Reminder: APN Happy Hour
And the firefighters want a raise.
Hope to see you at Mean Eyed Cat from 5-7 tonight!
Council staff playing "constituent bingo" during meetings: An unnamed "former staff member for an Austin City Council member" tells KXAN's Grace Reader that some of their colleagues have apparently gone through the trouble of crafting bingo cards for public comment during Council meetings:
That former staff member snapped a photo of one of those bingo cards, which was shared with KXAN. It included tiles like “MAGA hat,” “‘Do your job,'” “Israel Palestine” and “Sassy mayor.”
The tile I appreciated most was "ISD issue," referring to someone who comes to City Council to complain about a school district matter that city government has no say over.
To be clear, there is no allegation that Council members themselves are playing this game on the dais. Just Council staff.
My take is that the existence of the bingo cards suggests that these staffers are actually listening to public comment, which is probably not the best use of their time most of the time. The Council members themselves are theoretically forced to listen already.
Look, I believe people can take seriously their obligation to the community and have a sense of humor about all of the lunatics who show up during public comment.
The firefighter contract: The full cost of the massive police contract City Council approved last year is not limited to that contract alone. Because when you give one employee group something, the others demand the same thing:
