Category Archives: East Austin

NEWS: Mayor Adler declares Local State of Disaster to help flood recovery

Today Mayor Steve Adler declared a Local State of Disaster which remains in effect for seven days until it is ratified and extended by the City Council. An item will appear on the agenda of the special called meeting of Sunday, November 8, 2015 for ratification and extension.

“Due to the extreme amount of rainfall and record flooding that struck the City of Austin on October 30, 2015, the City is facing tremendous physical and economic losses. Tragically, there has been loss of life. Hundreds of homes and businesses have been damaged, and many more residents and families are in need of temporary housing and other individual assistance,” Mayor Adler wrote in a memo to the City Council today. “Likewise, our City departments and public utilities are incurring unanticipated costs as they support our residents and address damages to infrastructure.”

The disaster declaration allows for greater coordination with Travis County’s own disaster declaration to facilitate reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

For questions and media requests, please contact Jason Stanford, Communications Director, Office of Mayor Steve Adler, (512) 978-2153 office (512) 619-5756 cell.

SPEECH: “The future of Austin rises in the East”

“It’s time to take stock of what is good and to build from that foundation of good a better, stronger and more equitable East Austin. To press forward faster, to taking our best assets and leverage them to bring unprecedented focus, energy, investment and opportunity to East Austin.

“As we Face East, we do not excuse or dismiss the parts of our past that are, at best, ugly and unjust. Rather, we can use this history as fuel for the kind of determination to shape a more equitable and prosperous future in our City’s East Austin. The community has gathered before to participate in studies and help create plans. Just by way of example, The African American, Hispanic and Asian Quality of Life reports; Colony Park master plan; the 1984 master plan; neighborhood Master Plans. We thank you for this important work. From those gatherings, some progress has been made. Yet, we all know that what has happened in the past is not nearly enough and not nearly as great as our potential. And, I hope in knowing that, it makes us all the more determined. I am determined.

“This is our shared dilemma: Many of our highest achievements in job creation, higher education, health and technology, happen in other zip codes. This imbalance has threatened the idea of Austin as a just and equitable community for decades. This imbalance does not come as a surprise. This imbalance comes as the outcome of design – the direct result of where this city has focused. It is time to turn that same level of focus to Face East.”

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Progress on Affordability

When you helped elect me six months ago, I made Austin’s affordability crisis a focus of my campaign for Mayor. Thanks to your support and help, we are taking action. I promised to work toward a 20% homestead exemption phased in over four years, and our council has taken the first step. Please take a few moments to read the Statesman editorial. Under my plan, replacing the .01% exemption passed by council last year, the 6% exemption will save a median homeowner more than $50 a year. This exemption will help every single homeowner in the City of Austin – more than 200,000 families. Have questions about the homestead? Please read this FAQ. There’s no denying that families are hurting all over the city trying to keep up with the rising cost of living in our city, including the burden of property taxes. We need to examine and use all options possible to tackle this crisis. This is just the beginning. Our council has many other affordability measures on the table and coming before us. Also on Thursday, council took action on Homestead Preservation Districts and community land trusts in East Austin. Soon, we’ll address inequitable drainage fees, provide more funds to rental assistance programs, and continue our property tax appraisal challenge to make the system fairer. As we move in to the budget process in the coming months, there will be many opportunities for you to weigh in on council’s priorities, and I hope you will do so. We’ll be looking hard at the budget to find ways to save money without cutting vital city services and programs providing equity to keep the tax rate as low as possible.