Mobility bond

On October 6, 2011, the Austin City Council established a Bond Election Advisory Task Force to identify and prioritize bond funding for projects that will advance the vision identified by the Imagine Austin comprehensive planning process.... within the scope of a needs assessment and funding priorities to be recommended by City staff (Resolution #20111006.057). This began the process of planning for a future Bond Election where Austin voters will get to decide whether the city should borrow money to fund specified city infrastructure, facilities, or other capital improvement projects or programs.

City Council Briefings about the Bond Development Process

December 8, 2011 City Council approved Guiding Principles for use in planning a future Bond proposal.

December 15, 2011 Staff provided a briefing to City Council on the 2011 capital needs assessment and City's debt capacity.

Bond Election Advisory Task Force and Community Participation Archive

Austinites were invited to provide input and participate in the bond development process at the following events:

  • Speak Week(s) – In January 2012, the City set up booths across Austin to solicit public feedback on the Bond Development Guiding Principles.
  • Bond Development Open House –  On February 7, 2012 the City hosted an open house at the Palmer Events Center to learn more about the bond development process.
  • Community Meetings/Workshops – These workshops provided residents with the opportunity to learn about potential bond projects, as well as allocate dollars in a group exercise and interact one-on-one with City staff.
  • Special-Called Bond Election Advisory Task Force Meetings/Community Forums – Held on May 2 (Akins High School) & May 3 (Lanier High School) at 6:30 PM. The Task Force's initial committee recommendations were presented along with opportunities for the public to provide feedback directly to Task Force members to help them as they prepare final recommendations for the Austin City Council in late May.
  • Citizen Communications – Opportunities were available at every Task Force meeting and other public meetings where Bond Development was an agenda item.
  • SpeakUpAustin.org – The online community served as a forum to ask questions and share thoughts about community needs and priorities.
  • Social Media – Twitter (#ATXBD) & Facebook accounts were utilized to promote Bond Development events and solicit feedback.
  • Email – A dedicated email address was established to receive comments on the Bond Development process and recommendations.
  • Hotline (Voicemail & Text) – A hotline collected feedback from voicemail messages and text messages on the process.

Needs Assessment Project and Program Report

On February 16, 2012, the Capital Planning Office presented the Needs Assessment Project and Program Report to the Task Force.  This report identifies projects and programs for Task Force consideration when making recommendations for bond funding to City Council.

Committee Recommendations

The Task Force established 4 committees to consider potential projects and programs for bond funding: Affordable Housing; City Facilities; Parks & Open Space; and Transportation/Mobility.  In April 2012, the committees narrowed down the list of potential projects and programs from the over $1.49 billion Capital Needs Assessment provided by staff and additional community projects to $659 million.

After getting feedback on the committee recommendations from the public at special-called Task Force meetings/Community Forums on May 2nd and 3rd, 2012, the Task Force continued to reduce and refine the recommendations over the next weeks before providing them to City Council for their consideration in developing a future bond package.

Bond Election Advisory Task Force and Committee Meeting Schedules

The Task Force established 4 committees: Affordable Housing; City Facilities; Parks & Open Space; and Transportation/Mobility.

Task Force Recommendations

In May 2012, the Bond Election Advisory Task Force approved its final project and program recommendations for future bond funding.  The recommendations are framed within two funding amounts -- bond packages of $400 million and $575 million. Each divides projects into categories including affordable housing, City facilities, community-based projects, parks/open space and transportation/mobility. The Task Force presented its findings in a report to the Austin City Council in June 2012. The City Council is expected to decide in August 2012 whether to call a bond election and, if so, how the propositions will be presented to voters.

Bond Election Advisory Task Force and City of Austin Staff, Final Bond Development Recommendations (June 26, 2012 Work Session)

Additional detail for several of the City’s ongoing CIP programs included in the bond package recommendations is provided below.  Where possible, this includes a sample of projects that may be included in the prioritization of 2012 bond funding within those programs.