City Council Work Session
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What procedural steps and agenda items are introduced at the beginning of the council work session?
You're watching a meeting of the Austin City Council
with Mayor Kirk Watson, Mayor Pro Tem
Cheeto Vela, Council Members Natasha Harper-Madison, Vanessa Fuentes, Jose Velasquez, Ryan
Alter, Krista Lane, Mike Siegel, Paige Ellis. Zoe Khadri. Mark Duchin.
City Attorney Deborah Thomas. City Clerk Erica Brady. And City Manager T.C. Brodnax.
It's 9 o'clock in the morning. I will call to order the City of Austin City Council Work Session. It is May 19th, 2026. We are meeting in the City Council Chambers in City Hall at 301 West 2nd Street in Austin, Texas, and we have a quorum of the City Council present. The way we will proceed today is I've just now, as you heard me, called to order the City Council work session. Momentarily, I'm going to recess that work session and turn it over to the Mayor Pro Tem as the chair of the Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee, and he will call to order the committee meeting, and we will conduct the committee meeting. For those that are here to speak on items, the way this will work is committees, we have five speakers at committee meetings, and what we'll do, and I don't know if anybody has signed up for the committee.
We'll hear from those five speakers. He will then conduct the entire Austin Energy Utility Oversight Committee meeting. We will have that meeting. We will have the briefings. We will have the discussion. And then when that's over, That will be adjourned and I will call back to order the work session of the Austin City Council. People have signed up to speak at the work session, and that is when we will hear the speakers on those agenda items. So now, when we get to that, I also want to let people know that we will go in the order of the agenda. So A7, A23, then we will go to the briefings, B1, B2, and B3. I will also let everybody know, including members of the council, that there will not be, although it's posted, there will not be the executive session that is posted on the agenda.
So unless there are questions or comments from council, I don't see any. So without objection, this Austin City Council work session is recessed at 9.02 a.m. And I'll turn it over. Turn it back over to the mayor. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Mayor Pro Tem. It is 1114, and I will call back to order the work session of the Austin City Council. And as I indicated what we would do, and for people that are paying attention to this, we will just go straight through the agenda. will take us immediately into what is listed as item a7 which is related to this and again i want to note that we will not be having the executive session so what what i will do is before we go into item e7 is i will turn to the city clerk's office and ask them to begin the process of calling on the speakers that have signed up
For those that have signed up to speak and that are here, what we're going to do is we're going to hear from all of the speakers, unless there's some objection or comment from council. We'll hear from all the speakers on more than just item A7. We have speakers that have also signed up for one of the briefings, which is item B2, and hear from everybody, and then we will come back to A7 unless there's some concern about that. All right, with that, I'll turn to the city clerk.
How do public speakers raise concerns about the proposed gas peaker plants and demand transparency?
Okay, we're going to start with remote speakers for A7. We have one, Tommy Joaquin Hancock. Tommy. Yes. I am here. Please begin. Thank you, council. I'd just like to Spend my appreciation to the speakers and considering all sides of the topic discussed. Transparency is essential to building trust with voters and purchasing and installing 400 megawatts of gas speakers could cost up to $1 billion and just the equipment will be several hundred million dollars. An investment of that magnitude demands full transparent vetting and the cost of contracts for everything from wind to bigger parts.
Okay, in person speakers for a seven. We have Al Braden, Marian Sanchez. If I called your name, go ahead and come forward. Take a seat. State your name for the record. Bobby Levinsky. Larry Guild. David Levesque.
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Agenda
8 items
1
What procedural steps and agenda items are introduced at the beginning of the council work session?
0:07–4:17
2
How do public speakers raise concerns about the proposed gas peaker plants and demand transparency?
4:17–33:36
3
What bond proposals and community projects are presented and debated during the session?
33:36–1:30:15
4
How does the council address legal considerations, trust, and next steps for energy planning?
1:30:15–2:00:54
5
Why does the council emphasize protecting ratepayers when discussing competitive natural‑gas matters?
2:00:54–2:22:52
6
How are the FY 2026‑27 budget priorities and community‑survey results being presented to council?
2:22:52–3:12:02
7
What financing options and interim funding mechanisms are being considered for the 2028 bond election?
3:12:02–3:54:23
8
How does the Dog’s Head annexation and development agreement address land use, open‑space, affordable housing, and TERS funding?
3:54:23–4:12:41
Speakers
2 identifiedOfficials recognised by voice; public commenters shown as “Speaker N” unless they state their name.