AUDITOR HERE FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND I'M HERE TODAY TO INTRODUCE OUR REDISTRICTING RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE COMING YEAR. AND, UM, JUST SO YOU HAVE OUR WEBSITE, IT'S SHOWN HERE, REDISTRICT ATX IS.ORG. UM, WE'LL HAVE MUCH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO FIRST, WHAT IS REDISTRICTING? THIS IS A VOTER DESIGNED PROCESS TO REDRAW COUNCIL DISTRICT BOUNDARIES BASED ON NEW CENSUS DATA, WHICH COMES OUT EVERY 10 YEARS. THAT DATA IS BEING COLLECTED NOW AND WILL BE AVAILABLE IN EARLY 21, 2021. FOR THESE EFFORTS. WE FIRST DID THIS INITIATIVE, UM, SEVERAL YEARS AGO IN 2012, THERE WAS A LANDMARK EVENT WHERE, UM, THE CITIZENS OF AUSTIN VOTED TO MOVE TO GEOGRAPHIC REPRESENTATION, UM, THAT HAD BEEN ON THE BALLOT SEVERAL TIMES, BUT IT WASN'T UNTIL 2012, UH, THAT IT PASSED. SO THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME WE DID THIS REDISTRICTING EFFORT. AND NOW, UH, WE ARE, WE ARE STARTING AGAIN AND THE PROCESS WILL BE, UM, FOR 21 HAPPENING MOSTLY IN 2021. I CAN GO INTO EFFECT FOR THE NOVEMBER, 2022 ELECTION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO MY OFFICE'S JOB IS TO WIDELY PUBLICIZED THIS PROCESS AND TRY TO GET A DIVERSE POOL OF APPLICANTS FOR TWO DIFFERENT BODIES. ONE IS THE APPLICANT REVIEW PANEL. THIS PANEL WILL HELP SELECT COMMISSIONERS. UM, AND THAT INCLUDES THAT PANEL INCLUDES THREE CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS OR CPAS, UH, WHO HAVE AUDIT EXPERIENCE. AND THEN ON THE INDEPENDENT CITIZENS REDISTRICTING COMMISSION, THAT COMMISSION IS THE ONE RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTUALLY DRAWING THE BOUNDARIES. AND THE COMMISSION HAS SEVERAL REQUIREMENTS. THERE ARE REQUIREMENTS ABOUT VOTING HISTORY OF CONFLICT, OF INTEREST PROVISIONS, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMISSIONERS ARE INDEPENDENT AND YOU CAN LEARN ALL ABOUT THOSE AND, AND MUCH MORE, AS I MENTIONED ON OUR WEBSITE, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO AS I MENTIONED, THE PANEL, THAT'S THREE CPAS. UM, THEY ARE FROM ALL OF THE APPLICANTS THAT WE GET. AND I SHOULD MENTION THAT THE APPLICANT REVIEW PANEL ALSO HAS CONFLICT OF INTEREST PROVISIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE FOLKS PARTICIPATING IN THAT PROCESS, UM, ARE INDEPENDENT FROM THE CITY. UH, BUT THOSE, THOSE THREE CPAS WILL BE RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM ALL OF THE APPLICANTS THAT WE GET THAT QUALIFY. AND THEN THAT PANEL IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GOING THROUGH, UM, ANY CONVENTION APPLICATIONS WE GET AND NARROWING IT DOWN, UM, TO THE 60 MOST QUALIFIED COMMISSIONERS, UH, FROM THAT OUR OFFICE RANDOMLY SELECTS EIGHT COMMISSIONERS AND THOSE EIGHT COMMISSIONERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR SELECTING SIX MORE, UH, BRINGING THE COMMISSION TO A TOTAL OF 14 AND FILLING OUT THE DIVERSITY OF THAT COMMISSION. