Ryan Alter and colleagues propose revision of boards and commissions

Austin may be known as the Live Music Capital of the World, but it could also be known as the boards and commissions capital. In fact, our city has more than 90 commissions, boards, task forces and other advisory bodies, some of which are very active and others of which are dormant.

City Council Member Ryan Alter and several of his colleagues will be asking Council to approve a resolution on Thursday directing city staff to help them get more information on these groups and eventually pare them down. Alter told the Austin Monitor, “Council members (Chito) Vela and (Natasha) Harper-Madison asked me about our boards and commissions and their ability to continue to meet. When I first came to office I was surprised by how many boards and commissions we had and I think they do provide a lot of value for us. But I also think we could better structure the boards and commissions to provide even better value for the Council.”

Other sponsors of the resolution include Mayor Pro Tem Leslie Pool and Council members Vanessa Fuentes and Mackenzie Kelly.

Their resolution is in part a response to a special report from the city auditor released in 2023 outlining some problems with some commissions – such as long-term vacancies. Auditors compared Austin’s boards and commissions to those of San Antonio, El Paso and other cities and made recommendations based on their findings.

One of the report’s most significant conclusions involves the difficulty in tracking a variety of less visible commissions and the fact that some are not listed as active in city code. This leads to a lack of transparency and possible waste of employee and citizen time.

In addition to finding a few commissions that fail to meet regularly and cannot meet quorum requirements, auditors found that only 55 of the city’s 93 boards and commissions are recognized in city code. Auditors wrote, “In 2021 and 2022, most of Austin’s boards met (legal) requirements. Four boards per year failed to comply with meeting frequency requirements. Additionally, while 99% of recommendations aligned with City Code rules, two boards issued recommendations that may go beyond their designated scope. Boards have low rates of vacant positions with an average vacancy rate of 5%. However, our analysis identified some long-term vacancies, which may impact a board’s ability to conduct business and serve the public. We also observed issues related to board data collection and the clarity of some board bylaws.”

Alter said some of the boards have overlapping missions and that Council could consolidate their duties. Commissions that have trouble meeting include the Mechanical and Plumbing Board, which cancelled meetings in March, August and November of this year. That board could be consolidated with another commission.

Another issue Alter raised is what work the Planning Commission and Zoning and Platting Commission should be doing. They both consider zoning cases: The Planning Commission makes zoning recommendations for areas where there are neighborhood plans, and the Zoning and Platting Commission considers zoning for areas where there are not. The ZAP Commission was originally created because the Planning Commission had too much work for one commission. But Alter said now may be the time to reconsider the workload.

Regardless, he emphasized that nothing will happen with any of the commissions until after a new Council is in office next year. The resolution directs City Manager T.C. Broadnax to update city code to include all the active boards and commissions in a single section of the law. The resolution also directs Broadnax to develop a sunset review process and work with the city clerk to establish that process on a rotating basis. Broadnax will also be expected to report to the Audit & Finance Committee in February on what progress staff has made on their list of tasks related to boards and commissions.

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