Austin City Council members will convene in-person and publicly for the first time in well over a year July 22 for a hearing on the city's proposed budget for fiscal year 2021-22.
Council members have appeared together at various events in recent months, and many also worked from their City Hall offices while public meetings remained virtual. The summer budget hearing will mark the first time the majority of the council gathers in their City Hall chamber with members of the public present since their meetings shifted online last spring.
Audience occupancy in the chamber will be limited to every other seat, city spokesperson Yasmeen Hassan said, as long as Austin Public Health's COVID-19 risk status for Austin and Travis County remains at Stage 2 as of next week. The region moved into Stage 2 mid-May, however, the seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 hospitalizations—the key indicator for Austin-Travis County's risk thresholds—has in recent days tracked toward Stage 3 levels.
Hassan said additional precautions to potentially be in place at City Hall next week include a partitioned area for city staff and a restricted council dais. Masks will be recommended but not required at the meeting, and hand sanitizer will be available to visitors.
