Austin’s Voters Were Promised a Project with Independence, Transparency and Community Oversight — It’s Time to Deliver on That Promise.

An open community statement about the Joint Powers Agreement between The City of Austin, Capmetro, and the Austin Transit Partnership

Project Connect’s Joint Powers Agreement (JPA) is a cornerstone document for how Project Connect will live up to promises made to Austin’s voters around equity, labor justice, independence, and critical engagement with the community moving forward. Project Connect’s final JPA will be discussed and signed by The City of Austin, CapMetro, and the Austin Transit Partnership (ATP) on Friday, October 29th. This document will set forth roles and responsibilities in overseeing the once-in-a-generation investment in Austin’s public transit that will impact the city for decades to come, further detailing ATP as the “principal entity responsible for implementing Project Connect in a manner independent of the City and Capital Metro.” Current language involving the need for independent oversight around labor, questions involving the future Executive Leadership of the project, and processes concerning future Interlocal Agreements between the parties, fails to meet the standards that our communities have set.

As it stands, the proposed draft of the JPA does not give us confidence that Project Connect will fully live up to the spirit and intent of the promises made to the voters. Changes must be made.

The ATX Mobility Coalition, formed by Austin Justice Coalition (AJC), People United for Mobility Action (PUMA), Planning Our Communities (POC), Workers Defense Action Fund (WDAF), and Austin Area Urban League (AAUL), has submitted its recommendations and edits for the Joint Powers Agreement to City Council, CapMetro, and the Austin Transit Partnership.

As all branches approach this monumental agreement, these are some of the key opportunities we have identified for improvement of the JPA around labor justice, community engagement, good governance, increased transparency, and independence for all parties:

1. The process for all future supplemental agreements should provide adequate timelines for community input and feedback, including review by the Community Advisory Committee (CAC), and whenever appropriate, conducting community engagement in alignment with the Community Engagement Principles included in the JPA. (section 2.7)

2. The Joint Commitments must include a clear commitment to supporting an equitable transit system to benefit the whole community, including equity in considerations of design, accessibility, rollout, operations, station location, and project timelines. This commitment must accompany the creation of an Equity Analysis tool, co‐created with the Project Connect Community Advisory Committee, so as to evaluates the design, construction, and operation of all Project Connect transit projects, including, but not limited to, assessing wider community impacts, and helping to guide station planning, eminent domain, accessibility planning. Such an equity tool for Project Connect is critical to ensure that the project fully serves all Austinites while protecting them from adverse impacts. (section 3.1)

3. Throughout the process, ​​the Project Connect Community Advisory Committee must be comprehensively and consistently consulted and involved in the process, including being regularly informed in advance of all major decisions with timelines that allow for public deliberation and well-informed decision‐making. (section 3.1)

4. We must ensure that the workers who build out our system have access to good jobs and safe working conditions by providing truly independent third-party monitoring on sites. This means that the commitment to the Better Builder® Program outlined must provide clarity and specificity in alignment with the intent in the contract with the voters. (Section 4.3)

5. We believe it is crucial to outline the role and timelines for the appointment of the ATP’s Executive Director so as to guarantee the independence of the three branches of the agreement, as promised to the community and voters in earlier interlocal agreements. This is why we advocated for a clear process to appoint a succeeding Executive Director to take charge from the initial Executive Director. (Section 4.2.2)

Thus far, responses we have received from staff on these proposed changes have not been encouraging. Many of our most pressing concerns have been dismissed and staff has not provided any clear timelines or commitments for community engagement or Community Advisory Committee (CAC) review of future Supplemental Agreements, many of which may bear substantial impact on our communities and city life within the near and distant future. Lack of clarity throughout the drafting process, combined with the tight deadline for the final vote, have created a window which can only appear to be designed to reduce meaningful community input and feedback. This has been a trend throughout the full first year of the Project that cannot be allowed to be cemented into Project Connect’s final JPA.

Strong labor protections, independent executive leadership, community oversight through the Community Advisory Committee, and the creation of a tool that allows for a clear equity analysis of the project are not minor details within this document; these are all areas where the community deserves clear answers, timelines, and process in keeping with the contract with the voters.