Mayor Kirk Watson and the City Council got caught violating rules designed to promote open, transparent, participatory democracy again. At a hearing on August 29th, Judge Maya Gamble said:
“It is very clear to me that the Austin City Council chose to violate the Open Meetings Act with its title of the meeting, with its description in the agenda of the meeting”
At issue were amendments to our City Charter, most of which would, in the words of SOS attorney Bill Bunch, reduce transparency in city government and accountability to the voters while consolidating power in the city council and city manager. Because the City waited until the last moment to place the items on the ballot and then failed to follow the open meetings law in doing so, the 13 proposed charter amendments will not be on the ballot in November. In an ironic twist, the Council’s failure to be transparent in placing charter amendments on the ballot thwarted their charter amendments designed to reduce transparency.
This is not the first time that the Council has violated the Open Meetings Act, and, accordingly, there is little basis for believing it will be their last. They have a history of denying the community the notice they need to exercise their rights.