Encampment cleanup efforts could cost $1.2 million for dedicated team

Austin may establish a dedicated, in-house team to conduct regular cleanups at encampments across the city’s park system.

That’s the recommendation laid out in a memo from three department directors in response to a City Council resolution last year calling for increased litter mitigation efforts in city parks.

The creation of a special cleanup team would require additional staffing and ongoing operational funds of about $1.2 million per year, according to the memo. Austin Resource Recovery would oversee the staff and encampment cleanup effort.

Parks and Recreation Department staffers assigned to provide supplemental litter and debris cleanup – a crew composed of two full-time and two temporary employees – are at capacity and face a backlog of work, the memo states.

One of the PARD team’s more challenging tasks is clearing encampment debris from wooded areas that are difficult for vehicles to access. The memo also notes that illegal dumping remains a recurring issue in the parks.

With those difficulties in mind, directors from the Austin Resource Recovery, PARD and the Homeless Strategy Office recommended creating a team to focus solely on regular encampment cleanups on city parkland.

“Creating a dedicated ARR encampment team for park locations will improve response times to encampment cleanups, enhance the overall cleanliness of City parks, and help reduce public concerns related to litter in parks,” the memo states.

With an encampment cleanup team in place, PARD staff would be able to focus on nonencampment litter services and maintenance within the parks.

The memo goes on to say that ARR will utilize existing funds reallocated from a citywide cleanup contract to support the dedicated in-house team. The cleanup contract will continue to be utilized by other city departments for encampment cleanup services needed at other city properties.

The 2024 Council resolution raised the possibility of increasing the Community Cleanup Fee to cover the additional costs, but the memo states that no fee hike would be necessary for now. The cleanup fee on city residents’ monthly utility bills is currently set at $5.45 per month, which goes toward litter abatement, street sweeping, the collection of dead animals and other related services.

The memo goes on to state ARR will first rely on temporary employees to form the crew and make adjustments based on operational needs during the 2025-2026 budget process.

Additionally, the memo states that ARR will assist the Homeless Strategy Office and the parks department in litter abatement by:

• Participating in HSO’s weekly team meetings on encampment management and working with HSO and PARD to prioritize cleanup sites.
• Coordinating efforts with the Austin Police Department to increase outreach and enforcement efforts to prevent encampments from reoccurring.
• Providing regular guidance to PARD staff on other litter abatement strategies as needed.
• Including “litter messaging” in ARR’s public information materials.

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