Who's against the audit referendum?

A coalition has formed to oppose Prop I, the proposed amendment to the city charter that would require the city to undertake a comprehensive audit at least every five years or any year prior to conducting a tax rate election.

The city is already doing the audit, of course. In the spring City Council passed an ordinance to require a "comprehensive efficiency assessment" every three years. The city later awarded the $5.2 million contract to Public Works LLC.

Thanks to today's sponsor! 

Zoning, transit, infrastructure and development decisions can shape both a home’s value and your quality of life. Lonny Stern combines more than 20 years as an Austin Realtor with a professional background in urban planning, transportation and economic development. He currently serves on Austin’s Zoning & Platting Commission and helps clients make better-informed decisions about the property—and the city—around them.

Find a home that connects you to more of Austin.

City service is noted for biographical purposes only; no City endorsement is stated or implied.

However, proponents of Prop I, notably Matt Mackowiak, the GOP operative who leads Save Austin Now and led the petition effort, argue that a mere ordinance is insufficient. It must be enshrined in the charter, the city's constitution.

With equal intensity, however, a group backed by AFSCME 1624, the city employees union, says that Prop I "will cause harmful cuts to public services" and be a "corporate giveaway to consultants."