An Austin City Council committee is expected to vote Wednesday on a proposed overhaul of how the mayor and council members can spend their office budgets, a move aimed at tightening oversight after questions about past spending. But some council members are pushing back on certain provisions.
The proposal, introduced last month by Mayor Kirk Watson, would set clearer rules for how the mayor and council members spend nearly $1 million in taxpayer-funded office budgets each year. The goal, according to the draft policy, is to ensure spending is reasonable, transparent and in the public interest.
The policy grew out of a review of Austin’s spending rules ordered in November after American-Statesman reporting found lax oversight and questionable expenses in some council offices. That review showed Austin lacks a comprehensive, citywide policy governing council office spending — something several peer Texas cities already have.
Under the proposal, the city’s chief financial officer — or a designee — would serve as a financial liaison to the council, overseeing the policy and deciding whether proposed expenses comply with the rules. Council members’ purchasing card statements would also be released publicly on a quarterly basis.
In addition, the policy would cap how much money council members can roll over from one year to the next. Leftover funds would be limited to $50,000, replacing the current system that allows offices to carry over unlimited amounts.
At least two council members are proposing tweaks to the proposal ahead of the Audit and Finance Committee’s expected vote.
Council Member José Velásquez on Tuesday suggested loosening the proposed rollover cap, saying additional funds give his office flexibility to hire interns and part-time help to meet district needs — even though the proposal also explicitly bars rollover money from being used for staffing.
“I and some of my colleagues have achieved larger carry forward dollars than the proposed $50,000 limit,” the council member wrote in a post on the council’s online message board. “I would like to see this limit be larger than what is being proposed.”
Velásquez also said he agreed with an earlier suggestion from Council Member Ryan Alter to change the provision banning the transfer of office funds to other city departments. Last week, Alter suggested allowing those transfers during the annual budget process with council approval.
“I believe there are worthy instances when these dollars could support department work to the public’s benefit and preserving this ability through the budget seems an appropriate method for doing so,” Alter wrote in his own message board post.
The proposed spending policy will be discussed Wednesday morning. If approved, it would later go to the full council for final consideration.