As an Austin, TX resident, I am asking the City Council to adopt the 3 key budget recommendations of CCU and to use this 10 point platform to create a more equitable and just City Budget for 2017-2018.

1) An increase in funding to the Equity Office in order to a) provide equity training to city staff, b) develop a community advisory/accountability body and c) hire staff needed to begin applying the Equity Tool for city departments and budget allocations.
2) An increase in funding to Austin Public Health to increase the capacity of the Health Equity initiatives.
3) A freeze to Austin Police Department (APD) budget.

10 Point Platform for City of Austin 2017-2018 Budget
Increase Funding

1. To Parks and Recreation in under-resourced communities

Inequities in the existence and quality of recreational facilities across parts of the city are quite striking. In wealthier parts of the city, there are swim teams and the pool season lasts longer, and recreation centers have more services, more staff, and longer hours. In poorer and less White parts of the city, there are less recreational opportunities, less staffing, less services, and shorter hours and seasons. Young and old, the community members in these underserved communities need more green space, more opportunities to exercise, play and swim. More resources are required to level the "playing field."

2. For Transportation, from the suburbs to the city’s core and in under-resourced areas

The City Council is about to vote on adding a $720 million transportation bond to November’s ballot. The Mayor has suggested that this would help Austin to be more affordable, noting that “I would like us to change how Austin measures success when it comes to affordability. And to do that we need a new vision for reducing traffic congestion that increases housing density along traffic corridors.”

However, if the housing along those particular “Smart Corridors” are the usual new Austin developments, they will not support equity but would rather exacerbate the inequities already in place. The proposed improvements will help those within certain areas of Austin – those who can afford to already live there – move around the city more easily, but they wouldn’t directly affect access to the core of the city for those who live within the under-resourced areas East and farther out. Council Member Houston successfully secured some of the bond for additional sidewalks, however it’s not clear yet how that additional money will be distributed across the districts. The city should state unequivocally that it intends to develop transportation options for people who are disproportionately unable to access transportation now.

Similarly, the current Transportation Engineering budget proposal does not clarify what districts are prioritized in its $3.49 million request. For racial equity to be realized, the city of Austin must focus its resources on specific areas that continue to be under-resourced. We ask that any measures and investigation projects state clearly that equity is a priority and focus their budgets on improving road conditions, transportation options, sidewalk, and bicycle lanes in underserved communities such as Rundberg, Colony Park, Levander Loop, and East 12th. It is especially important to make transportation into the city’s core easier for those people who have been forced to move out due to gentrification and its increased housing costs.

3. For truly accessible Housing for low-income families – not just for “affordable housing”

Affordable housing refers to housing in which the occupant is paying no more than 30 percent of their income for gross housing costs, including utilities, thus is for tenants who have three or four times their rent amounts in income. The rent they are paying is deemed affordable to them. Alternatively, low-income housing is for people for which the going rent encompasses more than half of their incomes. Austin has enough housing for only 25% of its very low-income households. We are at risk of becoming even more economically segregated, with even worse traffic congestion as people are forced to move out of the city. We could also become a city that is only affordable to the rich.

The strongest employment growth in Austin during the past decade has mostly occurred in moderate to low paying jobs (36% in Education and Health Services, averaging $44,000/year, 26% in leisure and hospitality industries, averaging less than $20,000/year.) Workers in these professions struggle to buy and rent homes in the city.

Additionally, long term residents in gentrifying neighborhoods are being pushed out because they cannot afford the property tax increases. This is particularly acute in the Latino and African-American neighborhoods in East Austin. In areas that have lost significant numbers of Black families, property values have increased at almost twice the rate of elsewhere in the city. (In census tracts with African-American population losses, property value rose an average $61,286 between 2000 and 2010; elsewhere, they’ve increased an average of only $36,889.) Many low-income Black families have been forced to move out of Austin, towards suburbs like Pflugerville, Round Rock, and Cedar Park. However, the current draft of the Austin Strategic Housing Plan makes no mention of race or ethnicity.

Increasing funding for significant portions of housing in the city to be allocated to low-income families would exemplify an equity approach to balancing Austin’s budget.

