Siegel emphasized at Thursday\u2019s meeting that he believes SB 8 is unconstitutional and will be struck down. \u201cBut until then, I want us to send a message as a city,\u201d he said. \u201cI believe all of us agree that we are welcoming. We\u2019re welcoming to our residents, to our visitors, to everyone who comes to our great city.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Council members Jos\u00e9 Vel\u00e1squez, Vanessa Fuentes, and Zo Qadri joined Siegel and LGBTQ+ advocates for a press conference outside City Hall after the vote. Local activist Brigitte Bandit<\/a>, dressed in a lavender ensemble, read from the children\u2019s book Everybody Pees. The Council members and speakers from the Transgender Education Network of Texas, Equality Texas, and the Texas Freedom Network vowed to protect trans Austinites.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe will not be complicit with hate,\u201d CM Vel\u00e1squez said. \u201cProtecting our trans and nonbinary friends is not optional. We all need to show up every day to protect and defend them, however we can. And this is a call to male allies, Hispanic allies, Black allies: Use whatever privilege you have to protect our nonbinary and trans neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n Council also approved an economic development agreement on Thursday to provide $5.5 million in incentives over the next five years for an expansion of Southwest Airlines<\/a> at the city\u2019s airport. As part of the expansion, Southwest will establish a new crew base at Austin-Bergstrom, including pilots, flight attendants, and managerial and support staff who, according to a press release<\/a> from Gov. Greg Abbott, will make an average salary of $180,000 a year. Altogether, the expansion is expected to create 2,000 jobs paying at least $22 an hour and including health benefits for domestic partners and dependents. Southwest will receive $2,750 per hire and return 10% of the money to the city\u2019s Childcare Assistance Reserve Fund, which helps provide child care for low-income Austinites.<\/p>\n The city celebrated the agreement in its own press release<\/a> on Friday, saying the expansion will reduce disruptions at the airport, increase the number of direct flights, and improve the passenger experience in general. The release stated that the deal contains no tax abatements or automatic payouts. \u201cAll incentives are capped and tied to job creation and community benefits, ensuring the deal remains fiscally responsible and protective of taxpayer dollars,\u201d it read.\u00a0<\/p>\n The deal\u2019s announcement occasioned a rare moment of public conciliation between Abbott and Mayor Kirk Watson, with the governor joining the mayor and Southwest executives in praising its benefits. Fuentes, whose district includes the airport, told the Chronicle she\u2019s excited to bring more economic development to the city at a time when tax revenue is down and the city manager is warning about budget deficits. \u201cGiven the structural budget deficit we\u2019re in, having this type of economic development in our city that will generate and expand our tax revenue is a good thing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Council also approved seven contracts with homeless services providers, appropriating around $5 million in the short term, and potentially over $40 million in the next five years, for supportive housing projects coming online in 2026. The funding will help provide services at new communities overseen by The SAFE Alliance, Endeavors, and The Other Ones Foundation, among other groups.<\/p>\n Liz Baker, the executive director of The Other Ones Foundation, told the Chronicle that the city contracts were approved the same day that TOOF received a $50 million grant from the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. The grant will help fund a major expansion of its Esperanza Community in far East Austin. Baker said the grant was the product of two and a half years of steady work and added that the contract with the city will cover about half of the costs of running Esperanza for the next five years.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last Thursday\u2019s meeting was supposed to be the final one of the year, but Council is expected to conduct a special meeting<\/a> today, Dec. 18, to approve a new four-year labor agreement with the Austin Firefighters Association. In the updated agreement, the city will promise to maintain a minimum of four firefighters on all trucks sent to emergencies. In turn, the firefighters will drop their request for an election in May asking Austin voters to make four-person staffing mandatory by amending the city\u2019s charter. The Chronicle will report on the new contract in next week\u2019s issue.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/s1_Abbott-Watson-Broadnax-at-AUS-Press-Conference_City-of-Austin.png\")
Gov. Greg Abbott, Mayor Kirk Watson, and City Manager T.C. Broadnax at a press conference at Austin-Bergstrom on Dec. 12 Credit: City of Austin<\/p>\n