Government reporter for Community Impact
Austin, TX
Joined January 2019
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Findings from new ECHO reporting on Austin-area homeless response system in '25:
-Fewer total clients served
-Fewer newly homeless
-Mixed permanent, temporary housing trends
-Growing share of homeless youth
ECHO says more housing & better documentation of services still needed
ECHO's full 2026 State of the System report, with more context on the last 6 years of Homeless Response System data and outcomes: austinecho.org/wp-content/up…
Austin's existing third-party audit does have several public reporting requirements & can only be changed by a council supermajority (9+ votes)
Zero transparency required in the city’s audit. It can be revoked by six votes in six weeks.
AFSCME guarantee not to reduce headcount. Performed by a mom and pop shop in Pennsylvania that lost their right to do business in Texas.
And it’s 10x the cost of what Houston did for a city 1/4th Houston’s size.
#PassTheAudit #VoteAyeForPropEye
The auditor was chosen in a public solicitation based on several factors, and ranked 12th of 24 proposals on price ($5.2M) which reportedly ranged from $1.1M-$25M+
PA-based Public Works LLC can do business in TX: drive.google.com/file/d/1bwi…
Regardless of Prop I result next week, an existing citywide audit will move ahead next year w/ initial third-party findings on Austin's public services spending
Plus, internal audits on police training, homeless response, parks access, AI oversight & more communityimpact.com/central-…
A new state filing for "Project Toaster," Amazon's advanced robotics facility in the Dog's Head, states the development will cover 1.2M square feet and cost $100M
The building including offices, factory, casting & utility plant could be completed by next July
What we know for now about Austin and UT's potential deal to preserve Muny: communityimpact.com/central-…
Would also:
-Set up other university land along Lake Austin Blvd for residential, retail development
-Turn over some right-of-way on campus
-Open UT lease in Mueller for housing
New: After years of legislative efforts, negotiations between the city and UT, Mayor Watson announces the start of a plan to convey the Muny golf course property to Austin for eventual preservation
Ben Thompson retweeted
Latest #WatsonWire: The Magic of Saving Muny. The public golf course that most of us call “Muny” is an important Austin asset. It’s officially called Lions Municipal Golf Course. For many years, there’s been uncertainty surrounding its future. Would it remain greenspace, would it stay a golf course, or would it be developed?
I’m happy to announce that there’s finally an excellent path forward that includes Muny belonging to the City of Austin and the WAYA campus belonging to WAYA.
Muny became the first public golf course in Austin when it was constructed in 1924 on University of Texas land. It’s still owned by UT. It’s been leased and operated by the City pretty much since the beginning. In 1950, it was the first public golf course in the South to desegregate, and it’s listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a civil rights landmark.
Read more: bit.ly/MunyWire
Once again, several Austin council candidates didn't file financial disclosures by required deadlines this year
Given recurring compliance issues, the city ethics commission voted last night for a new notification system to try and limit future violations communityimpact.com/east-aus…
For 2nd time this year, a multimillion-dollar group of consulting contracts was pulled before a City Council authorization vote after proposed spending was questioned communityimpact.com/central-…
Austin's spent about $43K to remove painted markings on streets and crosswalks under a state mandate framed as a safety initiative
The final piece, part of the city's public art collection, was stripped for ~$1,500 after council approval last week communityimpact.com/central-…
The city is leasing a downtown parking garage rooftop to a San Antonio padel club during the Austin Convention Center closure
$100K+ rent revenue is projected from new "premier recreational facility"
Council OK'd lease alongside a $20M furniture contract communityimpact.com/central-…
Ballot order bingo is back at City Hall. The official draw for November:
D1: Brown, Anderson, Goodwin, Nahas, Riggins, Ramos
D3: Romero, Skinner, Velásquez, Fernandez Jr, Shah
D5: Brink, Weinberg, Alter, Abraham
D8: Bowen, Xie
D9: Heyman, Kam, Qadri, Thadani, Huang
Interesting city audit case: 5 aviation employees violated standards of conduct by using special privilege to secure Goodyear Blimp rides during SXSW for themselves and family
Subject staff members contest any city code violations, Austin Aviation commits to more ethics training
Ellis' campaign announced her petition for a third term fell just short
She will not be on the Nov ballot, leaving the D8 race to Jeffery Bowen and Selena Xie