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO THERE'S LOTS OF, LOTS OF DATES ON THIS SLIDE, BUT A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHTS. SO FIRST THE PANEL APPLICATIONS OPENED AND THE COMMISSION APPLICATIONS OPEN ON JUNE 1ST. THEY WILL BE AVAILABLE. YOU CAN APPLY THROUGH SEPTEMBER 1ST FOR THE PANEL AND THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30TH FOR THE COMMISSION, ONCE THOSE [00:05:01] CLOSE, UH, WE THEN MOVE THROUGH THE RANDOM PROCESS THAT I SPOKE ABOUT. UM, AND EVENTUALLY THE COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS FORMED AND THEY BEGIN DOING THEIR WORK. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO I KNOW I'VE SAID THIS SEVERAL TIMES, EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW SHOULD BE ON OUR WEBSITE@REDISTRICTATX.ORG. THERE ARE, THERE ARE ALSO A WAYS AND YOU CAN SEE THE BUTTONS HERE. YOU CAN APPLY FOR THE COMMISSION OR APPLYING FOR THE PANEL ONLINE, IN ADDITION, BECAUSE WE WANT A DIVERSE POOL FROM THE COMMUNITY. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SORRY. UM, WE ARE, WE HAVE TRANSLATED OUR MATERIALS, BOTH THE WEBSITE MATERIALS AND THE APPLICATIONS INTO MULTIPLE LANGUAGES. CURRENTLY WE HAVE SPANISH, CHINESE, AND VIETNAMESE, BUT WE CAN ALSO DO OTHER LANGUAGES UPON REQUEST. SO WITH THAT, I AM HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, PATRICIA. I CAN'T HEAR YOU. SURE. THERE YOU GO. THERE WE GO. SORRY ABOUT THAT TECHNOLOGY. THAT'LL LOVE IT. SO I THINK I'LL START OFF WITH THE FIRST QUESTION FOR BOTH YOU AND JASON, YOU KNOW, AS YOU MENTIONED, THE LAST TIME THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE DID, THIS WAS IN 2013, SO WE'RE IN 2000, 27 YEARS LATER, AND WE'RE DEALING WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT CHALLENGES AS WE DO THIS PROCESS. SO I JUST KIND OF WANT TO ASK YOU WHAT'S DIFFERENT AND WHAT'S CHALLENGING ABOUT THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT THAT WE FIND OURSELVES IN. CERTAINLY, WELL, I WOULD SAY ONE THING THAT'S DIFFERENT IS THAT WE'VE DONE IT ONCE BEFORE. SO WE DO HAVE SOME KNOWLEDGE AND THERE HAS BEEN A COMMISSION, UM, THAT ALREADY EXISTED AND WE CAN LEARN FROM THEIR LESSONS LEARNED AND FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE, UM, GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS LAST TIME. SO THAT THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL. THEY'RE ALSO A PANEL. UM, SO ALL OF THOSE PARTIES KIND OF HAVE SOME EXPERIENCE AND CAN, UM, HELP US KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING A LITTLE BIT BETTER. UH, BUT THEN ALSO I THINK THERE ARE SOME REAL CHALLENGES IN, UM, VIRTUAL ENGAGEMENT AND ALL THAT. JASON TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. SURE. UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UH, QUITE A BIT MORE TIME TO PREP THIS TIME AROUND AND WE HAD, WE HAD INTENDED TO HAVE AN IN PERSON MEETING IN EACH OF THE EXISTING 10 DISTRICTS IN ORDER TO REACH OUT TO PEOPLE. THE CURRENT PANDEMIC IS