AustinAdvocate

🚨💀Source confirms death at Austin's downtown 8th street shelter. Operated by Urban Alchemy at a cost of $20m. Body wasn't found for a day. City officials hope public does not know. Immediate investigation is warranted. They do not honor the homeless they claim to serve.

It's a wrap, at the final Austin City Council meeting of 2025, a slush fund of handouts approved by council - all on consent. • $278,000,000 approved for spending • 85 items on consent calendar • All unanimously approved • All without any audit Austin, that's your council spending your money and working for you. Sign the audit petition to be certified in 2026! saveaustinnow.com

We don’t just remember, we live with the consequences EVERY single day.

If the same Austin voters that rejected Proposition Q knew the city council was approving $4,000,000 to give to Emancipet for animal sterilization, we are pretty sure the taxpayers would be furious. Of course, Emancipet is more than an animal service organization, it's another mouthpiece for city council's tiresome and faltering social agenda.

@AustinJustice Correct. The @DowntownATXInfo ruined this park with drag propaganda as well. The DAA also funded and promoted homeless programs using property owner tax funds.

Austin’s downtown Republic Square once looked like this, before six years of planning and a $6 million "green space" renovation transformed it into one of the city's top destination of drug-dealing and prostitution.

@SaveAustinNow Correct. x.com/_AustinAdvocat…

We need ~25k signatures from Austin voters to put mandatory, recurring, outside performance audits of the entire $6 billion Austin city budget into law. Receive a petition by mail (with prepaid postage) at SaveAustinNow.com

@SaveAustinNow This is why we need an annual audit. x.com/_AustinAdvocat…

EXTERNAL AUDIT CHARTER AMENDMENT UPDATE: We’ve surpassed 2,500+ signed petitions (10% of what we need) with 37 days to go! Latest update here: saveaustinnow.substack.com/p/save-austin-… At SaveAustinNow.com you can: > Download and print the petition to mail it in > Request the petition be mailed to you > Find the complete list of 15 locations where you can sign in person > Donate to our efforts Let’s get this done to improve transparent and affordability! @JenRobichaux @LoewyLawFirm @JTLonsdale @ATXVideos @AustinJustice @saveaustintx @_TeddyBrosevelt @AleshireLaw

This is how local government grows and bloats into Austin's budget crisis. Federal government is funding $2m grant to Austin Public Health for immigrant and refugee medical screening services. APH will fund SEVEN new positions in the department based on council direction today. When funding disappears from federal government, the local government asks taxpayers to cover the deficit. Local government continues to bloat both in dollars and staff. And the cycle never ends.

Today, Austin City Council votes to transfer another $1m to their pet project HOPE homeless fund to continue rejecting the voters referendum of rejecting wasteful homeless spending. This money will be for nothing but the homeless operating companies. Under Texas House Bill 1136 in 2019, TPID funds from assessments (like Austin's 2% hotel room revenue levy) must be used exclusively for tourism-related purposes. Direct transfers to general city funds or non-tourism uses (e.g., homelessness) are prohibited to prevent misuse of the special assessment. Tourists visiting Austin often leave thinking the downtown district looks (and smells) terrible. There's a reason why office vacancy is 30% and retail vacancy is 40%. Both historic highs.

This is disturbing for all who advocate for justice in Austin.

This @parksandrec parody is directed at Austin City Council and @KirkPWatson . City budget's are pretty simple. "Let's spend money on things that matter: police, fire, parks and schools." - Leslie Knope

Embarrassing: Why @atp_org does it take 13 years to build a ten mile train in Austin? That doesn’t even connect to the airport? The Empire State Building construction began March 17, 1930, and was completed May 1, 1931. 410 days. You guys are wasting our time and tax dollars.

Austin taxpayers voted for this by rejecting Prop Q: • Restoring public safety, fire, EMS budgets • Cutting bloated waste This is a good start from @VanessaForATX. Get to work council, there's so much more to cut.

Like you @elonmusk we also advocate for a greater Austin! It’s the core mission of our work. Living in a growing city is better than a dying city. Which way will Austin go: growth or die? Local policy and leadership has much impact.

Sad. Not surprising in this crime ridden area full of homeless shelters, drug dealing, assaults, vagrants wreaking havoc on local businesses and tourists. But the city or APD won't admit Austin has a violent crime problem.

@KirkPWatson Sir, your most vulnerable residents are citizens of Austin who are working, raising families and operating businesses under extreme pressure from the litany of failed and invasive policies and can no longer afford to live in Austin under your politburo.

The City of Austin just finished its intensive, three-week operation that began on October 20, which focused on connecting unhoused people to resources and safely clearing encampment areas. I want to thank our Homeless Strategy Office, who put this coordinated and compassionate effort together. This initiative laid critical groundwork for the City’s ongoing efforts to support our most vulnerable residents. HSO worked with several city departments including Austin Resource Recovery (ARR), Transportation and Public Works (TPW), Austin Police Department (APD), Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Austin Emergency Management, Austin Watershed Protection, Austin Parks & Recreation, and Austin Animal Services, along with collaboration from our partners at Integral Care and Central Health on this initiative. These public servants have been working 10+ hours a day over the past three weeks to help offer folks shelter and services, logistical support, debris removal, and to help restore our spaces. They care about our city, and I appreciate them. Since the effort began, the City of Austin has: ✅ Collected and removed 1,347,720 lbs of debris ✅ Connected 181 individuals to shelter ✅ Connected 87 individuals to other resources and services. ✅ Addressed 669 individual campsites across our city. Now that the three-week initiative is complete, HSO and its partner departments are transitioning to regular encampment response operations, including outreach, site prioritization, and debris removal. We are using the relationships built and data gathered from this initiative to strengthen coordination and build upon the City’s ongoing efforts to support our most vulnerable residents.

Yup. Just like we warned in the “nuclear option” warning from a council memo. Thank you @AustinJustice for the work and terrific graph. Don’t be misled by social contract cuts, council is siphoning $14 million (at least, more through upcoming budget amendments) from the Budget Stabilization Fund toward pet social service projects.

@wauktx Don’t be fooled. Another $14 million from the budget stabilization fund is siphoned into social contracts.

@_AustinAdvocate There are huge cuts to the social service category, whatever that is. Honestly, just read the table instead of reacting to someone else’s take.

🚩BREAKING: The amended budget is out and is not a reflection of the defeat of Prop Q last week. City manager has proposed cuts to FIRE, EMS, PARKS while INCREASING funding to Homeless Service Office. Other items to note: 1. No change to a bloated $25m animal services budget 2. There is another $30m in bloated social service contracts to eliminate 3. Increasing staff for Homeless service office Here are the dates to be engaged: • Friday, November 7th – City Manager releases an updated proposed budget. • Thursday, November 13th – We will post for a budget work session. • Tuesday, November 18th – We will have a budget briefing/work session as part of the already scheduled work session. • Thursday, November 20th – We will post for potential adoption of the new budget.

@data_atx They already knew Prop Q was failing and started working on accounting tricks a month ago.

Broadnax is really waiting till last minute to drop the new budget today Was kind of surprised they committed to a Friday drop. Fast turnaround

@MattMackowiak @SpeakerPelosi @KenPaxtonTX Austin council member @RyanAlter on his way. Always starts small with meals, travel and personal dues. Then grows into a financial monster.

Wealth accumulation while in public service: @SpeakerPelosi 2,292% @KenPaxtonTX 4,000%