On November 3, Austin voters will head to the polls for state, federal, and City Council races. Near the bottom of a very long ballot, though, is a petition organized by Save Austin Now proposing an amendment to Austin’s City Charter. Prop I would require Austin to hire outside consultants to conduct a citywide audit every five years.
The problem? Austin already does an audit. Prop I will simply inject confusion and expense into local government, put vital services at risk, and ultimately hurt Austinites. And that might be the point.
Austin is Already Auditing and Evaluating Spending and Efficiency
The writers of Prop I claim the City of Austin is never audited and suggest that the independent audits will increase transparency and accountability. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
Prop I would require the city to hire expensive consultants to slash city spending, “streamline” staffing, and find pervasive “fraud.” Its language is eerily similar to language used to justify Elon Musk’s DOGE that, in just a few months, led to unprecedented attacks on public institutions, canceled vital programs, wasted billions of dollars, and ultimately had very little impact on transparency or savings.
More importantly, though, Austin is already doing much of what Prop I would require, making Prop I a catastrophic waste of money.
The Austin City Charter (Article VII-16) requires an independent certified public accountant (CPA) to audit the city’s finances at the end of every fiscal year. The city publishes the results of those audits in the Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports, available on the city’s website. Last year’s report was so comprehensive that it was more than 300 pages long.
In February, the City Council approved an ordinance that initiated an additional citywide efficiency audit to provide an ongoing assessment of city services, including the efficiency of city operations, contracting practices, and cost-saving opportunities.
Finally, Austin has an established City Auditor’s Office that reports to the City Council with a full-time staff dedicated to investigating waste, fraud, and abuse. Last year, it produced 20 audit and investigative reports.
Prop I would cover the very same ground. Duplicating the work does not make Austin more accountable. Ironically, it would create the exact problem supporters claim it would solve by making city government more expensive and less efficient.
Prop I Codifies a Conflict of Interest
Prop I doesn’t just require an independent audit of the city. It requires that outside consultants find enough budget cuts to cover their own fee. The conflict is clear. Corporate consultants must find enough cuts to pay themselves, whether those cuts make sense or not.
These audits could cost the city between $5M and $20M, putting vital programs and services at risk. If the outside contractors are forced to eat what they kill, they will do so, even at the expense of the programs that improve safety, quality of life, and enjoyment of the city that we all love.
Prop I Potentially Gives Detractors A Legal Tool to Hold the Budget Process Hostage
As one policy analyst points out, Prop I may give anyone with resources the power to sue the city of Austin and halt the budget-making process. As a result, such a lawsuit could prevent the City Council from proposing an increase in ad valorem taxes that would help the city maintain vital services and programs.
Austin Has Rejected This Before
Prop I isn’t new. A similar audit proposal was on the 2018 ballot, and voters rejected it convincingly. Nothing has changed since 2018. Then and now, Austin has an independent auditor doing this work year-round.
Prop I Hurts Austin
Prop I doesn’t offer anything new. It doesn’t increase transparency. It increases costs and introduces redundancy and inefficiency. It will cost us our most valued programs and put the city in a worse financial position.
Accountability certainly matters, and Austin is already providing it. Don’t buy Prop I!