OBVIOUSLY CREATING SOME HURDLES THERE. SO WE'VE SHIFTED TO VIRTUAL OUTREACH. UM, THAT BEING SAID, WE'RE HAVING MEETINGS LIKE THIS, WHERE WE CAN ENGAGE WITH PEOPLE. WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS, WE CAN PROVIDE INFORMATION. AND WE HAVE A BROAD OUTREACH PLAN THAT INCLUDES TELEVISION, RADIO BILLBOARDS, BUS WRAPS, AND A PRETTY EXTENSIVE SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN, AS WELL AS PRINT ADS AND A LOT OF DIFFERENT FORMS AND FASHIONS. SO WE'RE STILL, UH, TAKING A VERY WIDESPREAD APPROACH TO MAKING SURE WE CAN REACH OUT TO ALL THE RESIDENTS WHO MAY BE INTERESTED IN APPLYING FOR EITHER THE PANEL OR THE COMMISSION. OKAY, GREAT. THANK YOU. SO OUR FIRST QUESTION COMES FROM FACEBOOK. UM, DOESN'T THE CITY MRS. KOO COREY DOESN'T. OKAY. I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE NEXT CENSUS TO REDRAW THE BOUNDARIES. YES. WE NEED THE CENSUS DATA TO REDRAW THE BOUNDARIES. AND THAT'S REALLY THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION ONCE IT'S FORMED, BUT THERE'S SOME WORK TO BE DONE. THERE'S, THERE'S THE WORK OF RECRUITING THE PANEL AND THE COMMISSION THAT CAN BE DONE BEFORE WE HAVE THAT DATA. AND THEN THERE, THERE IS WORK THAT THE COMMISSION CAN DO. I'M SELECTING THE ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONERS AND I'M REALLY JUST GETTING THINGS LAID OUT BEFORE THEY HAVE THAT DATA. SO WHILE THEY MAY NOT HAVE THE DATA ON DAY ONE AND THAT THE COMMISSION HAS FORMED, WE EXPECT THAT DATA TO COME IN. AND THE PROCESS FOR US, UM, IS THE DATES ARE SET IN CHARTER. SO WE'RE STICKING TO THOSE DATES, EVEN IF, EVEN IF THE DATA WERE DELAYED, THE CENSUS DATA WERE DELAYED. UM, ANYTHING LIKE THAT, WE WOULD STILL NEED TO MEET THE DATES AND MATCH OUR RESPONSIBILITIES. RIGHT. AND YOU MAY HAVE SAID THIS AND I MAY HAVE MISSED IT, BUT IT'S, IT'S PER THE CITY CHARTER. RIGHT. RIGHT. AND I DON'T KNOW IF I SAID THAT, BUT YES, IT'S, IT'S PART OF THE CITY CHARTER AND IT WAS WRITTEN BY CITIZENS BACK AND THE YEARS LEADING UP TO THE 2012 ELECTION. SO THIS IS TO YOU, JASON COMES FROM FACEBOOK. HOW WILL I KNOW IF MY ZIP CODE IS INCLUDED IN THE REDISTRICTING EFFORTS? UH, THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT IS TO GO TO OUR WEBSITE, REDISTRICT ATX.ORG IN THE FAQ. THERE IS A GENERAL QUESTION, UH, THAT ADDRESSES THAT, AND IT INCLUDES A LINK TO A CITY WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN TYPE IN YOUR ADDRESS AND FIGURE OUT WHAT DISTRICT YOU'RE IN. VERY GOOD. EASY ENOUGH. UM, [00:10:01] JASON, I THINK THIS SOUNDS LIKE A QUESTION FOR YOU. WILL THE REDISTRICTING PROCESS ANNEX ANY ETJ IS AROUND AUSTIN. THE REDISTRICT PROCESS, REDISTRICTING PROCESS IS NOT SET UP TO, UH, DO THE ANNEXATIONS THEMSELVES. UH, THAT BEING SAID THE REDISTRICTING COMMISSION WOULD HAVE SOME RESPONSIBILITIES RELATED TO ANY ANNEXATIONS THAT HAPPEN DURING THE, THE TIME THAT THEY'RE ON THE COMMISSION. SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT COULD COME LATER. OKAY. SO THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION IS EXTENDS FOR YEARS, CORRECT? CORRECT. IT'S A 10 YEAR APPOINTMENT. I THINK THE MAJORITY OF THE WORK IS DONE IN THAT FIRST YEAR WHEN THEY'RE LOOKING AT REDRAWING THE LINES AND COMING UP WITH A MAP OF ALL OF OUR COUNCIL DISTRICTS. AND THEN AFTER THAT THERE'S OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES THAT COULD, UM, FALL ON THE, UH, ON THE PLATE OF THE COMMISSION. BUT I DON'T THINK THERE IS QUITE AS EXTENSIVE AS WHAT YOU SEE IN THAT FIRST YEAR. VERY GOOD. OKAY. CORY, SO IF SOMEONE HAS A SUGGESTION ON HOW TO REDRAW THE LINES, WHERE DO THEY SHARE IT, OR HOW DO THEY SHARE IT? SO FIRST I WOULD ENCOURAGE THEM IF THEY'RE ELIGIBLE TO JOIN THE COMMISSION AND THEN THEY CAN SHARE IT DIRECTLY. UM, BUT IF, IF THEY CAN'T JOIN THE COMMISSION OR DON'T WANT TO JOIN THE COMMISSION, UM, THEN THERE IS A, A VERY, UM, BROAD PUBLIC INPUT PROCESS FOR THE COMMISSION THEMSELVES. SO THE COMMISSION, UM, IS REQUIRED ACTUALLY BY CHARTER TO HAVE CERTAIN PUBLIC, A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PUBLIC INPUT SESSIONS AND TO COLLECT THAT INFORMATION. SO I WOULD SAY, HOLD ON TO IT. UM, BUT, BUT YOU JUST ONE OF THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO INTERFACE WITH THE COMMISSION. SO WE KIND OF ANSWERED THIS AT THE BEGINNING, BUT I'LL ASK IT AGAIN. REPETITION IS GOOD. UM, GIVEN THE PANDEMIC, WILL THE PUBLIC FEEDBACK SESSIONS BE CONDUCTED ONLINE OR IN PERSON. SO WE DON'T KNOW FOR SURE YET, AND WE DON'T REALLY INFLUENCE THAT PROCESS. THAT'LL BE UP TO THE COMMISSION. SO ONCE THEY'RE FORMED, UM, I'M HOPEFUL THAT WE'LL BE A LITTLE FURTHER PAST PANDEMIC. UM, THEY ARE FORMED IN EARLY 20, 21. UM, AND SO IDEALLY, UM, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE IN PERSON, BUT THAT'LL BE A DECISION FOR THE COMMISSION ONCE. THEY'RE GREAT. VERY GOOD. SO, JASON, HOW DOES A PERSON GET A PAPER APPLICATION? I KNOW WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING ONLINE, SO IF WANTS, DO HE WANTS A PAPER APPLICATION TO FILL IT OUT? HOW DO THEY GO ABOUT DOING THAT? SURE. THEY CAN REACH OUT TO OUR OFFICE REDISTRICT ATX AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV. UH, ALL OF OUR CONTACT INFORMATION IS ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT IF THEY SEND US AN EMAIL REQUESTING A PAPER APPLICATION, WE CAN SEND IT TO THEM AND THEY CAN EITHER FILL IT OUT, UM, ON A, IN A PDF AND JUST EMAIL IT BACK TO US OR THEY CAN DO IT BY HAND, PRINT IT UP AND DROP IT IN THE MAIL. AND OUR MAILING ADDRESS IS ALSO ON OUR WEBSITE. RIGHT. AND I THINK OUR MAIN NUMBER RIGHT IS (512) 974-2805. CORRECT. OKAY. SO DOES SOMEBODY HAVE TO BE A CPA TO APPLY FOR THE COMMISSION COREY OR THE COMMISSION? NO. UM, FOR THE PANEL, YOU DO HAVE TO BE A CPA, UM, WITH, UH, WITH THE NUMBER OF YEARS OF AUDIT EXPERIENCE, BUT FOR THE COMMISSION, UM, THERE IS NO SPECIFIC, UM, JOB OR, UM, CERTIFICATION REQUIRED. SO WHAT ABOUT, UM, A PERSON THAT WANTS TO APPLY