City Council intends to continue using several committees to focus more closely on subject matters of interest in 2026 after members locked in their assignments for the year ahead.
The big picture
As laid out in Austin's code, council currently has eight committees to consider topics like housing, public safety and the environment. Typical committee sessions feature briefings from city staff on local issues and initial vetting of new policy ahead of consideration by the full council dais. Members of the public are also invited to testify on items up for review.
Most committees are capped at five members, aside from the Austin Energy oversight body that includes all 11 elected officials. Mayor Pro Tem Chito Vela chairs that committee with District 7 council member Mike Siegel serving as vice chair.
The specifics
Council's new committee assignments were set after brief discussion Jan. 21, and can still be adjusted throughout the year.
No changes were made to the Audit and Finance Committee, which reviews reporting from the city auditor's office and various budgeting issues. The committee next meets Feb. 3 and will continue to include:
- Mayor Kirk Watson, serving as chair
- District 5 council member Ryan Alter, serving as vice chair
- Vela
- District 2 council member Vanessa Fuentes
- District 10 council member Marc Duchen
The expanded Climate, Water, Environment, and Parks Committee—created last year to replace an Austin Water oversight body and handle other environmental issues—also maintained its membership. Its next meeting is Jan. 28 and includes:
- Alter, chair
- District 8 council member Paige Ellis, vice chair
- Siegel
- Duchen
The recently revived Economic Opportunity Committee overseeing local business, workforce, child care and development issues will next meet in March with:
- District 9 council member Zo Qadri, chair
- Fuentes, vice chair
- District 3 council member José Velásquez
- Siegel
The Housing and Planning Committee met briefly Jan. 27 with the same membership as last year, although it has a new vice chair:
- District 1 council member Harper-Madison, chair
- Siegel, vice chair
- Vela
- Ellis
Harper-Madison stepped off the Mobility Committee for 2026. Its next meeting will be Feb. 12 with:
- Ellis, chair
- Qadri, vice chair
- Vela
- District 6 council member Krista Laine
The Public Health Committee, which also considers social service topics like homelessness response, next meets Feb. 4 with:
- Fuentes, chair
- Duchen, vice chair
- Alter
- Velásquez
And the Public Safety Committee remains largely the same ahead of its first meeting of the year Feb. 2, with Siegel replacing Watson:
- Velásquez, chair
- Laine, vice chair
- Siegel
- Qadri
- Duchen
Also of note
A ninth body will also soon be re-formed, due to interest in reinvigorating the Regional Affordability Committee that's been inactive for years. Laine will be joined by at least Watson and Fuentes when it relaunches in the near future.
Citing a regional "affordability crisis," then-council member Delia Garza sponsored the committee's creation over a decade ago. It was meant to offer a forum for public input and collaboration across jurisdictions, and previously involved both city officials as well as representatives from Travis and Williamson counties, several area ISDs, Central Health, and Capital Metro. Its last meeting was held in late 2019 before it slipped into inactivity.
One more thing
Council members also represent Austin outside City Hall through work on transit and transportation planning agencies, environmental boards, state and national government leagues, and more. A full list of those appointments is available online.
