The Austin City Council adopted a resolution on July 18 calling for a comprehensive bond package to address climate and infrastructure improvements to be voted on by November 2026.

On June 28, Mayor Kirk Watson initially posted on the City Council message board that addressing climate change is one of the council’s top priorities. Watson wrote that a thoughtful and thorough climate program, potentially including expenditures and a bond election, should be implemented by November 2026. He added that this complex issue should not be rushed.

In a separate post on July 1, Council Member Ryan Alter of District 5 proposed a resolution for a 2024 environmental bond election and said some investments to address climate change should be implemented now.

“Now we must live up to those plans instead of doing what this City usually does — give them a pretty cover and put them on the shelf, always with the intention to get to them one day,” Alter wrote.

On July 2, Watson posted a resolution asking for co-sponsors to support a comprehensive bond package to fund climate, infrastructure and other public improvements and a comprehensive climate implementation program.

The resolution outlines climate goals including green infrastructure, water conservation and flood mitigation. It also states general obligation bonds, federal grants for sustainability and resilience programs and general fund expenditures will help address the city’s climate priorities. 

Council Member Zo Qadri of District 9 supported the resolution and said he is glad the city is gearing up to take action on climate change. According to the resolution, the city will form a Bond Election Advisory Task Force composed of community stakeholders who can recommend current and future climate projects for the bond package. 

At the July 18 meeting, Alter said he hopes the task force can make recommendations and comprehensive decisions on projects as they become available so the council can re-evaluate the bond election timeline. 

Council Member Chito Vela of District 4 supported Watson’s resolution and said he would like the city to invest in transportation, enabling people to walk or bike instead of drive. At the meeting, Vela said he does not want to take the possibility of a bond election in 2025 off the table. 

“The more that we can connect our city, put trails between neighborhoods, bridges over creeks, sidewalks everywhere that we need, the more we help people to switch away from driving and toward walking and biking,” Vela said. 

Alter said he is disappointed that the city is not moving toward an environmental bond election this year. However, he said he ultimately supported Watson’s proposal because it was the next best opportunity to invest in the city’s environmental challenges. Alter said he is also looking at this year’s budget to see where the city could invest more in climate change prevention. 

“I think we find ourselves in a climate crisis, and we need to act,” Alter said. “So I will continue to push forward and try to take whatever action we can take between now and 2026. Just because we’re going to do something in 2026 doesn’t mean we can’t do something now and shouldn’t be doing something now.”