AND MAYBE A SELECTED TO THE COMMISSION? WHAT ARE RESTRICTIONS THAT KEEP THEM FROM ENGAGING IN OTHER CITY POLITICS OR ACTIVITY? SO THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION AND DEFINITELY ALL THAT MORE ON THE WEBSITE, BUT I'M ONE OF THEM. ONE OF THE IDEAS IS THAT THIS COMMISSION WILL BE REALLY SEPARATE FROM THE CITY AND PARTICULARLY FROM THE COUNCIL, THE ELECTED COUNCIL MEMBERS LATER ON. SO THERE IS A PROHIBITION FOR 10 YEARS AFTER YOU SERVE ON THE COMMISSION OR AFTER YOU'RE CHOSEN FOR THE COMMISSION, YOU CANNOT RUN FOR COUNCIL OFFICE. UM, AND THERE ARE SOME OTHER, THERE ARE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT ARE MORE KIND OF RETROACTIVE. YOU CAN'T HAVE BEEN A CITY EMPLOYEE. AND, UM, THE LAST THING IS THE LAST THREE YEARS. AND SO THERE, THERE ARE SOME RESTRICTIONS RESTRICTIONS THAT GO BACKWARDS ABOUT WHAT YOU CAN AND CAN'T DO, BUT THERE ARE ALSO SOME GOING FORWARD AND THAT'S REALLY MAINLY THE COUNCIL, UM, ABILITY OR INABILITY TO RUN FOR COUNCIL OFFICE. DO YOU KNOW, UM, CAN THEY BE ON A, UH, BOARDS OR ANOTHER COMMISSION AFTERWARDS, OR I'M LOOKING AT JASON TO SEE IF I HAVE TO, AGAIN, I BELIEVE THERE'S ALSO RESTRICTIONS ON BEING APPOINTED TO A BOARD OR COMMISSION [00:15:01] OR BECOMING A CITY EMPLOYEE OR A CITY CONTRACTOR, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THE TIMEFRAME IS QUITE AS LONG AS THE PROHIBITION ON RUNNING FOR COUNCIL. OKAY. VERY GOOD. SO, UH, COREY, HOW ARE THE COMMISSION MEMBERS SELECTED? SO THIS IS REALLY DONE THROUGH, UM, I GUESS A TWO STEP PROCESS. ONE IS OUR OFFICE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MAKING SURE THAT ALL OF THE APPLICANTS ARE QUALIFIED AND QUALIFIED AS ALL THOSE THINGS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT. I'M NOT A CITY EMPLOYEE, NOT MARRIED TO A CITY EMPLOYEE. I'M NOT A CITY CONTRACTOR, UM, VARIOUS, UM, KIND OF CHECKS FROM A CONFLICT OF INTEREST PERSPECTIVE. AND SO WE DO THAT KIND OF QUALIFICATION CHECK, BUT THEN WE HAND THOSE APPLICATIONS OVER TO THE PANEL. AND SO THAT THREE PERSON PANEL OF CPAS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR GOING THROUGH HOWEVER MANY QUALIFIED APPLICANTS WE GET AND, UM, TRYING TO SELECT THEM BASED ON, UM, DIVERSITY BASED ON KIND OF HAVING, UM, DIVERSITY REALLY IN, IN ALL SORTS OF SENSES, DIFFERENT DIFFERENT PROFESSIONS, REPRESENTED, UM, DIFFERENT RACE AND ETHNICITY REPRESENTED DIFFERENT AREAS OF TOWN REPRESENTED. AND SO THEY HAVE A BIG JOB TO TRY TO COME UP WITH WHO THEY THINK ARE THE 60 MOST QUALIFIED, UM, A DIVERSE POOL OF 60 QUALIFIED APPLICANTS AS I BELIEVE SOMETHING ALONG THAT IS LINKEDIN. AND SO THEY SELECT THOSE, UM, 60, AND THEN THAT'S THE, WE DO A RANDOM DRAWING FOR THOSE FIRST EIGHT SOUNDS COMPLICATED. SO JASON, IF A PERSON DOESN'T QUALIFY FOR THE PANEL OR THE COMMISSION, HOW ELSE CAN THEY GET INVOLVED? UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK THIS GOES BACK TO WHAT COREY WAS SAYING EARLIER. THE, THE PROCESS FOR REDRAWING, THE DISTRICT