Austin mayor pitches delay on climate bond election

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Would you pay more money for the City of Austin to more quickly achieve its climate goals? Think: Land acquisition, making city facilities more climate friendly and helping Austin prepare for severe weather events.

It's looking increasingly likely that Austin City Council members are going to send a climate bond to voters to decide just that -- but when that vote will happen is up for debate.

The background

In February, Council Member Ryan Alter brought forward a resolution to move forward on an "environmental investment plan" which asked city staff to look at all of the city's climate goals and gather input from the public. City council approved that resolution.

As part of that, Alter asked the city to look at possible funding options to achieve those goals. One option Alter pitched: A climate bond.

General Obligation (GO) bonds are paid back through your property taxes. Both state law and city charter limit the "maximum ad valorem tax rate to $2.50 per $100 assessed valuation for all City purposes," a spokesperson for the city's Financial Services Department explained. The Texas Attorney General imposes some additional restrictions within that.

"The issuance of the Obligations will not exceed the above-described limits or violate the Texas Attorney General’s administrative rule," that spokesperson wrote. But also said: "If the voters approve a bond election, it will require staff to prioritize project delivery against current outstanding bond program projects."

According to the city, the amount of money the city is currently sitting on in GO bonds that has been authorized but unissued is roughly $1.634 billion.

In May, City of Austin Chief Sustainability Officer Zach Baumer estimated the city would need $1.8 billion for that proposed environmental investment plan to become reality.

Back and forth over timeline

While Alter wants the climate bond election to happen in November 2024, Mayor Kirk Watson is now questioning whether that timeline is feasible. He's proposed drawing that process out.

"Anything the Manager’s office would bring to us at this point would be piecemeal and lack the rigor we should want," he wrote on the city council's message board last week.

Council Member Alter then posted -- on Monday -- to argue a delay "does not meet the urgency of the moment."

Then on Tuesday, the mayor asked for city council members to co-sponsor a climate implementation program and bond package resolution he intends to bring forward at the next city council meeting that would extend the process to 2026.

"In order to provide a thoughtful and deliberate process, I intend to bring a resolution directing the city manager to work on a comprehensive bond package that would be presented to the voters no later than November 2026. Included in this comprehensive package would be a bond initiative related to climate," the mayor posted on the Austin City Council message board.

Both the mayor and Alter have support from colleagues, according to that message board.

"This is a conversation we weren't even having until I brought forward this item and so we are moving forward as a group one way or another in having a climate and environmental agenda that we weren't having five months ago," Alter said.

What kind of projects are being discussed?

A few of the most expensive projects city staff looked at when evaluating costs were:

• $1 billion purchase of 20,000 acres for use by the city;
• Over $100 million for an Austin Resource Recovery transfer station and an electric vehicle charging network;
• $100 million for community resilience programs;
• Over $60 million for climate improvements to city facilities; and,
• $50 million to create a “Food Hub.”

The next city council meeting will happen mid-July when the body returns from its summer break.