Southwest Austin - Dripping Springs Edition | January 2025

Government

BY ELISABETH JIMENEZ & BEN THOMPSON

Austin ocials sworn in; elect mayor pro tem Six Austin City Council members were inaugu- rated Jan. 6 to start o the new council term. Council’s rst regular meeting of 2025 is Jan. 30, after press time. The big picture Three incumbents were sworn in after their reelection in the fall, joining three newly elected ocials: Krista Laine from District 6 in Northwest Austin, Mike Siegel from North Central Austin’s District 7, and Marc Duchen from District 10 covering Central and West Austin. All six will now serve at City Hall for four years. After taking their oaths of oce, council members each spoke to their hopes and priorities for the coming term while pushing back against political divisions both locally and at higher levels of government. “If we come together, really setting aside personal and ideological agendas, it will make a big dierence today and a transformative one tomorrow,” Mayor Kirk Watson said. The action taken Following inauguration, the new-look council took its rst action by holding an election for mayor pro tem. That role’s responsibilities include running council meetings and serving as the city’s ceremonial head of government whenever the mayor is absent. Recent councils decided to split up mayor pro tem duties on an annual basis, a trend that will be continuing. District 2 council member Vanessa Fuentes was chosen for the role in 2025, and District 4’s Chito Vela is set to take over in 2026.

Thousands sheltered amid cold weather Austin sheltered nearly 4,000 people and responded to dozens of weather-related incidents through recent cold snaps. What happened As below-freezing temperatures rolled in through the past month, the city opened overnight shelter spaces serving hundreds of people nightly from Jan. 5-10 and 18-22. The service now operates under new policies made late last year to improve client registration and shelter activation processes. “Our decision to raise our cold weather shelter threshold from 32 to 35 degrees was done with the sole intention of saving lives, of preventing frostbite, of preventing hypothermia,” Homeless Strategy Ocer David Gray said in an interview. Out in the community, two deaths were reported Jan. 20-21 out of nearly three dozen cold-related illness incidents citywide. Countering the cold Austin responded to dozens of incidents and sheltered hundreds of people during cold weather in January. • 3,922 people served in overnight cold weather shelters • 700 lane miles of roadway were treated • 84 cold-related medical responses, including 2 deaths • 89 potentially weather-related vehicle collisions • 23 weather-related ire incidents (Jan. 5-10 only)

Three returning and three newly elected Austin City Council members were sworn in on Jan. 6.

BEN THOMPSONCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Austin City Council terms Six city ocials, including three newcomers, were sworn in for four-year terms in January. Five others are halfway through their current terms.

Mayor Kirk Watson

Vanessa Fuentes, District 2* Natasha Harper- Madison, District 1 José Velásquez, District 3

Chito Vela, District 4* Ryan Alter, District 5 Krista Laine, District 6 Mike Siegel, District 7 Zo Qadri, District 9 Paige Ellis, District 8 Marc Duchen, District 10

*SELECTED AS MAYOR PRO TEM

SOURCE: CITY OF AUSTINCOMMUNITY IMPACT

Hays County pushes pre-trial mental health program amid long wait times for inmates Hays County ocials unanimously approved let- ters of support on Jan. 7 for a new program to tackle issues with pretrial wait times for inmates with mental health issues, and capacity in the county jail. The details A jail-based competency restoration program therapy to inmates, according to a news release, and prepare them to work with their attorney and defend their case. “What we’re dealing with are people who have

Hipolito, Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins and Commissioner Michelle G. Cohen. Defendants with mental health issues or who have developmental disabilities can be deemed incompetent to stand trial, and endure potentially long waits until classied as “competent” to do so. Wait times often extend for over a year, at a high cost to the county which is responsible for covering jail placement costs. The new program would oer treatment and

maybe committed an act as a symptom of mental ill- ness, yet because of the lack of statewide resources, we do need to be able to release people from jail to receive treatment,” Higgins said Jan. 7. “I want to dignify these defendant’s liberty interests.”

would be a partnership between Hays County and the Hill Country Mental Health and Developmental Disability Centers. The proposal earned the backing of newly-elected Hays County Sheri Anthony

SOUTHWEST AUSTIN DRIPPING SPRINGS EDITION