BOUNDARIES IS A VERY PUBLIC PROCESS. THE COMMISSION, ACCORDING TO CHARTER IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A PUBLIC INPUT SESSION AND EACH OF THE DISTRICTS, AND THEN THERE'S SOME ADDITIONAL PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT THEY'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE ONCE THEY'VE DRAFTED THE MAPS. AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE ANYONE WHO ISN'T ELIGIBLE OR IS ELIGIBLE, BUT DOESN'T ULTIMATELY GET SELECTED TO EITHER THE PANEL OR THE COMMISSION TO ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS, TO, TO FOLLOW, TO MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF THE COMMISSION AND, AND SUBMIT THEIR INPUT, SUBMIT THEIR FEEDBACK. UH, THIS HAS MEANT TO BE A VERY PUBLIC INCLUSIVE PROCESS AND EVERYONE IN AUSTIN IS WELCOME TO SUBMIT THEIR PERSPECTIVE AND, AND CONTRIBUTE TO, UM, WHAT THE COMMISSION IS GOING TO BE DOING. PRETTY GOOD. I'D ADD ONE THING TO THAT. UM, JUST IN THE SHORT TERM, I THINK THE WAY THAT YOU CAN GET INVOLVED, IF YOU, AGAIN, EITHER EITHER DON'T QUALIFY OR, OR DON'T WANT TO SERVE AS A COMMISSIONER, UM, YOU CAN HELP GET THE WORD OUT FOR US. SO WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS. AND IF YOU WATCH THIS, UM, YOU HAVE A PRETTY GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF THE HOPEFULLY, AND WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO GET THE WORD OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE A DIVERSE POOL. THANK GOOD. SO JASON, HOW CAN A PERSON ACCESS THEIR VOTING HISTORY? ONCE AGAIN, THE ANSWER IS REDISTRICT ATX.ORG WEBSITE HAS LINKS TO ALL OF THIS. UM, IN THE FAQ. ONE OF THE QUESTIONS IS WHAT IF I DON'T KNOW MY VOTING HISTORY CARPET, CAN'T REMEMBER IT. AND THERE'S A LINK TO THE DIFFERENT COUNTY, UH, WEBSITES THAT CAN PROVIDE YOU THAT, THAT INFORMATION AND HELP YOU, UM, GET ALL THE DETAILS THAT YOU NEED TO, TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATIONS. OKAY. SO REMIND PEOPLE AGAIN ABOUT THE QUALIFICATIONS. IT'S THREE VOTED IN THE LAST WHERE THE COMMISSION IT'S, THAT YOU'VE CONTINUOUSLY BEEN REGISTERED TO VOTE IN AUSTIN FOR FIVE YEARS, AND THAT YOU'VE PARTICIPATED IN THREE OF THE LAST FIVE GENERAL ELECTIONS. AND THOSE GENERAL ELECTIONS ARE ALSO LISTED ON OUR WEBSITE. SO ALL OF THAT INFORMATION IS OUT THERE FOR INTERESTED RESIDENTS TO, TO READ THROUGH AND THEN ULTIMATELY REQUESTED THAT INFORMATION FROM THE COUNTY IF THEY'RE UNSURE OF THEIR VOTING HISTORY. VERY GOOD. SO WE'VE GOT A TWITTER QUESTION FROM SKYLAR. MMM. COREY, WHAT RESOURCES WILL THE COMMISSION HAVE TO MAKE THEIR DECISIONS ON DRAWING THE DISTRICTS? SO THE CHARTER LANGUAGE PROVIDES FOR DEDICATED STAFF FOR THE COMMISSION. UM, I BELIEVE LAST TIME THAT INCLUDED, UM, LIKE AN EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND LEGAL SUPPORT. UM, BUT THEY'RE, THE COMMISSION GETS TO DECIDE THAT THEMSELVES. AND SO THEY MAY, THEY MAY STRUCTURE THAT DIFFERENTLY THIS TIME AROUND, UM, ONCE