Mayor Kirk Watson
@KirkPWatson • 34,784 subscribers
Mayor of Austin. Sign up for my weekly newsletter: https://t.co/HrtW3h8A5J
Videos
If Austin doesn’t have the housing where younger folks can get started, they’ll go elsewhere or they won’t come here at all. We need to make Austin a place where anyone can make a life and contribute to our continued success— we need to make Austin affordable. Thank you HousingWorks Austin for having me this morning. #HWAsummit2025
Mayor Kirk Watson40,112 views • 1 year ago
My goal in this budget process has always been to make sure we’re funding core, basic services in a balanced and disciplined manner. We know there is an inherent tension between asking people to pay rates, fees and taxes— and the issue of affordability. We want to make sure our city can provide the quality-of-life services that our residents deserve, but we also want to make sure we’re putting affordability first in our community. While I worry a lot about affordability, I also worry about the ability of our city to deliver quality services without more revenue. I strongly believe that if we're not making the kinds of investments we need to make in our people and our services, we will be managing decay in Austin in a very short period of time. This budget will not meet everyone’s concept of perfection. Truthfully, there are parts of the budget that I don’t like. That goes with living in a big, diverse city—different people will have different priorities, and we need to make room for all of us. Now, it is time for us to trust our voters. Voters have an opportunity in November to make a very important decision. From my perspective, the best part of this budget is that we fully fund our homeless strategy office. That was my greatest emphasis, and we've achieved it. It will make a world of difference in getting homeless people off the street in a very short period of time. I'm also very pleased with what we’ve added to funding for public safety, EMS, and wildfire prevention. A positive vote in the November tax rate election will allow us to pay for these needed services. And we make a significant investment in our parks. I look forward to a result that will be the best benefit of our community.
Mayor Kirk Watson32,624 views • 1 year ago
#ATXCouncil When I was elected to serve a half term two years ago, there was a very clear sense in this community that city government had lost the plot. It was clear that dramatic action was necessary - and dramatic action is exactly what we delivered. Over the past 24 months: ✅ We rebuilt our city management team ✅ We made historic changes to our land development code and streamlined our development review process to help create more - and more affordable - housing ✅ We launched a different economic development paradigm focused on new job training programs, like the Infrastructure Academy, to help Austinites build high-wage careers, even without a 4-year degree ✅ We took a new approach to fighting homelessness, which promises real results ✅ We adopted a new energy generation plan that delivers reliability and affordability while reducing the emissions that threaten our climate and air quality ✅ We transformed our 911 emergency system from a system that fell well below national standards to one that, in 2024, met those standards throughout ✅ We signed a new contract with our police officers that lays the groundwork to improve public safety across the board. In short … we got stuff done at City Hall. And I think Austin voters saw it, and liked it, and want more of it. They saw stable government getting results. And they want more. Watch the 2025 Austin City Council Inauguration Ceremony Live:
Mayor Kirk Watson39,172 views • 1 year ago
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