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Ben Suddaby, a member of AFSCME Local 1624, left, and Brydan Summers, president of AFSCME Local 1624, chant during the Don’t DOGE Our Austin rally opposing Proposition I at Austin City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. The political action committee launched its campaign urging voters to reject the city charter amendment in the November election.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Austin voters will soon be asked whether they want to\u00a0require regular audits<\/a> of city spending in the Austin charter \u2014 and bar the city from calling a tax rate election, such as last year\u2019s Proposition Q<\/a>, unless an audit has been completed within the previous year. The proposal<\/a> has become the latest flashpoint in Austin politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n The city workers\u2019 union, joined by U.S. Rep. Greg Casar and several Austin City Council members, rallied Wednesday against the citizen-led ballot proposal. They described Proposition I as a Republican-backed measure that would threaten public services and could force city budget cuts.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Hours later, the Save Austin Now political action committee, which proposed and petitioned for the ballot measure, held its own news conference in support of the charter amendment. Supporters said the proposition had broad political support and would promote efficiency and accountability in city government.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prop I would require an outside audit of city spending every five years, with the results used to identify potential cost savings.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Save Austin Now PAC, which was co-founded by former Travis County Republican Party Chairman Matt Mackowiak, petitioned for the measure after last year\u2019s failure of Proposition Q<\/a>, a ballot measure that would have increased city property taxes by more than 20%. The PAC led the campaign against Prop Q and previously used a similar petition strategy in 2021 to force a citywide vote that reinstated a public camping ban<\/a> repealed by the City Council.<\/p>\n Austin City Council adopted its own citywide audit ordinance<\/a> in February in the wake of Prop Q\u2019s failure. Save Austin Now has argued that the ordinance does not go far enough because council members can amend or repeal ordinances at any time, unlike the city charter, which can be amended only through an election.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Greg Casar speaks during the Don’t DOGE Our Austin rally opposing Proposition I at Austin City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. The political action committee launched its campaign urging voters to reject the city charter amendment in the November election.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n Critics of Prop I, including Mayor Kirk Watson<\/a>, have said the city ordinance accomplishes what the PAC is asking for and that Prop I would force the city to find savings to justify the audit and its fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n About 90 city workers\u2019 union members and Prop I critics \u2014 including council members Vanessa Fuentes, Mike Siegel, Chito Vela, Zo Qadri, Ryan Alter and Jose Velasquez \u2014 rallied against the measure on the steps of City Hall Wednesday. Casar, who formerly served on the Austin City Council, also spoke against Prop I, comparing it to the federal government\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, under Elon Musk.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEfficiency in the right-wing billionaire context is code for cuts,\u201d he said. \u201cIt makes the city hire outside consultants who will make more money if they cut more public services.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Fuentes said the proposition\u2019s audit deadline would drive up its cost. She also said the requirement that consultants identify enough cuts to cover their fees creates an \u201cinherent conflict of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n Austin City Council candidate Misael Ramos listens during the Don’t DOGE Our Austin rally opposing Proposition I at Austin City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026. The political action committee launched its campaign urging voters to reject the city charter amendment in the November election.<\/p>\n Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n Austin attorney Bill Aleshire, a former county judge and tax collector who helped draft the amendment, said Prop I focuses on affordability by tying city taxes to different levels of household and business income. Speaking at Save Austin Now\u2019s news conference, he added that the charter amendment cannot be repealed without Austin voters\u2019 approval.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf the charter amendment passes, it is a command from the people of Austin to perform this audit, and they must do it,\u201d Aleshire said. \u201cThey can’t change it unless they get the voters to agree to do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n He also said he does not expect it would be difficult for auditors to find savings larger than their fees given the size of city government.<\/p>\n Mackowiak said 21,100 Austinites signed the PAC\u2019s petition to get Prop I on the November ballot and that 40% of them were Democratic primary voters, adding that the proposition was not a partisan endeavor.<\/p>\n The American-Statesman wasn\u2019t immediately able to independently verify the petition\u2019s demographics; the Statesman\u00a0previously reported<\/a> that city clerk Erika Brady estimated that the petition included 20,051 valid signatures out of the 21,131 names submitted after her office checked a random sample of 5,283 lines.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are going to pass it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe people who oppose it the loudest are the ones who are the most afraid of transparency, accountability and efficiency finally coming to City Hall for the benefit of taxpayers.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Aleshire also pointed to last year\u2019s tax rate election, saying the same people who supported the failed measure are now opposing Proposition I.<\/p>\n Aleshire said that if the charter amendment passes, it will override the ordinance council approved and the city will have to align its audit with the charter\u2019s requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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