THEY IT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THEY CAN WORK OUT WHILE WAITING ON CENSUS DATA, I THINK IS HOW THEY'RE GOING TO STAFF THE CONVENTION. AND THERE'S ALSO, UM, THERE'S A LIAISON ASSIGNED BY THE CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE KIND OF INTERNAL STUDY TO THE INTERNAL SUPPORT FROM THE CITY. UH, SO WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION ON FACEBOOK FROM CHIP. HOW OFTEN [00:20:01] IS THIS REDISTRICTING PROCESS UNDERTAKEN? IS IT EVERY 10 YEARS? LIKE CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS? YEAH, IT IS EVERY 10 YEARS. THIS IS A LITTLE BIT OF AN ODD ONE BECAUSE WE STARTED IN 2012 INSTEAD OF 2010. UM, BUT WE DO WILL FROM NOW ON, IT WILL ALWAYS HAPPEN IN THE, UH, WE CALL IT THE, UH, BIENNIAL THAT DOESN'T SOUND RIGHT EVERY 10 YEARS. VERY GOOD. UM, SO I GUESS THIS IS A QUESTION FROM ME, I'M, I'M WONDERING WHY WOULD ANYBODY WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS, CORIAN AND JASON, BECAUSE IT'S A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO BE INVOLVED IN YOUR, BECAUSE THESE DISTRICTS, I THINK AS, AS TRIP'S QUESTION INDICATES, THESE DISTRICTS STAY IN PLACE FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS. SO, UM, WHAT WE CREATE NOW, UM, WILL IMPACT WHO REPRESENTS YOU, UM, WHO REPRESENTS YOUR NEIGHBORS OR THE NEXT 10 YEARS ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL? YEAH. I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH EVERYTHING. COREY SAID, YOU KNOW, UM, ANYONE WHO'S BEEN IN AUSTIN FOR MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES KNOWS HOW RAPIDLY WE'RE GROWING. THIS IS A REALLY ATTRACTIVE CITY RIGHT NOW. SO A LOT, A LOT CHANGES IN 10 YEARS, AND THIS IS EVERYONE'S OPPORTUNITY TO BE PART OF SHAPING AUSTIN'S FUTURE GOING FORWARD. SO OUR, OUR POPULATIONS, UH, HAS CHANGED QUITE A BIT. OUR DEMOGRAPHICS HAVE SHIFTED A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE WE LAST, UM, DID THIS PROCESS. AND SO GETTING INVOLVED NOW ALLOWS YOU TO HAVE AN IMPACT ON HOW THE NEXT 10 YEARS OF AUSTIN POLICY WILL ULTIMATELY BE SHAPED. SO, UM, I THINK WE'RE COMING DOWN TO OUR FINAL QUESTIONS. IS THERE ANYTHING YOU GUYS WANT TO ADD ABOUT THE PROCESS OR, YEAH, ONE THING I'D LIKE TO ADD IS, UH, ANOTHER THING THAT YOU CAN SEE ON OUR WEBSITE, THIS IS A PUBLIC PROCESS. AND SO, UM, ALL OF THE INFORMATION ON EXISTING APPLICANTS IS CONTAINED ON OUR WEBSITE. SO YOU CAN SEE A BREAKDOWN OF WHERE WE'RE GETTING APPLICANTS, APPLICANTS FROM WHAT PARTS OF THE CITY, WHAT DISTRICTS THEY'RE, THEY'RE COMING FROM, AS WELL AS THE DEMOGRAPHICS FOR ALL OF THOSE APPLICANTS. AND IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE ATTRACT A LARGE DIVERSE POOL. AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE RESIDENTS IN AUSTIN CAN TRACK THIS, CAN SEE WHAT THE POOL IS CURRENTLY LOOKING LIKE. AND THEN USE THAT INFORMATION TO SAY, TO GET MOTIVATED AND SAY, I'M GOING TO APPLY. I'M GOING TO ENCOURAGE MY FRIENDS AND MY