FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, interviews, contact Equity Action.
April 20, 2022: The following 30 local groups — representing interests ranging from housing to abortion rights, parks to criminal justice, public health to racial justice — this spring collaborated on a set of proposed investments by the city designed to address Austin’s most pressing community needs [attached.] Some of these items have been granted one time funding, but need to be incorporated into the baseline budget. Most items are new spending, a reflection of the current emergency created for Austin families by skyrocketing rents and low city wages. The following groups collaborated on this proposal:
| Access to Activism Alliance For Safety and Justice Austin Area Urban League Austin Community Law Center Austin Justice Coalition Austin Pets Alive! Avow Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice District 5 for Black Lives Equity Action Friends of Rosewood Fund Texas Choice Go Austin / Vamos Austin Grassroots Leadership Indivisible Austin | Jane’s Due Process Just Liberty Lilith Fund MEASURE Save Our Springs Alliance Statewide Leadership Council Texas Appleseed Texas Civil Rights Project Texas Center for Justice and Equity Texas Fair Defense Project Texas Harm Reduction Alliance Undoing White Supremacy Austin Workers Defense Action Fund Workers Defense Project |
“These priority items address our most urgent problems and fund services long neglected,” said Sukyi McMahon, Senior Policy Director at Austin Justice Coalition, “Like emergency assistance for those who can’t afford 30 and 40 percent rent hikes, a guaranteed income pilot for areas most in need, adequate funding to staff our emergency health response at EMS, park rangers and park maintenance, and more.”
“Austin’s EMS pay rates are far from commensurate to the role they play in supporting our community, which is why ensuring a livable wage must be a top priority for the City of Austin” said Quincy Dunlap, CEO of Austin Area Urban League. “Otherwise the astonishing number of vacancies will only increase as these uniquely and highly skilled Austinites continue to seek jobs elsewhere, placing the community and its neighbors in jeopardy of quality on-time services paid by their own tax dollars.”
“Services across city departments, from housing to parks to EMS to public health, are lagging behind community needs because open positions aren’t getting filled at current wage levels,” said David Chincanchan, Workers Defense Project. “Many city employees cannot afford to live on what they make, and lowest wage workers haven’t seen an increase since 2018. The city must lift the minimum wage so that working for the city can once again be considered a “good job” for all Austin residents committed to public service.”
“Last year, the city launched and funded an innovative idea — resilience hubs. This must be continued,” said Monica Guzmán, Policy Director at GO! Austin/VAMOS! Austin. “The city can now move from planning to action, and the next step will be expanding the guaranteed income pilot to advance equity for communities that have been disproportionately impacted by poverty and wealth disparities. Austin’s commitment to equity requires increased investment in Eastern Crescent residents most harmed by our historic east-west divide.”
“Texas Civil Rights Project is proud to support the Community Investment Budget for Austin. It is time to stop listening to certain politicians who benefit from making us afraid of each other and come together – Black, White, AAPI and Brown – to invest in what keeps us all safe,” said Ashley Fernandez Dorsaneo, Senior Attorney at the Texas Civil Rights Project. “This budget, which increases resources for housing, violence prevention, and legal services for immigrant families, will ensure that everyone in Austin has an equal opportunity to thrive, no exceptions.”
“Adopting this proposal will go a long way towards creating an Austin that prioritizes the health and safety of all of our residents, including those most vulnerable to crime and violence,” said Terra Tucker, Texas State Director for Alliance for Safety and Justice. “We commend the work done by the “Community Investment Budget” collaboration and look forward to the implementation of new public health and safety solutions, such as the trauma recovery center now being considered by council.”
“We understand that this is a tough year for Texas cities,” said Kathy Mitchell, Equity Action. “Thanks to revenue caps imposed by the legislature on our fast growing urban areas, it is even more important that our city manager listen to this growing chorus of voices asking him to invest in higher wages for lowest wage workers, maintenance and staffing for our parks, and emergency help for those most in need. These items taken together represent less than 6% of projected general revenue. We expect the city manager to prioritize these when deciding how to build his next baseline budget, and we ask City Council to support these priorities.”
“We strongly support these Community Investment Budget proposals because it is imperative that the city ensures there is sufficient funding to address the ever evolving crises our city faces. These priority items are essential for the basic well-being of the city, its employees, and its residents,” said Sam Kirsch of D5 for Black Lives. “Items such as protections for tenants, harm reduction, trauma recovery, the guaranteed income pilot, and homeless services for black youth and adults highlight particular areas in which our black and brown neighbors face disproportionate harm; and need resources most.”
“These priority items address our community’s most urgent needs exacerbated by the ongoing pandemic,” said Amelia Casas with the Texas Fair Defense Project. “As the cost of living continues to rise drastically, the city must provide adequate support for rental assistance and sustainable resilience hubs to prevent low income residents from displacement and entering homelessness. In addition, it is imperative that the city funds support services to our unhoused community including long neglected inclement weather sheltering and harm reduction services.”