The big picture
Austin maintains scores of boards and commissions led by Austinites who are appointed by elected officials. The bodies can serve as a connection between residents and City Hall, and are generally responsible for oversight and policy recommendations on a variety of topics.
That includes temporary work like the development of a new climate funding package on the 2026 Bond Election Advisory Task Force and ongoing work specific to communities like veterans, immigrants, women and people with disabilities. Some bodies are required while some were created over the years by City Council.
Council member Ryan Alter, who recently proposed changes to Austin's processes, said valuable discussions, reviews and community input take place at board meetings—but that some "clean-up" is now needed. In his resolution approved by council Dec. 12, he pointed out the large number of bodies requiring city resources; several commissions that may either be inactive or existing but never officially established; attendance problems that can lead to meeting cancelations; and Austin's lack of a formal process to review and potentially "sunset" unused and unneeded bodies.
“None of the proposed changes are because we think any commission is either wasting time or is doing work that is unimportant," Alter said in an interview. "What we’re really focused on is, how can we make the work they do more meaningful and how can we be more efficient from a city perspective?"
What's happening
City staff will now begin a formal look into Austin's boards and commissions, draft policy updates to adjust some of their functions, and eventually propose the removal or consolidation of several. Going forward, the city will roll out a sunset process to review the work of all bodies on a regular basis as well.
Officials are also seeking to create a new website where board and commission policy recommendations can be posted. Alter said that'll be key in the lead-up to summer city budget planning, and other significant council votes and debates year-round.
"There are so many different areas where they help provide some context to decisions we’re making that we wouldn’t have otherwise," he said. "Being able to have commissions that meet regularly and are able to get that feedback and ultimately make recommendations to us in a clear, meaningful way would be ideal.”
Alter, together with council members Vanessa Fuentes, Chito Vela, Mackenzie Kelly and Leslie Pool, developed a list of some changes that could be coming next year. Those range from new membership rules or commission responsibilities to the merging or removal of certain governance bodies.
A full list of the changes now under consideration is available here. The merging of the Human Rights Commission's duties is no longer proposed.
Under the council plan, commissions dealing with topics like transportation, construction or utility resources could be joined into separate subject area boards. One notable shift would make the Planning Commission responsible for citywide planning and land-use issues only while moving all zoning cases to the Zoning and Platting Commission; those responsibilities are split differently between the bodies today despite their names. Alter said that move could help the "overworked" planning board with meetings that often stretch on for hours into the night.
Much city staff time and effort could also be saved with fewer meetings to manage, he said, and by cutting down on repetitive or unnecessary processes. For example, city departments often present to multiple boards and commissions on the same policies, projects and other issues.
While proposed by the council group this year, many of the updates were first considered a decade ago but never formally adopted. That work was done by yet another body, the now-defunct Boards and Commissions Transition Taskforce.
The bottom line
Council's consideration of the wider changes comes as some boards continue to see meeting cancelations and persistent vacancies, which can also arise due to slow appointments by council members. The arrival of three newly-elected council members in 2025 will likely also lead to shakeups on many bodies in the months ahead.
On Dec. 11, a council subcommittee considered—but didn't act on—agenda items to dissolve two commissions after they hadn't met for extended periods of time due to empty positions and lacking meetings attendance. City code requires Austin's commissions to convene at least quarterly, but many keep monthly or biweekly schedules.
Although he said he's received some resistance to the commission review so far, Alter said he thinks Austin's new-look governance bodies will combine the efforts of their members and keep the door open for discussion on items of public interest.
“Ultimately, I think what we’ll find is that you get a better process where people, whether it’s just from the commission side or the public participating in the commission, have a better level of input and engagement," he said. "It’s much better to have a commission that maybe has a slightly broader scope but that’s actually meeting, than a commission that can never meet quorum and so they’re never able to serve their purpose.”
