ATX Council: You could foot the bill for city climate change initiatives - KXAN.com

ATX Council: You could foot the bill for city climate change initiatives | KXAN Austin

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin City Council has nearly 50 items on its agenda Thursday. Here’s some of what we’re watching:

Funding for climate change efforts

Austin City Council will vote on whether to take steps toward an “environmental investment plan” Thursday. The vote could kickstart the public input process and direct staff to bring back recommendations.

The plan aims “to address climate change, sustainability of City operations, and community resiliency,” a release from Austin City Council Member Ryan Alter’s office said. The proposal was brought forward by Alter.

The vote could do the following:

- Re-affirm the City’s commitment to the 2021 Austin Climate Equity Plan
- Kickstart the community input process
- Prepare options and costs associated with major changes to achieve Austin’s set goals
- Bring recommendations back to the full council this summer

Council documents note significant investments will need to be made in order to achieve the city’s climate change goals. Council could direct the city manager to look at whether the goals can be funded through utility base rates, the general fund, “and/or general obligation bonds to be approved at a future election, which may include a November 2024 bond election.”

Funding for APD’s victim services team

This week, the Austin City Council will discuss a resolution that would secure grant funding for six additional positions on the Austin Police Department’s (APD) victim services team.

These staff members provide the following services, among others:

- Crisis intervention
- Counseling
- Service referrals
- General information/guidance
- Advocacy

“It is so very difficult for somebody who has just come out of crisis or who has just been harmed to be able to navigate the waters of what to do next,” said Heather Bellino with the Texas Advocacy Project, which provides legal resources to abuse survivors. “Think about it, when an arrest has been made, they get a defense attorney. what about the victim?”

Read more about the item in KXAN’s previous coverage.

Using artificial intelligence

Council Member Vanessa Fuentes introduced a resolution that would ask the city manager to create clear guidelines and expectations for how the city uses artificial intelligence (AI). It would also ask him to look at ways the city can utilize the technology.

“What my item seeks to do is explore how the City of Austin as an employer integrates guardrails and protocols regarding integrating AI technology into the workflows of city processes as well as take a look at what more we can and should be doing with this type of technology,” she said.

Fuentes hopes the city will keep an eye on unintended outcomes — like plagiarism, bias and job displacement — in the process.