AUSTIN, Texas — Austin Mayor Steve Adler believes Austin could be “perhaps the strongest major city” in the U.S., but this doesn’t mean it’s not facing its own set of challenges, he said.
Adler delivered his State of the City address on Monday, Aug. 30. The annual address details the successes and struggles the city has seen in the past year and what is to come in the next year.
Austin’s mayor highlighted many of the City’s accomplishments during his 2021 speech but also pointed out three “immediate challenges”: COVID-19 and vaccines, public safety and policing and homelessness.
Adler said the only way to stop COVID-19 from continuing to spread is to get vaccinated and mask up.
“Ninety percent of the people in our ICUs are unvaccinated,” Adler said. “You know what these ICUs are not filled with? People experiencing vaccine side effects.”
Adler said he hopes to “lead by example” and work towards creating a vaccine mandate for city employees, or a testing mandate for those who choose not to get vaccinated.
He said Austin’s COVID-19 death rate is less than half of the state’s. If Texas had the same death rate as Austin-Travis County, more than 25,000 Texans would not have died.
“Thank you to those that have gotten vaccinated and those that struggle with the decision and are still willing to listen and learn with an open mind,” Adler said. “Thank you for saving our economy, but more importantly, many lives, perhaps even including your own.”
Adler credited misinformation with exacerbating all three challenges.
According to Austin Interim Police Chief Joseph Chacon, Austin is one of the five safest big cities in the U.S. Adler also said it is the safest of the four biggest cities in Texas.
“We are not dealing with a city that is unsafe, but with those working hard to create the perception that we are unsafe,” Adler said.
He said it is not true the Austin City Council defunded the police by taking $150 million out of the police budget. APD’s budget for fiscal year 2021-22 restored that funding in accordance with a new law Gov. Greg Abbott signed earlier this year.
Instead, Adler pointed out that APD’s new cadet class started earlier this year, and the City’s budget approves two additional classes next year. APD also started its illegal gun initiative, is increasing community oversight of policing and investing in mental health first response.
“I believe we will make a safe city even safer with a comprehensive approach to public safety staffing that is data-driven, is able to adapt to changing needs and considers the collective efforts of our police, and our firefighters, EMS responders and mental health support professionals,” Adler said.
After voters passed Proposition B in May, Adler said it is important to help individuals experiencing homelessness not only find shelter but given them the resources needed to achieve a more permanent lifestyle.
“We see success by getting hundreds out of tents and into homes with services, rather than moving one camp area in one neighborhood to another camp area in another neighborhood,” Adler said. “I believe most people in this city agree that we need to meet this challenge, remove the tents, house and support the people and accomplish this in a way that invests our dollars in long-term solutions.”
Adler said the City Council has bought hotels in four districts and created more than 600 homes for homeless individuals. The Council’s goal is to house 3,000 people chronically experiencing homelessness in the next three years.
Achievements Adler mentioned included an unemployment rate of 4.2%, a job market that ranks second best since the beginning of the pandemic and Austin’s efforts to reimagine public safety.
Adler also said he is “particularly proud” of Austin’s accomplishments regarding transportation and the City Council’s ability to lower property tax as a part of the fiscal year 2021-22 budget.
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