Austin will pay more than $5 million for a multiyear independent audit of all city departments, advancing the recurring citywide assessment program created by City Council this year.
What you need to know
The ongoing audit review will cover Austin's government, the programs and services it supports, and its third-party contracting. It'll include comparisons to peer cities, produce regular public reporting, and result in recommended improvements for city officials and department leaders.
The concept of a citywide audit was raised in the aftermath of last November's failed tax election. At that time, Mayor Kirk Watson said the result showed a need to restore trust in City Hall's approach with finances and public services. Council members then began considering the program alongside new spending policies for their offices.
The new efficiency audit will likely take several years to cover all pieces of Austin's government. The process will continue repeating into the future with at least three years between full assessment cycles.
The specifics
After council passed an ordinance establishing the audit in February, the city auditor's office solicited for a third party to manage the program. Pennsylvania-based Public Works LLC was announced as the chosen vendor in July after scoring higher than two dozen other interested firms in a city evaluation. City Auditor Jason Hadavi also said the contractor is partnering with Austin-based EGS Research and Consulting LLC.
Watson said the lead firm will focus on finding "meaningful and sustainable ways" to improve Austin's government.
"The professionals at Public Works understand that this assessment is more than an audit and performance review—it will be transformative and comprehensive, importantly, it will also be an ongoing independent examination on how Austin’s government can operate better," he said in a statement.
A final contract is expected to be executed soon after its authorization by elected leaders July 30. Just $200,000 is budgeted for the work this fiscal year through September, with $1.5 million included in the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year 2026-27 starting in October. Remaining funding will be determined in the future, according to Austin Financial Services.
The contract runs at least three full years with optional extensions for two more. The program's cost won't exceed a $5.23 million total if more time is needed.
“Government should never stop asking how it can better serve the people. Today’s contract begins that work," Watson said.
The approach
The council-approved ordinance requires an audit plan and proposed schedule to be published online with any related findings, recommendations and progress reports through the process. The city hasn't yet determined how reporting on the audit will take place, and will inform residents about those updates.
"Once established, the posting will be announced publicly through multiple communication channels to ensure broad awareness and accessibility for the community," Austin Financial Services spokesperson Aubrey Roemer said in an email.
Council's Audit and Finance Committee will also be briefed on progress and results at least semiannually as work continues. Planning for the first round of formal reporting will begin "immediately" after the Public Works contract is finalized, according to the finance department.
Eric Schnurer, Public Works founder and president, said the firm will begin reporting to the city auditor's office on a weekly basis as the assessment gets underway and provide regular information throughout the process.
“Many of these things will be rolling off the presses ... as we’re going, and I would anticipate that we start seeing hard results that will hopefully be saving taxpayers money right away within a fairly short time period after we start," he told council. "That will continue for the entire time we’re working on this, and many years after.”
Another detail
Public Works' charter to do business in Texas was forfeited in 2024. After it was announced as the city's pick for the audit project, the firm's application for reinstatement was certified July 7.
Vendors weren't required to have in-state registration when they submitted their proposals to Austin, Roemer said, and Public Works is now qualified to take on the audit.
"It is not unusual for a company to allow its state registration to lapse when it has no active contracts or employees in that state. Public Works appears to have allowed its Texas registration to lapse in 2024 after more than a year without work or staff in Texas," Roemer said. "Once the firm was notified that staff were recommending it for this contract, Public Works reactivated its registration with the Texas Secretary of State and is now eligible for contract award."
In response to a question from Watson, Schnurer also said allegations the firm had failed to pay taxes in Texas were "absolutely false."
On the ballot
While citywide assessments are now established in Austin's code, a local organization is also pushing for a similar but separate auditing requirement.
The political group Save Austin Now, which campaigned against last year's tax rate election, successfully petitioned to add its "Independent Affordability and Efficiency Initiative" measure to the November ballot as an amendment to the city charter. The charter can only be changed via elections, which are limited to at least two years after the most recent amendment's approval.
Several unrelated city-initiated charter revisions may also be on the ballot this fall.
Distinctions between the City Council-approved and Save Austin Now-proposed audits include:
- The less flexible charter amendment comes with the two-year limit on any changes, which would require a petition campaign to put on the ballot as well as voter approval to update; the council-approved ordinance can be adjusted by a majority of elected officials at any time.
- The Save Austin Now assessment must pay for itself through efficiency savings determined by the audit contractor; the existing audit is funded upfront through the city budget.
- The charter amendment sets a one-year time frame for audits; the city's approved program has no deadline.
- The Save Austin Now audit would repeat at least every five years; the current version has no recurring schedule but sets at least three-year gaps between assessments.
Save Austin Now co-founder Matt Mackowiak has said Austin's audit would not be fully independent and risks being overturned by council members. Attorney Bill Aleshire, who drafted the proposition, also noted the ability of a council majority to repeal or amend the charter requirement at any time.
"That unlawful unconstitutional; supermajority vote requirement is just a political fig leaf to cover the fact that only a Charter or state law can force the City Council to have comprehensive, Independent audit," he said in an email earlier this year.
Watson has said the council-approved audit is superior given its practicality and requirements for contracting, timing and funding.
"Ours is truly independent because it doesn’t put a burden on the auditor to find things so that they can get paid; that steals the auditor’s independence," he said in an interview. "Ours is being done to bring the community together around good government, and not being politically driven in order to raise money.”
A 2018 ballot proposition for a third-party citywide audit, limited to $1 million-$5 million, was rejected by nearly 58% of Austin voters.