NEIGHBORS TO APPLY. THERE'S NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM MY DISTRICT AND WE SHOULD BE REPRESENTED. SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO, UM, TO TAKE A LOOK AT THE APPLICATIONS RECEIVED AND THE GRAPHS THAT ARE THERE THAT BREAK DOWN THE DEMOGRAPHICS AND LOCATIONS OF ALL THOSE, THAT THOSE APPLICANTS, I THINK RIGHT NOW, I HAVEN'T LOOKED AT THE WEBSITE TODAY, BUT WE WERE HEAVY ON DISTRICT NINE AND DISTRICT. I THINK WE'RE THE LARGER POOL OF APPLICANTS. I JUST PULLED IT UP RIGHT NOW. UM, DISTRICT NINE HAS THE MOST WITH 27 APPLICANTS AND DISTRICT FIVE HAS 19, AND WE HAVE SEVERAL OTHER THAT ARE IN DOUBLE DIGITS. SO GET ON THE WEBSITE, REDISTRICT ATX.ORG, CHECK THAT YOUR DISTRICT, AND IF YOUR NUMBERS ARE LOW, THEN APPLY. SO HOW MANY TOTAL APPLICATIONS DO WE HAVE SO FAR? LET'S SEE, WE'VE GOT 122 APPLICATIONS RECEIVED FOR THE COMMISSION AND WE STARTED ACCEPTING THOSE APPLICATIONS ON JUNE 1ST. CORRECT. AND WE HAVE 20 PEDAL APPLICATIONS. OH, GOOD. JUST TO REMIND FOLKS, YOU HAVE TO BE A CPA WITH AUDIT EXPERIENCE, TO BE HONEST HANDLE. CORRECT, BUT NOT THE COMMISSION, BUT THE COMMISSION. GOOD. UM, WELL, I JUST WANT TO REMIND EVERYBODY THAT WE CONTINUE TO TAKE QUESTIONS ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, AND INSTAGRAM. SO, OR GIVE US A CALL AGAIN AT (512) 974-2805. AND, UM, STAY UP TO DATE ON THE PROCESS AND PLEASE APPLY. UM, OH, WE HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION COMING IN FROM TWITTER. SO, UH, FROM JACQUELINE, JACQUELINE, COREY, HOW MANY STUDENTS WILL BE ON THE COMMISSION? SO THERE, UM, THERE IS A POSITION THAT IS RESERVED FOR A STUDENT. SO ONE OF THE FINAL 14 APPLICANTS MUST BE A STUDENT. THAT'S THE WAY THAT THE CHARTER IS WRITTEN, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT ONLY ONE STUDENT CAN BE ON THE COMMISSION. SO THERE'S NO PROHIBITION AGAINST MORE THAN ONE STUDENT. THERE'S JUST A REQUIREMENT THAT ONE STUDENT BE HONEST. THANKS FOR THAT QUESTION. YEAH. THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION. [00:25:02] SO LET'S SEE. LET ME JUST CHECK. ALL RIGHT. ANY FINAL THOUGHTS YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE WITH, WITH OUR FRIENDLY AUSTINITES? OH, MY, MY THOUGHT IS THAT I HOPE THAT YOU WILL JOIN US AND PARTICIPATE IN THIS PROCESS, UM, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, UH, BUT REALLY HELP US SHAPE AUSTIN'S FUTURE. I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE A NEAT PROJECT AND REALLY AFFECTS, UM, THE CITY FOR, FOR THE NEXT DECADE. VERY GOOD. FINAL THOUGHTS, JASON? UH, I THINK THAT WAS PERFECT. THAT WAS A GREAT SUMMARY. I CAN'T REALLY ADD ANYTHING TO THAT. SO YOU CAN APPLY ONLINE ONCE AGAIN@REDISTRICTATX.ORG, OR GIVE US A CALL, SEND US AN EMAIL AND, UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO RECEIVING ALL YOUR APPLICATIONS. SO THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. THANKS ALL . * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.