4. For our children’s Education, including after school and enrichment programs

While the core AISD budget is distinct from the City of Austin’s Budget, city funds can support after-school and enrichment programs. A city that cares about its future must be invested in its youth. We know that education is a strong predictor of long-term health and quality of life, with ties to health and social and occupational status in adulthood. Austin continues to be touted as a city of prosperity and innovation yet its schools have not been able to achieve equal levels of success for its Latino and Black students as it has for its White students.

The February 2016 Equity Assessment for AISD for 2014-2015 shows fairly consistent racial disparities. One need only compare the difference in performance of High Schools designated as majority Latino and Black versus majority White to see the differences in outcomes. Even as some areas of these lesser-performing schools continue to be gentrified, many of the new incoming populations are choosing private or charter schools rather than send their children to district schools. While enrollment declines in parts of the city, areas such as Southeast Austin are over capacity for their facilities.

Each local public school PTA can independently fundraise for their individual school. This practice greatly exacerbates the resource divide between schools. Public schools with upper middle class professional parents are able to secure large pots of money via grant writing while other schools rely on small-scale grassroots fundraising efforts. The more resourced schools hire additional teachers and create additional educational programs to enrich their children’s educational experience via these efforts. This while state funding continues to show a lack of commitment and priority to public schools, which leaves a gap in much needed financial support for schools serving majority Latino and Black low-income students and their families. A targeted increase in funding for the enrichment programs of under-resourced schools by the city would demonstrate a focus on equity for our children’s educational programs and services and reflect the innovation and prosperity of Austin.

5. For Health Services, including and prioritizing Health Equity programs

In the 2016-2017 proposed budget, of the $969.2 million in the general fund, $75 million or 7.7% will be allocated to the totality of the Health and Human Services, while $391 million or 40% will be allocated to the Austin Police Department and 70.1% to Public Safety as a whole (Police, Fire, EMS and Municipal Court). Considering that Austin’s crime rate has significantly decreased since 2010 while significant health needs persist, including disparities in access, quality and outcomes of care for Black and Latino communities, there is no justification for the disproportionately high Public Safety budget in relation to Health and Human Services.

The City of Austin is a home of health disparities and inequitable health care access and treatment. According to the 2015 Critical Health Indicators report by the Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services, Black people in Austin have the highest likelihood of dying from 8 of the 10 leading causes of death in this city and county, followed by Latinos. Black babies in Austin are over 3 times (more than 300%!) more likely to die in their first year of life than White babies and Latino babies are about 35% more likely.

This city needs to invest far more into the health and wellbeing of its most vulnerable populations. This need is all the more urgent because of persistent geographic disparities in Austin. For example, there are far fewer full-service grocery stores in East Austin districts 1, 2, and 3 compared to other local districts. Some of the city’s most vulnerable populations are being displaced as Austin becomes a more expensive place to live. Funding for health equity initiatives must take community wellbeing and urban change into account. Our city also needs to ensure that funds for health and the social determinants of health are being distributed in a genuinely and functionally equitable manner in order to break this pattern of health disparity and inequity.

6. For Spanish language programs, including through GED & ESL

For the City of Austin to truly engage its citizens, it should invest in supporting the needs of limited English speakers and support their participation in civic life. Significant portions of Austin populations that speak another language are Limited English Proficient (LEP), meaning they speak English less than "Very Well”: 42% of Spanish speakers, 56% of Vietnamese speakers, 38% of Chinese speakers, and 47% of Korean speakers.

Austin can invest more in ESL classes and GED classes for members of the community whose primary language is not English. It can also commit to providing more interpretation and translation services in order to allow limited English speakers to fully participate.

7. For liveable wage jobs – to maintain and incrementally increase the living wage for the City of Austin

In the growing income inequality that plagues Austin and Texas, Austin’s communities of color have disproportionately bore the brunt of low wages and devalued assets. Women of color, even more disproportionately so, where African American women make 64% of what White men make and Latina women make 54% - slightly more than half - of what White men make. Austin has made significant strides by setting goals towards a living wage for its employees, temporary employees, contractors, and subcontractors. It is important to ensure that Austin meets its targets for a living wage and that the city’s workforce is representative, including at levels of management and high earning positions, of its racially and ethnically diverse population.

