Austin's controversial $1 million giveaway plan heads to City Council vote

After tabling a controversial plan last month to distribute $1 million in taxpayer money to 85 struggling families, Austin City Council members are finally prepared to take a vote. By the looks of it, two members think it will pass. Ahead of Thursday's council meeting, Mayor Steve Adler and Council Member Vanessa Fuentes have scheduled a morning news conference — just as they did days before the planned vote two weeks ago. Their renewed optimism follows Adler's presenting additional details that, while still vague, offer some additional information about the program's purpose and address what state law says about taxpayer money giveaways.

The continued lobbying for the idea by Adler and Fuentes follows pushback from the community and from their City Council colleagues, including four who said they were not prepared to vote on April 21 and instead requested a two-week postponement. Those four council members — Chito Vela, Ann Kitchen, Mackenzie Kelly and Leslie Pool — raised concerns about the undefined process for selecting recipients and for evaluating the program. Some of them also suggested that money for such a program should come from the private sector or the federal government, and not from a municipal government that must also pay for such services as parks, police and road improvements. If the plan moves forward with at least six council members voting in favor, 85 people or families at risk of losing their home in Austin's increasingly competitive housing market would receive $1,000 per month for a year. They would have total discretion on how to spend it, and there would be no requirement that it go to pay for rent or a mortgage payment.