Austin City Council presents committee and intergovernmental appointments to city clerk

Mayor Kirk Watson presented the Austin City Council’s slate of committee and intergovernmental appointments on Jan. 28, 2025, and said he would submit the final list to the city clerk to make the assignments official.

The appointments set chairs, vice chairs and members for standing council committees and designate the city’s representatives to several intergovernmental bodies. The mayor said two committees — Climate, Water, Environment and Parks, and Economic Opportunity — require separate ordinance action and will not take effect until the council votes on that ordinance on Thursday.

“What I’m gonna do, members, is read into the record where we are on this and then the way the code works is I will present the final version of this to the city clerk,” Mayor Kirk Watson said as he read the appointments aloud.

Key committee assignments read into the record by Watson were: Audit and Finance — Chair: Mayor Kirk Watson; Vice Chair: Councilmember Ryan Alter; Members: Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, Councilmember Jose Velasquez, Councilmember Mark Duchin. Austin Energy Oversight Committee — Chair: Councilmember Jose Velasquez; Vice Chair: Councilmember Mike Siegel (the mayor noted this is a committee of the whole and will include the full council). Climate, Water, Environment and Parks (requires ordinance) — Chair: Councilmember Ryan Alter; Vice Chair: Councilmember Paige Ellis; Members: Councilmember Mike Siegel and Councilmember Mark Duchin. Economic Opportunity (requires ordinance) — Chair: Councilmember Zoe Cadrey; Vice Chair: Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes; Members: Councilmember Jose Velasquez, Councilmember Natasha Harper Madison and Councilmember Mike Siegel.

Housing and Planning — Chair: Councilmember Natasha Harper Madison; Vice Chair: Councilmember Jose Velasquez; Members: Councilmember Mike Siegel and Councilmember Paige Ellis. Mobility — Chair: Councilmember Paige Ellis; Vice Chair: Councilmember Zoe Cadrey; Members: Councilmember Natasha Harper Madison, Councilmember Jose Velasquez and Councilmember Crystal Lane. Public Health — Chair: Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes; Vice Chair: Councilmember Mark Duchin; Members: Councilmember Zoe Cadrey, Councilmember Ryan Alter and Councilmember Jose Velasquez. Public Safety — Chair: Councilmember Jose Velasquez; Vice Chair: Councilmember Crystal Lane; Members: Councilmember Zoe Cadrey, Mayor Kirk Watson and Councilmember Mark Duchin.

“I’m going ahead and making the presentation to the clerk in advance, but they will not be effective until Thursday when we pass that,” Watson said, referring to the two committees that require ordinance authorization.

Watson also read appointments to external and intergovernmental entities. Highlights included: Austin ISD/City joint committee — Mayor Kirk Watson, Councilmember Jose Velasquez and Councilmember Ryan Alter; Austin Firefighters Relief and Retirement Fund — Mayor Kirk Watson; Austin Police Retirement System — Councilmember Ryan Alter; Austin Transit Partnership — Mayor Kirk Watson; Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) — Mayor Pro Tem Vanessa Fuentes, Councilmember Zoe Cadrey, Councilmember Mike Siegel and Councilmember Crystal Lane with Mayor Watson as alternate; Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG) General Assembly appointments — Mayor Kirk Watson, Councilmember Ryan Alter and Councilmember Mark Duchin; Capital Metro — Councilmember Jose Velasquez; Visit Austin Board — Councilmember Zoe Cadrey and Mayor Kirk Watson; Workforce Solutions Central Texas Board — Mayor Kirk Watson.

The mayor noted one appointment slot remains open: the City of Austin Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees remains without a council appointee and “will remain open until we have someone to fill that position,” Watson said.

Councilmembers spoke briefly during the reading. Councilmember Crystal Lane confirmed she would leave her seat on the Housing and Planning committee and said, “And I’m happy to have Councilmember Paige Ellis replace me on Housing and Planning.” Councilmember Ryan Alter thanked the mayor for organizing the slate, saying, “I was gonna thank you for herding these cats.”

Mayor Watson said the list he read would be provided to the city clerk pursuant to the city code, which completes the administrative step needed to record the appointments; the two committees that require ordinances will be activated only after the council’s Thursday vote. After making the presentation to the clerk, the council recessed to the Austin Energy Oversight Committee and later returned to go into executive session.

No formal council vote on the appointments was recorded in the work session transcript; Watson framed the reading as the required presentation to the clerk under the city code and as preparatory to the ordinances scheduled for Thursday.