Even after Austinites raised concerns about spending, the City Council adopted a new policy that doesn't add as many restrictions as some leaders wanted to see. It will, however, give taxpayers a clearer look at what officials are spending.
The policy was crafted with the help of city staff and was recommended by the Audit and Finance Committee, which is made up of council members and led by Mayor Kirk Watson.
The committee proposed rules that would have tightened how council offices can spend unused dollars. Specifically, the recommendation allowed for no more than $50,000 to roll over to the next fiscal year. Anything over that amount would go back to the city's general fund.
But the City Council adopted rules Thursday that rejected that $50,000 recommendation. Instead, a rule was added that money can be transferred to other city departments only with council approval. To help with transparency, the city will also publish an annual report of council spending on the city's website.
Mayor Watson says vote was a missed opportunity
While Watson said the policy changes have been “significantly improved,” he said that removing the rollover cap was a mistake, citing a lack of accountability and good fiscal discipline.
“I think that is a mistake at a time when we are working very hard to restore confidence,” Watson said. “It wasn’t very long ago that, in part because of questions about council spending, voters gave us a clear signal.”
In addition to Watson, council members Marc Duchen, Vanessa Fuentes and Krista Laine supported the stricter spending rules. Five members — Ryan Alter, Paige Ellis, Natasha Harper-Madison, Chito Vela and José Velásquez — voted down the rollover cap.
Mike Siegel abstained from the vote.
Fuentes said research shows that Austin would be an "outlier" without the rollover cap. "I'm uncomfortable with us having that type of financial policy associated with our own office budgets, especially since it's different than our city departments," she said.
In years past, council members have used unspent office dollars to pay for park improvements or other district-level needs.
Ellis said, in 2022, her office gave $100,000 to the parks department for improvements at Dick Nichols Park. Alter made a similar move last year when he contributed $100,000 for improvements at Garrison Park and Piney Bend Neighborhood Park.
“A lot of us are utilizing our office dollars in different ways simply because we have all different constituents and needs for our districts,” Ellis said.
What kind of spending is allowed?
The majority of office budgets go to salaries and other personnel needs. But what's left over can go to things like office supplies and furniture, software and media subscriptions. Even some food and travel can be expensed.
For example, Siegel was a speaker at an international biodiversity conference in Berlin in October. It cost more than $3,000 for flights and hotels to attend. Several other council members expensed similar travel for themselves and staff members.
City officeholders and staffers will still be able to attend these kinds of events as long as it has a city purpose. But, the policy specifically prohibits first- or business-class or "luxury" travel. Although, there are exceptions to the rule that must be approved by city staff.
Andrew Cates, a political law attorney and expert in Texas ethics, said state rules allow travel expenses with public dollars so long as the person's attendance and interaction with the event isn't minimal. Speaking or participating in panels at the conference would meet that standard.
“Professional development can help with visibility and making connections for the city,” Cates said. “I wouldn’t take a trip [to Berlin] that often but if you go there not just to attend but to speak on behalf of the city, I think that’s OK."
The same rules would apply for meal expenses. Several council offices spent thousands of dollars on food for public engagement events or working groups. Others spent money on staff meals and treats — all of which is allowed under city rules.
But some taxpayer dollars were spent on solo meals, like breakfast tacos and salads, which could qualify as personal use and is not allowed. Use of city dollars for alcohol and event tickets that are not for city purposes are also prohibited.
“Everything has a line,” Cates said. “And you have to take the stance of: Is this reasonable and something that the city should be paying for?”
