Council: UnLocal Control

Barring surprises, today's City Council meeting (May 11) will be an abbreviated affair, likely confined to three afternoon hours, and with an underwhelming agenda. Council briefly considered cancellation, but Mayor Steve Adler concluded that prior public notices made a brief meeting – 2pm to 5pm, with an intermitting hunk of executive session – the better option.

While the weekly business goes on, this week Council might well be preoccupied with broader legal matters – specifically, the pre-emptive lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Ken "Popinjay" Paxton against Aus­tin, Travis County, Sheriff Sally Her­nan­dez, Mayor Adler and all council members, et al., for the alleged outrage of being insufficiently cooperative with federal immigration authorities. You can bone up on the details elsewhere (see Mary Tuma's "The Challenge to SB 4," and "In Pre-emptive Attack, Texas Files Suit Against Austin Over 'Sanctuary Cities'"), but Adler had some fun with Paxton's brief on Tuesday morning, noting that it claims (amidst much similar nonsense) that "All changes in City of Austin's policy or practice are made only with the prior approval of Defendant Adler." Apparently Paxton the Indicted believes that Austin's city government is run in the authoritarian manner of Donald Trump's Republican Party.

Be that as it may, there will be other city business today, although much of the most interesting action will take place behind closed doors. In executive session, Council continues to work its way through the personnel review process (city manager, city auditor, city clerk, et al.) – the buzz is that they're updating the standards as much as reviewing the staff. And plenty of folks would be interested to be flies on the wall for Items 20 and 21, concerning the future of Lions Municipal Golf Course. In reaction to various UT-Austin proposals to lease or sell the golf course land for development, a pending bill at the Lege would have the state take control of the course's future. (What­ever happens with that legislation, that it exists at all suggests much about Westside stroke at the Capitol.) Reportedly, Council is getting an update on the status in advance of any particular action.

One other high-priority matter (Item 3) would transfer $3.5 million from the city's reserve fund into operating funds to pay for anticipated excess overtime at the Austin Fire Department. Council received a heads-up on those costs in last month's budget forecast, but last week and at Tuesday's work session, Council Members Alison Alter and Jimmy Flannigan said they remain unpersuaded of the necessity of the full expense, and they want more information before a vote. Their hesitation occasioned a testy exchange between Flannigan and CM (and former firefighter) Delia Gar­za (who would approve and move on), in which Flannigan took strong exception to Garza's side-eye implication that her novice colleagues might need more experience at budgeting. Those sparks may continue to fly this afternoon.

Also on Tuesday, Council received an update on CodeNEXT from staff and the coding consultants, with particular attention to affordability possibilities represented by the new code – possibilities received with some skepticism from Mayor Pro Tem Kathie Tovo, and CMs Ora Houston and Leslie Pool. That was followed by a Pay Equity Study compiled by consultants Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. – responsive to a 2014 resolution directing staff to do an annual review of race and gender pay equity among city employees.

The report concludes, "Overall, the City is doing a good job managing ideal pay equity status and there [are] no significant systemic pay equity issues identified in this study," a performance said to be better than the national average for cities. Nevertheless, "Certain departments [Aviation, and non-sworn employees in Fire and EMS] may have issues in a few areas and the pay differences need more detailed investigation." Council members might not be as reassured as were the consultants.

Also in the works: a resolution to incorporate vaping ("electronic smoking devices") into the city's Smoking in Public Places ordinance, and zoning cases on West Koenig and in Bouldin Creek (adding the "Garage Placement Design Tool") – the latter already tapped by staff for postponement to June 8.

No proclamations, and alas, no music … Dance to your own sweet tune.