The context
In his draft fiscal year 2023-24 budget plan released in July, Garza called for several staffing and departmental reorganizations to create a more "efficient and streamlined" government structure.
Some of those changes had been announced earlier this year, such as the consolidation of a new Transportation and Public Works Department and the split of the city's housing and planning offices, while other updates were first proposed last month in the draft budget. Millions of dollars and dozens of city staffers would have moved around under the changes, including:
- Merging the Equity Office and Civil Rights Office with the Small and Minority Business Resources Department, creating a new Civic and Business Equity Department
- Joining the offices of sustainability and resiliency, and folding them into the Planning Department
- Moving the Labor Relations Office under the Human Resources Department's oversight
In response, Garza said the changes weren't intended to diminish any of the offices and that he hoped the new structure could improve their work while reducing perceptions of political motivations in government.
What happened
After previously defending those changes as positives for the city, Garza announced Aug. 8 that the merger of the equity and civil rights offices with the small business department would be postponed. He said the change comes in response to recent feedback and to allow City Council to handle the many other budget questions that remain on the table.
"It’s critically important that you be able to focus your attention on the resource allocations for all these departments as you adopt the budget for ‘24. And as a result, I want to take a step back," Garza told council. "We’re going to reassess the concerns that have been expressed about the creation of these organizational changes, and once the budget’s approved there are some senior leadership positions that I am considering establishing, as well as restructuring, that will further improve our visibility and alignment for this organization."
Garza said more information on those moves will be shared "at the appropriate time" following further review.
Council Member Vanessa Fuentes—who said she'd voiced worries about the plan alongside Council Members Chito Vela, José Velasquez, Ryan Alter and Zo Qadri—said the pause will allow for more focused debate in the near future.
“We’ve all shared concerns that we’ve heard from our community, and so giving us the time and space to have these public conversations from a process that’s not coupled with the budget is appreciated," she said.
What's next
Council will meet Aug. 10 to discuss members' dozens of proposed funding priorities through various budget amendments. Final adoption of the budget and Austin's FY 2023-24 tax rate is scheduled to begin Aug. 16.