Several government technology employees petitioned city officials to pause a planned worker consolidation process this spring. (Courtesy AFSCME Local 1624)
A planned consolidation of city technology workers is moving forward after weeks of pushback from some affected employees.
What's happening
Updates to Austin's technology processes are among several government efficiency and cost-cutting efforts underway at City Hall. The plan initiated last year would eventually reorganize hundreds of information technology staff across all city departments under the roof of Austin Technology Services, or ATS.
The update was informed by consultant reviews of Austin's technology services spending that found local costs are out of line with comparable governments, and that overall tech services and security could be improved through a more centralized approach. City management has referenced those consultant reports and recommended changes as a basis for the ATS update and its projected budget savings.
City consultants reported Austin spends more on technology services than other comparable cities and counties. (Courtesy city of Austin)
The ATS consolidation has drawn opposition from scores of city employees, and the labor union AFSCME Local 1624 began campaigning against the initiative earlier this year. Workers raised concerns including negative impacts to public services and safety, lost technical expertise in city departments and inefficient government spending. Hundreds of Austin staffers have since signed a petition against "One ATS," according to AFSCME.
Some city officials aligned with workers' worries recently planned to call for the IT reorganization to stop. However, a measure formally asking to pause the process was withdrawn last week after further public discussion and new commitments about the consolidation from City Manager T.C. Broadnax.
“While I share the commitment of City management and workers to improve efficiencies across our technological programs, it was clear that the initial proposal went too far, too fast and presented serious risks of harm to programs, services, and constituents," council member Mike Siegel, who drafted the resolution to pause One ATS, said in a statement.
Zooming in
After the initial consultant reviews, city leaders noted the technology services update has involved extensive planning, surveys of IT workers and their supervisors, and reaction to weeks of pushback.
“I’ve never seen a reorganization that has as much detailed analysis, the length of a runway to the launch of it, as much communication, and as extensive of a change management plan that this reorganization has," Chief Financial Officer Ed Van Eenoo told City Council on May 5.
One ATS is planned in three phases, with the first set to move nearly 200 key IT positions into ATS this summer. That phase was originally meant to start in May, but the timeline was pushed to August after recent discussions.
In early 2027, a second phase would integrate about 220 more IT employees from most city departments with ATS. And by late next year, about 241 positions from Austin Energy, Austin Water and Austin Aviation would also be added to the main technology department.
City consultant Gartner recommended centralizing Austin's technology workers and systems. (Courtesy city of Austin)
A May 6 memo from Broadnax detailed several clarifications and assurances about the process going forward. It followed another update in late April and council's early May discussion related to Siegel's resolution to pause One ATS, and includes commitments for:
Continuing engagement with affected employees
A possible blend of IT staffing between departments and ATS, instead of the more centralized model originally planned
Ongoing reporting on the consolidation's outcomes and data
Maintaining all affected workers' pay, benefits and seniority
Siegel said the update prompted him to withdraw his measure to pause One ATS, and that he'll continue to monitor the program's impacts on employees going forward.
AFSCME leaders said public pressure led to council's scrutiny and Broadnax's response, but expressed disappointment that the "misguided" consolidation remains in progress.
“While AFSCME 1624 members are grateful that Council has been receptive to our substantive concerns, we are disappointed that OATS will move forward with the Phase One reassignment of 189 workers, removing all IT staff from nine departments including police, fire, EMS, libraries, and public health," Executive Board Member David Cruz said in a statement. "We will continue to hold leadership accountable for this misguided plan that puts public services, safety, and data at risk."
What else?
Separate from the personnel shift, the citywide IT update also features a review of millions of dollars of tech applications. That portion of the initiative hasn't faced opposition this spring.
Austin is now using nearly 1,200 different applications, according to consultant Parsolvo, which said labeled many as "redundant." The consultant flagged more than 200 for potential retirement, saving an estimated $49 million-$142 million annually.
Quote of note
Michael Hernandez, a senior IT support analyst with Austin Public Library, was one of several city employees who testified on the consolidation to council members this month. He said he opposes One ATS given his commitment to community library services rather than a tech-focused career.
“I’ve stuck around with the library because I love it. I love its mission, I love its staff and I love the public that it serves. If library IT is removed from the library, those essential services that we provide to the public will be severely diminished," he said.
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