After nearly three years of Covid-19 pandemic response, plus unprecedented challenges like Winter Storm Uri and rapidly rising housing costs across the Austin metro, Travis County Precinct 1 Commissioner Jeff Travillion said his high point of 2022 was workforce development.
Travillion, now in his second term, believes residents should have not just their basic needs met, but the opportunity for sustainable growth. “We want to be able to make sure that we give people the access that they need to work in industries that they want to work in,” he told the Austin Monitor.
This entails collaborating with the local workforce board to design training for entry-level job applicants, getting the word out to prospective hires about job and scholarship opportunities, supporting free after-school enrichment programs for rising members of the workforce, and holding companies that sought property tax rebates from the county accountable.
“All of those things that ultimately get you to the jobs of the companies that we bring in,” he said. “We bring in some of the biggest companies in the world: Apple’s here, Samsung’s here.”
Travis County’s chief lure is property tax rebates. In exchange, Travillion said the Commissioners Court expects companies to hire significant numbers of local residents, including those who are un- or underemployed, and to offer certain benefits.
“You don’t get your money up front,” he said. “You get your money when you demonstrate that you have followed the agreement.”
In 2020, Tesla scored a tax rebate deal from Travis County to build its Gigafactory near Del Valle, committing to a $15 minimum hourly wage and to hiring at least 2,500 county residents by year four of the project, among other things.
In November, construction workers who helped to build the electric car manufacturing plant accused their employer of violating various labor laws, including wage theft.
Travillion told the Monitor the county has safeguards in place, including daily safety reports, that will aid in its investigation of these allegations. “We want to document the things that have been alleged, we want to communicate with both sides, and we want to determine what is actually going on.”
In addition to workforce development, Travillion continues to prioritize Covid-19 vaccine outreach, especially in Austin’s Eastern Crescent, where historic disenfranchisement has led to a dearth of health care infrastructure.
“We had to build an entire system out that allowed people to get access (to vaccines) as well,” he said, adding that the county worked with local public schools, nonprofits, faith leaders and civil rights organizations on the effort.
As Covid-19 case rates rise and hospitals report a “tripledemic” following the holiday season, this work continues apace.
In the new year, Travillion would like to build on these successes while also bolstering the county’s supply of affordable housing, including in master-planned communities.
“It’s not just where you lay your head,” he said. “It’s that you have health care clinics close. It’s that you have grocery stores close, that you have a library close that you have a means to (safely) get your child from a public school after-hours.”
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Travis County Commissioners Court: The legislative body for Travis County. It includes representatives from the four Travis County Precincts, as well as the County Judge. The County Judge serves as the chair of the Court.