Decrease Funding

8. Place a moratorium on all market-rate and retail development incentives and subsidies
The City of Austin’s incentives program was created in 2003 in the wake of the dot-com bust that eliminated thousands of local jobs. Controversy exists as to whether the incentives provided to large corporations and retailers have actually been successful in positively impacting the local economy and job creation. Incentives have been negotiated with Samsung, Home Depot and the Domain. The Domain received a 20-year, $37 million tax break package that created a luxury mall with low-paying retail positions. Since Austin is currently growing at an accelerated pace, we urge the city to place a moratorium on the incentive programs that contribute to gentrification and a higher cost of living, while not creating livable wage employment for those who need it most.

Austin’s accelerated rate of growth has not benefitted everyone in the city equitably. Gentrification has created unaffordable living conditions for families in the areas of town that were historically designated for Black and Latino families. Very little of the commercial development of East Austin benefits those who struggle to remain in the area. In some instances, the developer or business owner has met with the neighborhood association.

We are also suggesting that there be a moratorium on permits in these areas unless there is a community benefit agreement executed between community members (not just homeowner's or neighborhood associations but those who are also renting and directly impacted by inequities) and developers/business owners. These agreements can help create job opportunities, school partnerships, and make space for those who are being displaced to stay. This can help to slow gentrification and create opportunities for developers and businesses who want to invest in a deeper way in Austin.

9. Freeze the Austin Police Department (APD) budget, and split APD from ICE completely

While the current general fund budget proposal allocates 40% of the total budget to the Austin Police Department (APD), Austin has recently experienced a significant decrease in its crime rate. As noted in an April 2016 Texas Tribune article: “Between 2014 and 2015, the five largest cities in Texas saw an average drop of 6.5 percent in the overall crime rate per 100,000 residents… [while] Among the nation’s top cities, crime rates remained stagnant during this time, dropping by only 0.1 percent… With an almost 10 percent drop in its crime rate, Austin saw the sharpest decrease in Texas and the nation.” Overall the crime rate declined 25% between 2010-2014 and continues to fall. While crime continues to decrease, the racial disproportionality in jail bookings of African-Americans has not decreased since this disproportionality was recorded in 2008.

Racial disproportionality has not been addressed while APD continues to receive a disproportionately high percentage of the overall general fund budget. There is no justification for such a disproportionately high Police budget in relation to other important community services such as Health, Human Services, Parks and Recreation, Transportation, and Low Income Housing.

The City of Austin cannot present itself as a city for all if it continues to increase the budget of the police while housing, parks, and public services suffer. We ask that the APD budget be frozen and that the money they have requested be instead focused on services that will benefit the entire community. We also ask that the police department cut all of its ties with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and not continue to support and enable the deportation machine that is destroying communities.

Allocate Funds to:

10. The development and implementation of an Equity Assessment Tool, including an independent review board.
In recognition of the growing inequalities and disparities between Austin’s white community and its communities of color, the Austin City Council passed a resolution proposed by the Communities of Color United Coalition in May of 2015 to develop and implement an Equity Tool by which to assess whether budget allocations, proposals and decisions will remedy or further exacerbate the growing disparities in Austin based on race, color, or nationality. While the resolution was passed, it has yet to be developed or instituted.

For the 2017-18 budget, the Communities of Color United Coalition requests that that the development and implementation of the tool be included and adequately funded in the 2017-18 budget and that it continues to receive money to monitor and adapt this tool as Austin continues to develop and change. Included in the budget for this tool should be:
• Financial compensation for a community oversight/advisory board consisting of community members who are most impacted by the range of social, educational, economic, and health disparities.
• Payment for a third party contractor selected with approval from the community oversight board to develop the tool.
• Money budgeted for the training of city departments on the use of the equity tool.
• Evaluation and monitoring of this equity tool for at least the first 5 years of its implementation.