The Austin City Council is meeting Tuesday morning with a busy day ahead.
One of the most watched issues is expected to be the Save Austin Now camping petition, which was submitted recently to the city clerk, who then certified more than 26-thousand signatures in support of reinstating the ban on homeless camping citywide. Council could either vote to adopt that ordinance or place it on the ballot for a May vote. Most expectations are that the council will opt to put the issue on the ballot for voters to decide in the spring.
“We have a tremendous opportunity to run a great campaign. To bring in Austinites from every neighborhood, from every demographic, from every ideological perspective to come together around the viewpoint that camping is not the answer. We’re not anti-homeless, we’re anti-camping,” Save Austin Now co-founder Matt Mackowiak told KLBJ.
Mackowiak said this isn’t a partisan issue, and he does believe there is plenty of community support to send a message to City Hall.
Another big issue will be the “Strong Mayor” system of governing, which was born out of a citizen petition. The system would essentially give the mayor the duties and power currently held by the city manager. The mayor would also be given veto power over the entire council — something he doesn’t currently have. The proposa been a concern for multiple council members, including Kathie Tovo.
“That’s quite a changed role for the mayor, and it calls on a lot of qualifications that would be critical for doing that job well,” Tovo said at last week’s council work session.
Despite the increase in responsibility and power, the eligibility requirements for the position would remain unchanged, according to city staff. Austin has had its current council-manager system for almost 100 years. The push also calls for mayoral elections to coincide with presidential elections, and for the addition of ranked choice voting where voters list their preferred candidates in order.
Like the camping petition, council could vote to adopt the Strong Mayor system today or call for a public vote. Sources tell KLBJ there are several councilmembers who are very opposed to the proposal, arguing the change would completely nullify the 10-1 district representation.
